Rating: 
Summary: you don't have to be a brain surgeon ...
Review: phantoms in the brain is written by dr. ramachandran who is a neuro scientist. when i first picked up the book intrigued by its best-seller status and the attractive blurb, i wondered if i would comprehend half of what the good doctor had to say about the brain and how it worked. well, for one, you dont need to be a brain surgeon to be able to get into, comprehend and thoroughly enjoy this fabulous book that reveals fascinating insights into the work of the brain.
the best part of the book is that dr.ramachandran treats his subject matter with a very light touch and keeps the tone constantly entertaining, engaging and lucid. this is like listening to your favourite uncle or grandfather tell you exciting bizarre and out of the world stories, except that dr.ramachandran adds to it startling insights into the working of the brain.
dr. ramachandran explains how one doesnt have to be a reseacrh assistant in a modertn lab to try out some of the elarnings, giving examples of how one can experiment with things found around your living room. reading the book one feels that this is the kindly doctor who you remember very fondly as a child. dr. ramachandrtan displays a fabulous sense of humour.
Ramachandran is that rare human - with a great faculty for logic and the humility to accept that it doesnt explain everything. read this book to appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: A deep, important book written in a disarming style.
Review: Rama is a brilliant, world renowned neuroscientist. Phantoms recounts personal experience and personal, sometimes humorous observations, and could be read for these qualities alone. It is a great book because of what it has to say. The subject is how the brain works from a conceptual viewpoint, with a focus on consciousness. Typically, the behavior of patients with brain damage suggest hypothesis, and these hypothesis are investigated by additional experimentation, as well as by brain imaging, which can detect which neurons are firing in response to stimuli. The physiology of the brain is considered, but only to the extent necessary to the narrative. A warning to the reader: the book is disarming in that some very difficult material is presented in a wonderfully simple and engaging style; this is not a book to be read in one sitting. I would have benefited from more material in the last chapter on what is the essence of conscious perception; while the ideas are exciting, I need more examples to pin them down. To nitpick, I think Rama. slights the artistic capabilities of animals, and is a little condescending, and perhaps not very knowledgeable, about psychiatry. He makes fun of evolutionary psychology, but also makes use of it.
Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal Collection
Review: The assembled stories are truly amazing, prompting a thoughtful reanalysis of the way our minds work and what it means to be human. Dr. Ramachandran's writing (or ghost-writing; I note there are two authors listed) is excellent, as well. He describes his cases with compassion and enthusiastically explores the possible meanings of his observations. He explores topics ranging from body imaging, the inner workings of vision, hemispheric specialization, to the neurological correlates to religious experience. Though I don't think his conclusions are always foolproof (and neither does he), there is a great deal of food for thought here, enough to keep you thinking about the nature of the brain and human experience long after the final page is turned.
Rating:
Summary: Aha!!
Review: The most mind expanding book I've ever read. It answered so many previously unfathomable questions about who we are and what "meaning" is. For the greatest impact I recommend reading it together with "The Selfish Gene".
Rating:
Summary: layman's point of view
Review: There are clearly alot of books out there about the field of neuroscience; just a quick browse around the site and you can find everything from confirmations of metaphysical ability to nitty-gritty medical details about the human brain. When I set out to read this book, I was looking for something realistic but approachable, and that is exactly what I found. Ramachandran convinces me of his extensive experience while still keeping me entertained and enthusiastic about the topic at hand. One thing that was a bit frustrating was the tendency of the author to not be specific in language at times when it may well be crucial; when he refers to a "path" in the brain, it is sometimes unclear whether he means a certain set of synapses firing, certain groups of neurons working, or whether he simply can't be any more specific. You will probably be excited and intrigued by the specific case studies that he mentions in the book; many seem unbeleivable, and that is really what gives the book its fascination factor. But at the same time, the author manages to slip in technical details and theories and keep your interest. The notes section, while appropriately supplemental to the text, can be a little repetitive. I found on more than one occasion that I flipped eagerly to the notes to get a fuller picture, flipped back, and found that the notes were saying something that was almost identical to the next sentence of the text itself. All in all, I would say that this is a fine book for the curious layperson, however I can guess that a hardcore professional would find it to be fluff.
Rating:
Summary: A book you should read
Review: This work, from one of the top neuroscientists around, is a fascinating look at various neurological problems and their implications for brain function. The book starts out with a description of phantom limbs and associated pain, and it offers a very convincing argument for the underlying processes that lead to these phenomena. Then as we continue to read, other phenomena are outlined, followed by intriguing explanations. As a doctoral physical therapy student, this book never ceased to hold my attention. I think most people would find it to be very interesting, although certain references to specific brain structures may go over the heads of many readers (cingulate gyrus, amygdala, hippocampus). If you would like to get the most out of this book without a functional knowledge of neuroanatomy keep an atlas of the brain nearby so you can have a visual picture to go with the names of these structures. All-in-all this is a must read for anybody with an interest in brain function, as it contains solid, original insights into the workings of the human mind. The brain is the final frontier of science, and more advances are being made than ever in our understanding of its inner workings.
|
