Rating: 
Summary: The mechanisms of your mind
Review: This comprehensive overview of "thinking about thinking" is one of many introductions to neuroscience. Well written and lavishly illustrated, the book covers a wide range of topics in explaining how we perceive and what our brains do about the observations. Carter is as fully conversant with traditional philosophical questions as she is with the recent discoveries in cognitive science. Where she can, she relates the detailed science with clarity and insight. In presenting more generalised overviews, she proves a master of metaphor, keeping the issues before the reader and incorporating research findings into the narrative. As a starting point for consciousness studies, the book is outstanding. The fundamental question underlying this book is the "hard problem" - how to define and explain "consciousness". Carter recognizes that we all have our own beliefs about our own mental states. Her aim, however, is to encourage us to question what appears obvious. Most definitions of "consciousness" are circular, mostly from lack of precision. The precision should be obtainable - over thirty thousand papers have been published on the topic during the past decade alone. The text offers approaches to investigating the "hard problem" and summarises what conclusions have been reached so far. Carter is frank in explaining that final answers are elusive, encouraging further investigation and analysis. Her approach in dealing with these questions is to pose them, introduce the thinking of others on the topic, then draw her own conclusions. The technique is informative and has the further advantage of avoiding polemics. Sometimes, she even referees the clashes of some scholars. In presenting the view of various researchers, she introduces snippets of their thinking. The samplings are a prime example of how the border between philosopy and cognitive science has blurred in recent years. Each of the contributions illustrates a major contributor to modern cognitive science. In some cases the views are sharply divergent on the same topic, so Carter aligns them for direct comparison. These insertions present a difficult problem for the reader, as a decision must be made to stop and review these mini-essays, or continue on to return to them later. They all bear close scrutiny and deserve reader follow-up. Carter has chosen her samples well, although of necessity, the collection cannot be complete. The illustrations bring this book near the "coffee table" class, but the information is far superior to common examples of that genre. Regrettably, the chapter lead graphics are purely interpretative, adding nothing to the information. Further, these extravagant graphics must certainly add unnecessary cost to this book. If a richly illustrated, lucidly written work on the mechanisms of your mind is your taste, then choose this one. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating:
Summary: The mechanisms of your mind
Review: This comprehensive overview of "thinking about thinking" is one of many introductions to neuroscience. Well written and lavishly illustrated, the book covers a wide range of topics in explaining how we perceive and what our brains do about the observations. Carter is as fully conversant with traditional philosophical questions as she is with the recent discoveries in cognitive science. Where she can, she relates the detailed science with clarity and insight. In presenting more generalised overviews, she proves a master of metaphor, keeping the issues before the reader and incorporating research findings into the narrative. As a starting point for consciousness studies, the book is outstanding. The fundamental question underlying this book is the "hard problem" - how to define and explain "consciousness". Carter recognizes that we all have our own beliefs about our own mental states. Her aim, however, is to encourage us to question what appears obvious. Most definitions of "consciousness" are circular, mostly from lack of precision. The precision should be obtainable - over thirty thousand papers have been published on the topic during the past decade alone. The text offers approaches to investigating the "hard problem" and summarises what conclusions have been reached so far. Carter is frank in explaining that final answers are elusive, encouraging further investigation and analysis. Her approach in dealing with these questions is to pose them, introduce the thinking of others on the topic, then draw her own conclusions. The technique is informative and has the further advantage of avoiding polemics. Sometimes, she even referees the clashes of some scholars. In presenting the view of various researchers, she introduces snippets of their thinking. The samplings are a prime example of how the border between philosopy and cognitive science has blurred in recent years. Each of the contributions illustrates a major contributor to modern cognitive science. In some cases the views are sharply divergent on the same topic, so Carter aligns them for direct comparison. These insertions present a difficult problem for the reader, as a decision must be made to stop and review these mini-essays, or continue on to return to them later. They all bear close scrutiny and deserve reader follow-up. Carter has chosen her samples well, although of necessity, the collection cannot be complete. The illustrations bring this book near the "coffee table" class, but the information is far superior to common examples of that genre. Regrettably, the chapter lead graphics are purely interpretative, adding nothing to the information. Further, these extravagant graphics must certainly add unnecessary cost to this book. If a richly illustrated, lucidly written work on the mechanisms of your mind is your taste, then choose this one. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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