Books for Prep | |
 - Are there phantoms in our brain or is our self a phantom?This book is a compilation of interesting clinical cases in neurosciences, brain injury and therapy, mainly unrelated to one another. You could easily read only those chapters of your interest. It seemed to me that as "unifying thesis", the author chose the idea of the "self" and how it might be only a "phantom" of our brain, suggesting that the "unity" and individuality that we perceive as self might be an illusion created by the way our mind works. He illustrates how this illusion of unity is broken with some brain injuries, like people that "neglect" their left part of the body, people that see "visions" or people that don't perceive parts of their body as belonging to them but to other persons. In the section related to phantom limbs, the author explains the idea that we are born with a "body image" that persists even after a limb has been amputated, that after such an amputation, the neural circuitry in our brains "remap" and that we can "trick" our brain with mirror images of our body, thereby demonstrating that our self perception is a "making" of our neural connections. In another section the author states that there are two different neural pathways that start in the eyes, one that leads to the object recognition part of our brains and the other that allows for space awareness and motion. In this chapter, the author mentions that injury in the first neural pathway can lead to people that see without seeing, meaning that they "perceive" and can act upon this perception, but they are not consciously aware of it (as if guided by a phantom in their brains, not by their conscious self). The author does not succeed to unify all the clinical cases presented in the book with the "phantom of the self" idea since in most cases he does not make the connection evident enough, so what should probably be one of the main ideas of the book ends up being weekly supported and remains largely unnoticed by the reader. Although I do not fully understand the biological, philosophical and social implications of this thesis, the book is interesting by the clinical cases themselves. I was surprised how quickly I finished this book and wished to read more about the topic. Rating:  - Good for those considering Cognitive Science as a majorThis books presents detailed and well documented transcripts of clinical trials in the areas of neuroscience/ology. A few interesting experiments involved subduing a patients phantom limb pain, in this case the sensations of their own fingers clawing into their palm, by constructing a simple box paneled with mirrors that would provide the visual of having two hands to a hand amputee patient. Another case is in plasticity where the rubbing certain areas of a patients face with a Q-tip invoked sensations of the Q-tip rubbing along the now amputated hand. This is also the first book I have read that had so many interesting and insightful footnotes. Rating: - And the point is....Reading this book gives one a foundation on which to build the complete picture. Yes, the book is not giving the reader the complete picture. But it does provide the foundation. Now what the reader needs to do is study the books on the Buddhist teachings of emptiness by Guy Newland or Jeffrey Hopkins. After having done this, now one is able to connect the dots, build the complete picture. What is very odd is how authors of this discipline, with all their studies, with all their research, have not yet arrived at this juncture. Hmmmm....it truly makes one wonder. Rating: - Absolutely Fantastic BookWhile this book may not be for everyone, I believe that most people will have a hard time putting it down. Ramachandran's ability to explain absurdly complicated concepts with simple language and simple methods is just one of the facets of his genius. After readking Phantoms I burned through at least 4 other books he wrote, but still Phantoms is by far the best. Rating: - If you're reading this ...If you're reading this review, then you're wasting your time by not reading the book. A friend gave me his copy of the book and I literally could not put the book down. Later, I decided that I wanted a copy for myself. The book is extremely well written; not only Ramachandran is one of the leading scientists, he also possesses an affinity for writing. It even gets better, you will be delighted by his sense of humor which adds to the joy of reading. The most important aspect of the book is of course the science content. While one or two sections might seem a bit technical (I am fairly certain anyone can handle those sections), the science in general is well explained and is highly awe spiring. I will never forget my excitement and sense of wonder while I was reading through this book. If you want to have an idea of how we see, how we think, how our brains operate then this book is highly recommended. In association with Amazon.com | |