What Makes You Tick? The Brain in Plain English - Hardcover

Czerner, Thomas B., M.D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471371009 ISBN 13: 9780471371007

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2001

Synopsis

What is consciousness?

Is there really such a thing as free will?

Is there a physiological basis for an eternal soul?

In What Makes You Tick?, Thomas Czerner's elegant and accessible introduction to brain research, you'll encounter the scientists and discoveries that have exponentially increased our knowledge of the brain and its functions, most significantly in the last few years. Here, Czerner has translated the arcane language of scientific journals into a highly readable Baedeker of the brain, outlining all that is known about the modern brain and the amazing promise this understanding holds for the future.

In addition to tracing the vast web of cerebral roadways, Czerner deftly follows the larger historical detective story that stars neurologists and their forebears, from philosophers Descartes and Kant, to twentieth-century polymaths Francis Crick and Edwin Land, to computer scientists, who have found that the brain's parallel circuitry offers an ideal design model for microprocessors.

By shining a light on the darkest recesses of our own minds, What Makes You Tick? illuminates the greatest gifts the world of science bestows, in addition to touching on the ethical dilemmas facing us as we begin to alter ourselves on the cellular level. Above all, What Makes You Tick? will forever change the way you think about thinking.

About this title

From the Author

I wrote "What Makes You Tick?" for any curious reader who has ever wondered, as I have, what goes on in the brain, how we have come to learn its secrets, and how these discoveries might affect our future. This is a detective story, not a textbook, and I have kept it short. It grew from a strong desire to give perspective and context to the exciting advances in brain research that are appearing with increasing frequency on the nightly news. I began by translating research reports from the language of the laboratory into plain English. Soon, I found that I was writing about medical miracles, ethical dilemmas, the biomechanics of behavior, new concepts of the mind --- in short, about nothing less than the scientific search for the soul. Even if science classes once bored you silly, I believe that you will enjoy solving the mystery of how you see, feel, think, and act. You will see how we are beginning to tinker with the building blocks of human nature. We will soon be able to eradicate brain disease, to enhance desired mental abilities, and to eliminate undesired behavioral traits. "What Makes You Tick?" is a useful primer for what I believe will become the story of the century. We are approaching a new frontier --- and it is us!

Tom Czerner, M.D.

From the Inside Flap

What is consciousness? Is there really such a thing as free will? Is there a physiological basis for an eternal soul?For most of our history, the brain and its workings have been hidden from view. Barely a century ago, phrenology–the study of personality based on bumps on the head–was in vogue. But after generations of speculation, we are finally getting our first glimpse of the mind. In What Makes You Tick?, Thomas Czerner’s elegant and accessible introduction to brain research, you’ll encounter the scientists and discoveries that have exponentially increased our knowledge of the brain and its functions, most significantly in the last few years. Here, Czerner has translated the arcane language of scientific journals into a highly readable Baedeker of the brain, outlining all that is known about the modern brain and the amazing promise this understanding holds for the future. Among the many breakthroughs reported:

• Contrary to conventional wisdom (and perhaps anecdotal evidence), thousands of new neurons arrive at your frontal lobes every day.
• Sight has been discovered to involve all kinds of moving parts, from visual pigment that actually springs into action with the arrival of photons, to channels in brain cell walls that slam shut once they get the message.
• Our daily experiences, according to recent experiments by Nobel laureates TorstenWiesel and David Hubel, can literally change our minds, rerouting paths that were once believed to be hard-wired

In addition to tracing the vast web of cerebral roadways, Czerner deftly follows the larger historical detective story that stars neurologists and their forebears, from philosophers Descartes and Kant, to twentieth-century polymaths Francis Crick and Edwin Land, to computer scientists, who have found that the brain’s parallel circuitry offers an ideal design model for microprocessors (though the computer has a long way to go). By shining a light on the darkest recesses of our own minds, What Makes You Tick? illuminates the greatest gifts the world of science bestows, in addition to touching on the ethical dilemmas facing us as we begin to alter ourselves on the cellular level. Above all, What Makes You Tick? will forever change the way you think about thinking.

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0471371009
• ISBN 13: 9780471371007
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 228