The Accidental Mind (Paperback)

from alexbook

Surprisingly well-written book on the biology and evolution of the human brain, for the non-scientific reader. Linden gets just far enough into the actual science to give an idea of what's going on. "The brain is not elegantly designed by any means: it is a cobbled-together mess, which, amazingly...

from MarkBeronte

You've probably seen it before: a human brain dramatically lit from the side, the camera circling it like a helicopter shot of Stonehenge, and a modulated baritone voice exalting the brain's elegant design in reverent tones. To which this book says: Pure nonsense. In a work at once deeply learned...

from Niecierpek

Linden sets out to prove that our brains more closely resemble inefficient clunkers reflecting millions of years of evolutionary tinkering, rather than sophisticated, well-designed and amazing intelligent creations. He discusses the structure of our brain from the lower evolutionary parts of the ...

from jarlalex

Fascinating in general -- I like particularly the analogy of building a CD player around an 8-track machine. However, I had a difficult time following a lot of the neurology... this is not for the scientifically-uninclined!

from jburlinson

I once asked David Linden what a thought is: not the dictionary definition but what, in material terms, is a thought. He impressed me by saying that some cognitive scientists will start talking about chemistry and electricity, but that he, himself, didn't know.