Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain by David Eagleman

Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain Reviews

• 
  Sarah

  Edit: I have had a lot of people commenting on this review so please let me clarify what I mean. I found factual inaccuracies in the book that I know to be inaccurate because there were about my own field of expertise. The inaccuracies were referenced but did not match what the reference material stated and I had to go to the reference source to clarify what was actually factually correct. I can not recommend a book that fails to reference correctly.
  However I read an ARC and errors may be corrected in later editions.
  As for it being one of the most important books of the decade... it really isn’t. Plasticity has been known about for a long time and none of the information in the book was more than I learnt in my undergraduate degree. Having said that it is interesting and David Eagleman does make it easy to understand.
  
  I was really excited to read this book. I have previously read Eagleman’s ‘The Brain’ and enjoyed his TV show in the same subject. Since first learning of plasticity during neurophysiology lectures at university I have been fascinated by the brain’s ability to adapt.
  
  Eagleman writes at a level that is easy for the average layperson to understand and he relies on anecdotes and case studies to aid the reader.
  
  There is one major flaw which means I am forced to give this book a 1* review. I know a little about plasticity in terms of the development of binocular vision, but more importantly I know a lot about vision and eyes. Unfortunately, on the information related to eyes there are gross inaccuracies and information that is simply wrong. Eagleman confidently writes about how people have corneas removed to treat cataracts and even goes as far as to reference this information. If you click on the reference it links you to information about the lens replacement in cataract surgery (correct). The glib use of incorrect statements followed by references to correct information is alarming. I am unable to trust the accuracy of information in this book without fact checking each individual point. I was deeply disappointed and would advise against reading this as a consequence.
• 
  Lou (nonfiction fiend)

  You will never think about your brain in the same way again. The brain is often portrayed as an organ with different regions dedicated to specific tasks. But that textbook model is wrong. The brain is a dynamic system, constantly modifying its own circuitry to match the demands of the environment and the body in which it finds itself. If you were to zoom into the living, microscopic cosmos inside the skull, you would witness tentacle-like extensions grasping, bumping, sensing, searching for the right connections to establish or forego, like denizens of a country establishing friendships, marriages, neighbourhoods, political parties, vendettas, and social networks. It's a mysterious kind of computational material, an organic three-dimensional textile that adjusts itself to operate with maximum efficiency.
  
  The brain is not hardwired, David Eagleman contends--it is livewired. With his new theory of infotropism, Eagleman demonstrates why the fundamental principle of the brain is information maximization: in the same way that plants grow toward light, brains reconfigure to boost data from the outside world. Follow Eagleman on a thrilling journey to discover how a child can function with one half of his brain removed, how a blind man can hit a baseball via a sensor on his tongue, how new devices and body plans can enhance our natural capacities, how paralyzed people will soon be able to dance in thought-controlled robotic suits, how we can build the next generation of devices based on the principles of the brain, and what all this has to do with why we dream at night.
  
  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Livewired which is an accessible and fascinating read from the moment you begin. It's no easy feat to make complex topics comprehensible to a layperson and those with no prior knowledge of the subject at hand, but Eagleman does this with considerable aplomb. Every single page of this book presents intriguing and compelling information and answers to questions you never knew you wanted the answers to; I found it eminently readable from start to finish. However, there was a problem that a fellow reviewer pointed out; some of the information is incorrect and as I read these type of books to feed my polymathic nature and enthusiasm for learning new things this is an issue. I hope this will be rectified as this is a superb book but for the mistaken data provided in one instance. Many thanks to Canongate for an ARC.
• 
  Sahra

  شاید اگه بخوام خلاصه ای از کتاب بگم به هفت ویژگی و اصل مدارسازی پویا که جناب ایگلمن نوشته بسنده کنم؛
  Reflect the world. Brains match themselves to their input.
  Wrap around the inputs. Brains leverage whatever information streams in.
  Drive any machinery. Brains learn to control whatever body plan they discover themselves inside of.
  Retain what matters. Brains distribute their resources based on relevance.
  Lock down stable information. Some parts of the brain are more flexible than others, depending on the input.
  Compete or die. Plasticity emerges from a struggle for survival of the parts of the system.
  Move toward the data. The brain builds an internal model of the world, and adjusts whenever predictions are incorrect.
  کل کتاب بر پایه ی این هفت ویژگی میچرخه که همدیگر رو با مثالهای متنوع حمایت میکنند؛ مثالهایی جذاب که دلالت دارن بر ویزگی های حیرت انگیز مغز، اجزاش و عملکردش. این کتاب در زمینه ی علم عامه پسند طبقه بندی میشه لذا نباید ازش انتظار داشت جزیئات دقیقی از چگونگی ها و چرایی ها بگه ولی خب پیوست انتهای کتاب میتونه برای کسایی که میخوان بیشتر ازش سر در بیارن کمک کننده باشه. نوشتار خود کتاب شیوا، پرکشش و بواسطه مطالب در بر گیرنده هیجان انگیز و جذابه فکر کنم بخاطر همین هم بود ک�� وقتی به دستم رسید اصلا وقت نکرد مثل تازه واردها بره بشینه گوشه ی کتابخونه تا نوبتش بشه:)) . این کتاب رو با ترجمه ی دکتر قاسم کیانی مقدم خوندم که به نظرم ترجمه ی خیلی خوبی بود و تا جایی که با متن اصلی کتاب مقایسه اش میکردم هیچ کاهشی در متنش ندیدم. اما چرا بهش 4 دادم؟ راستش فکر کنم 4.5امتیاز واقعیم باشه درسته کتاب رو خیلی دوست داشتم و ازش یاد گرفتم و بهم ایده داد ولی میتونست به جای بعضی تکرارهاش که به نظرم دیگه زیادی بود، مطالب تازه و بیشتری رو مطرح میکرد. در آخر هم ریویوم رو میخوام با پاراگراف اخر کتاب که به دلم نشست تمومش کنم.
  ما عموما در زندگی طرز فکرمان این است که من یک طرف هستم و دنیا طرف دیگر. اما همانطور که در این کتاب دیدیم، اینکه شما چه کسی هستید، برخاسته از همه ی چیزهایی است که که با ان تعامل داشته اید: محیط شما ، همه تجربیاتتان ، دوستان‌تان ، دشمنان‌تان ، فرهنگ‌تان ، نظام اعتقادی‌تان ، روزگار شما - همه اینها. گرچه از حرفهایی مانند "او آدم مستقلی است" یا "افلانی فکر مستقلی دارد" خوشمان می‌آید، ولی در حقیقت به هیچ طریقی نمیتوانید خودتان را از محیط جامعی که در آن جای گرفته‌اید، جدا کنید. بدون محیط بیرون، شمایی هم در کار نیست. محیط بیرون باورها، عقاید و آرزوهای شما را سراسر شکل میدهد، مانند مجسمه ای که از یک قطعه سنگ مرمر ساخته و به بیرون کشیده میشود. هر کدام از ما جهان هستیم. (که البته فکر میکنم درست‌ترش این باشه که هر کدام از ما بواسطه ی حکاکی ها و رد اثر جهان، نمودی از آن هستیم :) )
• 
  Brian Clegg

  Popular science book topics are a bit like buses - you wait ages for one on a particular topic/route and then a whole string of the turn up. This is yet another title on the workings of the brain (though to be fair to David Eagleman it was already out in hardback, so he was at the start of the queue). Thankfully, Eagleman gives us a whole new way of looking at the human brain's capabilities, suggesting the reason Homo sapiens is so versatile and capable is down to the extreme plasticity of the human brain - its ability to rewire itself on the fly, or livewiring as Eagleman calls it.
  
  This is a fascinating topic. It's not that the idea of the brain as a self-patterning system that adapts and changes as inputs vary is new, but the sheer depth and speed of the phenomenon is only relatively recently understood and Eagleman gives us a very wide range of examples, from a young child who had half his brain removed, but developed normally, the remaining half taking on all the roles of the other, to the remarkably short term adaptations that enable us to cope with, for example, changes in lighting colour and intensity. We also see some aspects where the initial plasticity locks in, restricting future development if children haven't, for example, developed language skills by a particular stage.
  
  Eagleman peppers the book with stories and examples - my absolute favourite was the way that in the late 70s and early 80s, people thought that the IBM logo on floppy disks had changed from white to red. This was a result of one of these short term adaptations to compensate for an apparent oddity of the surroundings. You need to read the book to get the details, but the cause was apparently due to the people handling the disks (on which the logo was made up of a set of white horizontal lines) spent a lot of their time staring at VDUs, which contained lots of horizontal green lines of text. (My only slight doubt about this one is that I was a person who did this at the time, but I never noticed the effect, nor did I hear of it from anyone else.)
  
  The subject really grabbed my attention, and Eagleman is good at storytelling, but there were a couple of things about the writing style that irritated me. Particularly in the first chapter, the writing was very jerky, suddenly changing topic, even telling half a story then abruptly switching to something else before coming back to the original subject again. The flow could have been better. The book is also overloaded with analogies, some of which simply get in the way. For example, Eagleman spends two pages telling us why the English colonists beat the French colonists in the US simply to make the point that a part of the brain that no longer sends information loses territory. Similarly, there's a bizarre reference many pages after telling us about Nelson's experience with his lost arm that out of the blue says 'Most visitor's to Admiral Nelson's statue in London's Trafalgar Square have probably not considered the distortion of the somatosensory cortex in the left hemisphere of that elevated head.' Well, yes. That's probably because that elevated head doesn't have a somatosensory cortex. It's a statue.
  
  Despite occasional issues with the writing (and a warning that if you're squeamish that there are quite a lot of medical details as a lot we learn about the brain is from the results of damage and surgery) this is one of the best brain books I've read this year.
• 
  Peter Tillman

  I was fired up by the rave WSJ review (9-5-20) but reader Sarah points out an egregious error,
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
  As this is her field, I'm putting my plans to read the book on hold, unless I read something that convinces me otherwise. A serious error by the author. As she points out, how can you trust other 'facts' in the book you don't know as well? And it's not like I don't have hundreds of other books on Mt. TBR.
  
  Thanks, Sarah for pointing this out. There's a long discussion at her review, and not everyone agrees with her. Read the comments and decide for yourself.
• 
  Emre Turkmen

  David Eagleman yine beynin gizli odalarına harika bir yolculuğa çıkartıyor...Bu muhteşem mekanizmanın ayrıntılarını okumak tek sözcükle " charming"✌️
• 
  Ali

  A masterpiece of popular science and one of the most hopeful books I've ever read
  Let's say there's a kid who has the worst case of epilepsy ever. Like, seizures every 20 minutes. Doctor says the only treatment is a hemispherectomy, which is exactly what it sounds like — removal of half the kid's brain. What do you think happens after the operation? How will the kid do?
  
  If you said, "Well, the kid's going to lose his ability to walk, talk, do anything really," you'd be correct — but only for a few months. Because what actually happened to Matthew was that with intensive rehab, the remaining half of his brain adapted itself to take over the missing functions of the other half. And now, when Matthew serves you at a restaurant, you can't tell him apart from a normal person. If that doesn't blow your mind, check out the picture of his brain with half of it a black void.
  
  "Livewired" is the catchy term David Eagleman has coined to describe the miraculous ability of the brain to adapt in concert with its environment and make sense of the world. With fluid prose and crystal-clear analogies, Eagleman explains the function of the cerebral cortex as a general computing machine that can take any kind of input from environmental sensors — e.g. the light sensors in your eye, the air-pressure sensors in your ear, or vibrations from a wrist band — and turn it into meaning.
  
  Eagleman is particularly qualified to talk about this not only a neuroscientist, but also as an inventor creating a whole new frontier of livewiring via his company NeoSensory. Using vests and wristbands that transduce outside information like sound or light into mechanical vibrations, NeoSensory is not only giving back some sight and hearing ability back to those who have lost it; it is also creating whole new senses that didn't even exist before: "We tapped into the lidar stream [at Google headquarters] and hooked it up to the Vest. Then we brought in Alex, a blind young man. We strapped the Vest on him, and now—just like the soldiers in Westworld—he could feel the location of those moving around him. He could see in 360 degrees, going from blind to Jedi. And there was zero learning curve: he immediately got it." Ladies and gentlemen — this is science fiction made real.
  
  Taking the idea further, Eagleman makes us wonder whether a livewired, self-adapting home and electric grid could be right around the corner. Trippy, sure, but why not? And that's what I particularly appreciate about Eagleman's work: he provokes us to think about *both* the stuff we take for granted *and* the radical "adjacent possible". This is especially fun since the book is talking about the very same thing you're using to read it (not the Kindle, silly — I mean your *brain*). For example, if the brain's so damn changeable, how can we even hold on to any memories before they get overwritten by new stuff?
  
  The book is Eagleman's platform for some big new scientific ideas, e.g. the brain as an information-maximizing machine; the basis of synesthesia; and the purpose of dreaming (hint: so you don't go blind). It's also very entertaining. Along the way you will meet: a surfing dog, a skateboarding dog, and a bipedal dog; an armless archery champ; people who hate their limbs; a man with no short-term memory; and a woman who forgets nothing. Astonishing visual illusions will make you doubt your own sanity, and the stories will make for excellent fodder for all the cocktail parties you're not attending. (Note for future generations: this review was written during the 2020 pandemic. We don't get out much.)
  
  With masterful storytelling, lucid analogies and thought-provoking new ideas, "Livewired" is a mind-expanding masterpiece of popular science. It's also one of the most hopeful books I've ever read, particularly needful in these uncertain times. Read it to renew your faith in not just the human spirit, but also to appreciate the gifts of your own miraculous brain.
  -- Ali Binazir, M.D., M.Phil., Happiness Engineer, neuroplasticity coach, and author of
  The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible, the highest-rated dating book on Amazon, and
  Should I Go to Medical School?: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine
• 
  Христо Блажев

  Жива мрежа – дайте на мозъка данни и той ще създаде свят:
  http://knigolandia.info/book-review/j...
  
  След “Мозъкът. Това си ти” невроученият Дейвид Игълман идва с “Жива мрежа”, още една чудесна и образователна книга от един не само прекрасен популяризатор на науката, но и практик, който пряко използва научните пробиви, за да помага на хора в нужда. В тази той показва множество хитроумни начини, по които може да се преконфигурира начинът, по който човешкият мозък получава информация, за да замести липсващи сетива например – слепи да “виждат” с езика си, глухи да “чуват” с кожата си, и това не е фантазия, а просто прилагане на изумителните възможности в мозъка, които невронауката разкрива. А пътем формулира и крайно интересна теория за сънищата, която включва война между различните мозъчни части. И само като бонус – Игълма е научен консултант на сериала “Западен свят” :)
  
  CIELA Books
  
  http://knigolandia.info/book-review/j...
• 
  David

  A fantastic summary of the latest research on neuroplasticity.
  
  David not only explains but illustrates in easy-to-understand terms the following:
  
  1. Reflect the world. Brains match themselves to their input.
  
  2. Wrap around the inputs. Brains leverage whatever information streams in.
  
  3. Drive any machinery. Brains learn to control whatever body plan they discover themselves inside of.
  
  4. Retain what matters. Brains distribute their resources based on relevance.
  
  5. Lock down stable information. Some parts of the brain are more flexible than others, depending on the input.
  
  6. Compete or die. Plasticity emerges from a struggle for survival of the parts of the system.
  
  7. Move toward the data. The brain builds an internal model of the world, and adjusts whenever predictions are incorrect.
• 
  Stephanie

  I was really into this study of the brain for the first 2/3, but then started to lose interest. I don't know why, maybe just information overload? It was neat to read about how the brain adapts when a limb or a sense is lost or added, and what sorts of possibilities the future holds.
• 
  Zachary Карабашлиев

  Тази изключителна книга на любим съвременен учен излезе преди дни. Няколко думи на крак за нея: В учебниците, в медиите и популярната култура мозъкът типично е изобразяван като орган с различни области, посветени на конкретни задачи. Тази зона тук съществува за зрението, другата отговаря за знанието как се използват инструменти, онази там за нещо друго — всички тези зкновено са различно оцветени, етикирани и категоризирани. Но този учебникарски модел пропуска най- интересната част от историята. Мозъкът е динамична система, по- стоянно променяща собствените си схеми, за да отговарят те на изискванията на средата и способностите на тялото.
  Ако съществува видеокамера, която да се вмъкне и да заснеме живия микроскопичен космос вътре в черепа, щяхме да видим как пипаловидните удължения на невроните се протягат наоколо си, опипват, блъскат се едни в други, търсят подходящи връзки, които да образуват или да откажат, като хора, които създават приятелства, бракове, съседства, политически партии, вендети и социални мрежи. Мозъкът е жива общност от трилиони преплитащи се клетки.
  “Много по-удивителен от учебникарска картинка, мозъкът е загадъчен тип изчислителен материал, жива триизмерна тъкан, която се размества, реагира и настройва, за да увеличи максимално ефективността си. Сложната конфигурация от връзки в мозъка – неговите схеми на свързване – е пълна с живот: връзките между невроните неспирно процъфтяват, умират и се преконфигурират. Вие сте различен човек от онзи, който сте били миналата година по същото време, защото грамадният килим на мозъка ви се е преизтъкал в нещо ново. Когато научавате нещо – мястото на първокласен ресторант, някаква клюка за шефа ви, името на онази натрапчива нова песен по радиото, мозъкът ви се променя физически. Същото става, когато преживявате финансов успех, обществено фиаско или емоционален разговор. Когато стреляте с топка към коша, спорите с колега, долитате в нов град, гледате носталгична снимка или чувате мелодичните тонове на любим глас, огромните преплетени джунгли на мозъка ви се изменят в нещо малко по-различно от онова, което са били преди миг. Сборът от тези промени съставлява спомените ни – резултата от живота и любовта ни.”
  Нашето “аз” е натрупвано в течение на минути, месеци, години, безброй мозъчни промени са довели до това, което днес наричаме “аз”. Вчера моето “аз” е било различно от днес. Утре ще е отново различно.
  Тази книга разкрива как нашият мозък неспирно преконфигурира собственото си свързване и какво означава това за живота и бъдещето ни. Историите, които илюстрират казаното са повече от интересни.
  Възможно ли е детето Матю да живее с половин мозък, ако хирургически се отстрани едното полукълбо? Защо на хората през 80-те години (и само през 80-те) им се е струвало, че страниците на книгите розовеят? Защо най-добрият стрелец с лък в света е без ръце? Защо сънуваме всяка нощ и каква връзка има това с въртенето на планетата? Какво общо има наркотичната абстиненция с любовта и разбитото сърце? Защо врагът на спомена не е времето, а другите спомени? Как може сляп човек да се научи да вижда с езика си или глух – да чува с кожата си?
  С две думи: за разлика от компютъра, за който можем да кажем, че има хардуер и софтуер, човешкият мозък е устроен по начин, за който Дейвид Игълман въвежда ново понятие: той е “livewired”(живо-свързан). Мозъкът ни се променя посоянно — той е адаптируема, жива, информационно-търсеща система. Изключителното на тази система е не в уникалността на частите й, а в начина, по който тези части си взаимодействат. Тя е динамична, жива електрическа вечнопроменяща се и самоконфигурираща се тъкан/мрежа.
  Мотото на книга е от Мартин Хайдегер: “Всеки човек се ражда като много хора и умира като само един.”
  Tази книга е изключително информативно и вълнуващо пътешествие в може би най-непознатата и необяснима територия - човешкия мозък.
  Препоръчвам горещо!
  Дейвид Игълман е американски невроучен, преподавател в Станфорд, бивш директор на невролаборатория в Тексас, сценарист и водещ на популярното телевизионно предаване "Мозъкът", писател -- който без да се взема много-много насеризоно се превърна в светило в своята област. Защото Игълман не просто об��снява, а вдъхновява.
  Закачам тук и един великолепен очерк за него в The New Yorker.
  
  http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...
  
  Превод: Елена Филипова
  Корица: Фиделия Косева
  
• 
  Korey

  David Eagleman once again takes the infinitely complex brain and explains it in language that a layperson can understand— and more importantly, enjoy. While I think the uninitiated should start with his older & more fundamental book, Incognito, this new book Livewired is just as fascinating. You’ll learn just how resilient and flexible our brains can be, and how technology is still nowhere close to being as powerful as them.
  
  Reading about the brain has given me more empathy and for that reason alone I think everyone should read more about the brain. 5 stars babee.
• 
  Maciej Gajewski

  Just wow. I had no idea that brain - something we take for granted because we do not even notice its work on a daily basis - can do such wonders. Somebody could easily insert most of the brain's accomplishments into a new sci-fi novel, and the majority of readers would assume that it's just a fiction, that we can't achieve this within our current bodies. But we can, and we do. Our whole life is based on those, seemingly magical skills. And this is how we operate every day.
  I was in a constant state of having my jaw on a floor, as this completely changed my way of perceiving what I have inside my head.
  
  Quality of this book is something which should be aimed for by every book trying to popularize science. It has a compelling, curiosity-based narrative and relies on a broad spectrum of neuroscience sub-domains. It also joins together studies both contemporary and of the past, with a unique perspective. I couldn't have recommended it more.
• 
  Dakota Morgan

  Livewired is a deep, occasionally repetitive examination of brain plasticity. The author reads the audiobook and you can tell that he's profoundly excited by all this science. Reading a text copy, I might have become bogged down in the neurons, synapses, and other brain ephemera.
  
  Livewired is framed as a series of fascinating sketches about "things the brain can do." The author seems most eager to point out ways that our current understanding of the brain could lead to wild, sci-fi futures. For example, the brain can successfully navigate a changing body and environment, so why can't our things do the same? Why can't our house adjust to our needs automatically? Same with our cars, our businesses, our cities. Ideas like these are radically out there, but also seem quite plausible in the author's capable hands.
  
  The author does a nice job of tying chapters together so that Livewired builds on previously explained concepts. That said, many of the chapters seem to focus on people who have lost limbs, vision, hearing, etc., and have overcome those losses in some way thanks to the brain's plasticity. After a few hours of these stories, you might be thinking "okay, I get it, the brain is adaptable." Fortunately, the author's fast-paced storytelling keeps you engaged even during repetitive chapters.
• 
  PhebeAnn

  4.5 stars rounded up
  
  This was such a fun read. Eagleman packs this book chock full with basic neuroscience knowledge - what we currently know about how the brain works, and we're only just scratching the surface - illustrated by rich, captivating examples. I wish he wrote science fiction! Loved his use of popular science fiction examples to illustrate (Aliens franchise, Star Trek, Terminator etc.), and his speculations about the future based on emerging neuroscience. These helped to keep me engage, and helped me absorb more than I usually do listening to a non-fiction book. Particularly loved thinking about how our brain re-wires itself to new body plans, and was telling my spouse about this as they just had eye surgery and were adapting to their "new eyes" :) Real life applicability!
  
  I enjoyed his reading of the audiobook, and would definitely read again.
• 
  Anish Malpani

  The most important book I've read this year. Eagleman never fails to amuse and then he makes it all scientific and reasonable which gives it that much more credibility. A game-changer.
• 
  Theodor Lundqvist

  Vår fascinerande hjärna och dess förmåga att anpassa sig till olika omständigheter. Särskilt beskriver David Eagleman hur hjärnan har förmågan att tolka komplicerade signaler från sensoriska organ och av dessa ta till vara på den i stunden relevanta informationen. Trots allt lever hjärnan i ett mörkt rum där den enda kopplingen med omvärlden består av elektrokemiska signaler.
  
  Överlag är boken väldigt lätt att hänga med i. Ljudboken läser Eagleman upp mycket entusiastiskt vilket gör det hela till en mycket trevlig och framförallt spännande lyssning.
  
  I boken används ofta ögat som exempel. Fotoner träffar celler i näthinnan som skickar en signal längs synnerven. Signalen består av spänningsspikar med olika styrkor och tidsintervall. Processen är lik analog överföring av data mellan datorer. Att hjärnan förstår denna signalen är imponerande, men det blir häftigare. Det visar sig nämligen att hjärnan är så pass bra på att tolka dessa signaler att till och med nya sinnen kan "kopplas in". Oavsett hur informationen är så att säga "formaterad" kan hjärnan lära sig att förstå den. Detta görs redan idag med tillexempel Cochleaimplantat som kopplas direkt till hörselnerven. Med hjälp av en mikrofon spelas ljud från omgivning in och omvandlas till en elektrisk signal som anpassas något för att sedan fortsätta längs hörselnerven till hjärnan. Den nya signalen beter sig inte likadant som den "riktiga" och upplevs till en början som brus för att sedan övergå mer och mer till en upplevelse som liknar den utan hörselskada. Riktig science fiction!
  
  Eagleman skildrar också flera mycket förvånande experiment. I ett av dem får en blind man bära en väst med vibrationsmotorer. Till västen kopplas en kamera. Varje pixel från kameran representeras av en motor i västen. Efter lite träning kan den blinde försökspersonen känna igen föremål och ansikten. Mannen lär sig inte att känna igen hur olika mönster av vibrationer representer olika föremål utan upplever det snarare som att sakerna finns där ute. Att han kunde ta på dem. Precis som en person utan synskada inte reflekterar över hur fotoner träffar näthinnan i olika mönster och antal utan istället upplever världen som "där ute". Det blir då uppenbart att världen utspelar sig inuti våra egna huvuden om än som en representation av den riktiga.
  
  Hjärnan klarar av att genomföra denna extraordinära anpassning på grund av dess plasticitet. Hjärnan är inte fast utan ändrar form efter behov. Några krav ställs dock på den nya informationskällan för att hjärnan ska lära sig att förstå den.
  1, Informationen måste vara viktig, den behöver inte vara relevant för något grundläggande behov men tillräckligt betydelsefull för att en förändring skall vara motiverad.
  
  2, Informationen måste tillföras på ett sätt som innebär att hjärnan kan testa olika hypoteser. Exempelvis skickar småbarns hjärnor ut slumpvis genererade signaler till musklerna som de sedan får direkt feedback från syn, känsel och balans. Det bildar en stängd loop där direkt återkoppling följs av fler försök som efterhand blir mer korrekta tills dess att en nära fullständig förståelse är uppnådd.
  
  3, Personen måste inte vara ung för att kunna lära sig ett nytt sinne. Dock underlättar det då hjärnan stagnerar efter hand som den bildar en bättre uppfattning av verkligheten utanför. Plasticiteten eller “formbarheten” minskar över tid, något som sker olika snabbt i olika delar av hjärnan beroende på hur konstant informationen är. Till exempel befästs och stagnerar syncentrum i hjärnan väldigt snabbt jämfört med de motoriska delarna som styr olika muskler vilket kan förklaras med att vi hela tiden kommer i kontakt med nya sätt att använda kroppen på. ex. olika sporter.
  
  David Eagleman är professor i neurovetenskap vid Stanford och har grundat företaget NeoSensory som tillverkar armband med vibrationsmotorer vilka kan ge döva förmågan att höra.
  
  Definitivt värd läsningen. Jag rekommenderar ljudboken.
  
  Länk till TED talk av David Eagleman inom samma område
  länk
• 
  Anne

  I’ve enjoyed following David’s projects over the last decade, and as expected, this book did not disappoint. David makes neuroscience not only digestible, but enthralling. He a technical leader in his scientific discipline and a masterful scientific communicator.
• 
  Mostafa

  مغز پویا یک اثر به روز در باب نوروساینس است که مغز کلامش درباره ی ‌خاصیت "نوروپلاستیسیته" مغز است. ژنتیک تنها بخش تشکیل دهنده ی مغز نیست و این سیستم پویا توسط محیط شکل می‌گیرد و شگفتی آن در این است که به سان باکتری که در پی استفاده از گلوکز است، در پی کسب بیشترین اطلاعات از محیط خود است(اینفوتروپیسم). مغز انسان توانایی تطبیق خارق العاده ای با محیط خود دارد و زیبایی آن در همین امر است که طبیعت به جای تطابق از طریق ژن ها با محیط در پی نسل ها، سیستمی هوشمند به وجود آورده که خود راهش را در پی تطابق با محیط پیدا کند. ورودی حسی به مغز بدهید، مهم نیست این ورودی نور باشد یا امواج الکترومغناطیس یا چیز دیگر، مغز خود راه تفسیر آن را خواهد یافت. به بدن اندامی فراتر از چیزی که دارد بدهید، دست اضافه یا اندامی جدید یا هر چیز دیگر، مغز توانایی استفاده از آن را خواهد آموخت.
  سراسر کتاب در این مورد سخن گفته و با مثال ها و جدیدترین پژوهش ها در این زمینه مطلب را با جذابیتی مثال زدنی توضیح می دهد.
• 
  Josh Maulucci

  Eagleman does it again! This book was such a rewarding experience. The pacing was great, and he didn't get bogged down in the technical details that sometimes make this particular subject matter unapproachable to many. Not only did it have a thorough consolidation of many recent discoveries in neuroscience, but I was pleasantly surprised with a few new hypotheses to which I hadn't yet been exposed.
  I was very excited when this was released, and it definitely did not disappoint.
• 
  Dylan Miller

  Even though I'm a self professed neuroscience nerd, I definitely believe this book could be enjoyed by those who dont have a scientific background or understanding. The language seems to flow smoothly, allowing for better immersion in the learning.
• 
  Jerre Mcquinn

  A fantastic new book written, as the author says, in plain English rather than professional argot. There is a lot to think about, and good to read about up-to-the-minute neuroscience.
• 
  Aleksandar Tasev

  Some organisms can thrive in vastly different environments. This book explains how this is possible.
  
  Instead of being programmed, or hardwired, to do countless tasks, brains are livewired to take advantage of whatever is available. They learn how to work with peripheral input (sensory) and output (motor) devices by using them and getting feedback. The shape of the devices is irrelevant: what matters are the data. It is possible to see and hear through touch, to see through sound, and so on. As a consequence, a new type of sensor can yield a new type of feeling (qualia).
  
  In a way, brains are general-purpose prediction machines constantly creating and updating models of the world. When their predictions are accurate, the data might not be represented in order to save energy. For example, we usually do not notice the weight of our shoes even though our brains get data about it. When something unexpected happens, however, the data are represented. This is why we notice pebbles in our shoes.
  
  To predict away as many things as possible, brains need information. Therefore, they have developed infotropism—they use their peripheral devices to go where the information is. If one or more of these devices is damaged, brains rewire and keep going. We do not die when we lose an arm; we learn to live without it. Conversely, if a new device is introduced, e.g., a third arm while wearing virtual reality goggles, brains quickly learn how to use it.
  
  We are only beginning to understand how all this works. David Eagleman imagines an exciting future where we can build livewired machines and buildings, effectively substitute and enhance our senses, and even create new senses for our species. While this sounds like science fiction, he might not be far from the truth. The question is how long it will take us to get there.
• 
  John Kaufmann

  Excellent book about the plasticity of the brain -- about how every experience we have changes the brain, and about how the brain maximizes it resources to interpret the data coming in from our senses. Deals also with the problem of memory (storage of all the data), among other issues.
  
  Eagleman is a neuroscientists who is doing research in the field, but he is great at explaining things in common terms we can all understand. I have read a few of his other books and have liked them all. While there is considerable similarity, each one seems to go further than the previous books.
• 
  Owlseyes

  "We suggest that dream sleep exists, at least in part, to prevent the other senses from taking over the brain’s visual cortex when it goes unused. Dreams are the counterbalance against too much flexibility."
  
  In:
  https://time.com/5925206/why-do-we-dr...
• 
  Fern Adams

  A fascinating read!
  
  *Full review to be written later*
• 
  کافه ادبیات

  کاری که برای انجامش وقت می‌گذارید مغزتان را تغییر میدهد.
  
  "خلاصه خوانی"
  ۲۰ مهرماه ۱۴۰۱
• 
  Cyrin

  The irony of my mind going blank trying to write a review about this book. And I mean that in the best way possible.
• 
  Manon

  Now every time I think about thinking, I think about what a wonderful creature we humans are, and how Mother Nature has wholeheartedly gifted us such an amazing thing as our brain. This compelling demonstration of what our brain is capable of is a must-read!
• 
  Luke Stephens

  Reading David's words is always a delight. Well articulated and accessible transfer of knowledge
  
  Would highly recommend all his works no matter the medium as they give us a glimpse into how our minds work. There's no manual for life but out of a collection of books I'd want David's in the repertoire if there were such a tomb.