Mind Wide Open - by Steven Johnson (Paperback)

About the Book

Readers shy about slapping electrodes on their own temples can get a vicarious scientific thrill as the author tries out empathy tests, neurofeedback, and MRI scans. The results paint a distinct picture of the author and uncover general brain secrets at the same time.

Book Synopsis

In this nationally bestselling, compulsively readable account of what makes brain science a vital component of people's quest to know themselves, acclaimed science writer Steven Johnson subjects his own brain to a battery of tests to find out what's really going on inside. He asks:

• How do we "read" other people?
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• What is the neurochemistry behind love and sex?
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• What does it mean that the brain is teeming with powerful chemicals closely related to recreational drugs?
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• Why does music move us to tears?
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• Where do breakthrough ideas come from?

Johnson answers these and many more questions arising from the events of our everyday lives. You do not have to be a neuroscientist to wonder, for example, why do you smile? And why do you sometimes smile inappropriately, even if you don't want to? How do others read your inappropriate smile? How does such interplay occur neurochemically, and what, if anything, can you do about it?
Fascinating and rewarding, Mind Wide Open speaks to brain buffs, self-obsessed neurotics, barstool psychologists, mystified parents, grumpy spouses, exasperated managers, and anyone who enjoys speculating and gossiping about the motivations and behaviors of other human beings. Steven Johnson shows us the transformative power of understanding brain science and offers new modes of introspection and tools for better parenting, better relationships, and better living.

Review Quotes

"Mind Wide Open is a lucid and engaging travelogue from the frontiers of human brain science."
-- Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate and How the Mind Works

"Celebrates the brain's complexity and wonder even as it demonstrates that you can get to know your mind better than you ever thought."
-- Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Steven Johnson is the bestselling author of Interface Culture, Emergence, and Everything Bad Is Good for You as well as a columnist for Discover and a contributing editor at Wired. He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons, and can be reached via the Web at www.stevenberlinjohnson.com