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The Accidental Mind
- How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
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Publisher's summary
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 and wonderfully accessible, the neuroscientist David Linden counters the widespread assumption that the brain is a paragon of design - and in its place gives us a compelling explanation of how the brain's serendipitous evolution has resulted in nothing short of our humanity.
A guide to the strange and often illogical world of neural function, The Accidental Mind shows how the brain is not an optimized, general-purpose problem-solving machine, but rather a weird agglomeration of ad-hoc solutions that have been piled on through millions of years of evolutionary history.
Moreover, Linden tells us how the constraints of evolved brain design have ultimately led to almost every transcendent human foible: our long childhoods, our extensive memory capacity, our search for love and long-term relationships, our need to create compelling narrative, and, ultimately, the universal cultural impulse to create both religious and scientific explanations. With forays into evolutionary biology, this analysis of mental function answers some of our most common questions about how we've come to be who we are. The book is published by Harvard University Press.
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Dear Publishers . . .
- By Bekah on 04-06-17
By: John Medina
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Permanent Present Tense
- The Unforgettable Life of the Amnesic Patient, H.M.
- By: Suzanne Corkin
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Permanent Present Tense tells the incredible story of Henry Gustav Molaison, known only as H. M. until his death in 2008. In 1953, at the age of 27, Molaison underwent a dangerous "psychosurgical" procedure intended to alleviate his debilitating epilepsy. The surgery went horribly wrong, and when Molaison awoke he was unable to store new experiences. For the rest of his life, he would be trapped in the moment. But Molaison’s tragedy would prove a gift to humanity.
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Read Luke Dittrich's "Patient H.M." first...
- By Douglas on 11-07-16
By: Suzanne Corkin
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Your Brain Is a Time Machine
- The Neuroscience and Physics of Time
- By: Dean Buonomano
- Narrated by: Aaron Abano
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In Your Brain Is a Time Machine, brain researcher and best-selling author Dean Buonomano draws on evolutionary biology, physics, and philosophy to present his influential theory of how we tell and perceive time. The human brain, he argues, is a complex system that not only tells time but creates it; it constructs our sense of chronological flow and enables "mental time travel" - simulations of future and past events.
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Great book on an underrated subject
- By Neuron on 05-09-17
By: Dean Buonomano
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Your Brain, Explained
- What Neuroscience Reveals About Your Brain and its Quirks
- By: Marc Dingman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Sleep. Memory. Pleasure. Fear. Language. We experience these things every day, but how do our brains create them? Your Brain, Explained is a personal tour around your gray matter. Neuroscientist Marc Dingman gives you a crash course in how your brain works and explains the latest research on the brain functions that affect you on a daily basis. You'll also discover what happens when the brain doesn't work the way it should, causing problems such as insomnia, ADHD, depression, or addiction.
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Loved it!!
- By Amazon Customer on 05-04-22
By: Marc Dingman
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Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why
- The Science of Sexual Orientation
- By: Simon LeVay
- Narrated by: Topher Payne
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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What causes a child to grow up gay or straight? In this book, neuroscientist Simon LeVay summarizes a wealth of scientific evidence that points to one inescapable conclusion: Sexual orientation results primarily from an interaction between genes, sex hormones, and the cells of the developing body and brain. LeVay helped create this field in 1991 with a much-publicized study in Science, where he reported on a difference in the brain structure between gay and straight men. Since then, an entire scientific discipline has sprung up around the quest for a biological explanation of sexual orientation. In this book, LeVay provides a clear explanation of where the science stands today, taking the reader on a whirlwind tour of laboratories that specialize in genetics, endocrinology, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, and family demographics. He describes, for instance, how researchers have manipulated the sex hormone levels of animals during development, causing them to mate preferentially with animals of their own gender. LeVay also reports on the prevalence of homosexual behavior among wild animals, ranging from Graylag geese to the Bonobo chimpanzee.
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Excellent litterature review on the topic
- By Matt H. on 06-28-17
By: Simon LeVay
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The Age of Insight
- The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present
- By: Eric R. Kandel
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A brilliant book by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, The Age of Insight takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind - our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions - and how mind and brain relate to art.
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Worth the listen
- By Amazon Customer on 01-28-19
By: Eric R. Kandel
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Autopilot
- The Art & Science of Doing Nothing
- By: Andrew Smart
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Andrew Smart wants you to sit and do nothing much more often - and he has the science to explain why. At every turn we’re pushed to do more, faster, and more efficiently: That drumbeat resounds throughout our wage-slave society. Multitasking is not only a virtue, it’s a necessity. But Andrew Smart argues that slackers may have the last laugh. The latest neuroscience shows that the “culture of effectiveness” is not only ineffective, it can be harmful to your well-being.
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Not worth it.
- By B Lee on 04-30-14
By: Andrew Smart
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Brain Rules for Aging Well
- 10 Principles for Staying Vital, Happy, and Sharp
- By: John Medina
- Narrated by: John Medina
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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How come I can never find my keys? Why don't I sleep as well as I used to? Why do my friends keep repeating the same stories? What can I do to keep my brain sharp? Scientists know. Brain Rules for Aging Well, by developmental molecular biologist Dr. John Medina, gives you the facts - and the prescription to age well - in his signature engaging style. With so many discoveries over the years, science is literally changing our minds about the optimal care and feeding of the brain. All of it is captivating. A great deal of it is unexpected.
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Scientific and practical
- By symya08 on 04-29-18
By: John Medina
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Life Unfolding
- How the Human Body Creates Itself
- By: Jamie A. Davies
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Where did I come from? Why do I have two arms but just one head? How is my left leg the same size as my right one? Why are the fingerprints of identical twins not identical? How did my brain learn to learn? Why must I die? Questions like these remain biology's deepest and most ancient challenges. They force us to confront a fundamental biological problem: How can something as large and complex as a human body organize itself from the simplicity of a fertilized egg?
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Fascinating Biology ; Distracting Narration
- By Tim on 03-01-15
By: Jamie A. Davies
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Mind Wide Open
- Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life
- By: Steven Johnson
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Brilliantly exploring today's cutting edge brain research, Mind Wide Open allows readers to understand themselves and the people in their lives as never before. Using a mix of experiential reportage, personal storytelling, and fresh scientific discovery, Steven Johnson describes how the brain works and how its systems connect to the day-to-day realities of individual lives.
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A totally new perspective on life
- By Jonathan on 09-16-04
By: Steven Johnson
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When Brains Dream
- Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep
- By: Antonio Zadra, Robert Stickgold
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Written by two world-renowned sleep and dream researchers, When Brains Dream debunks common myths while acknowledging the mysteries that persist around both the science and experience of dreaming.
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Should be "next-up" on your reading list!
- By Paul Coca on 02-21-22
By: Antonio Zadra, and others
What listeners say about The Accidental Mind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- henryj
- 03-26-12
Good facts and background,
Would you listen to The Accidental Mind again? Why?
yes
Who was your favorite character and why?
n/'a
Have you listened to any of Ray Porter???s other performances before? How does this one compare?
no
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
n/a
Any additional comments?
a few too many details of the biochemistgry in several places for an audiobook, but overall very informative, lots of good examples and applications. Most technically oriented people will enjoy.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Catherine
- 12-04-12
Challenging Listen
Fascinating book (to me, I know all those different receptors aren't for everyone) but quite challenging to follow if you do stuff that requires much thought while you listen. Reader is excellent in his ability to make sense of the sometimes dense prose, although he does make a few pronunciation errors.
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- Michael
- 06-30-13
Excellent Overview of the Brain
Any additional comments?
The Accidental Mind provides an excellent overview of the development and processes of the human brain. It is long enough to have covered a broad spectrum of topics and to have gone reasonably in-depth, but still concise enough that it held my interest throughout. The narrator, Ray Porter, did an outstanding job. He was animated, did an excellent job of channeling the author's intent, and wasn't an enunciating drone as so many non-fiction narrators are. I'm actually interested in seeing what other audiobooks this narrator has read - a first for me.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Francisco
- 02-14-11
Best general-public Brain Science book to date
I have been a professional neuroscientist for the last 20 years. When asked for a book on this field aimed for the general public, however, I always found it very difficult to recommend one. Is not that there are few published books on the topic; but they tend to be too superficial, prone to groundless speculation, or both. Here you have a book that is well written, entertaining and superb at explaining the core ideas and principles of modern Neuroscience for the layman. Although brain science is not a simple subject, Dr. Linden does a superb job at making it understandable and interesting. Highly recommended.
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57 people found this helpful
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- Kenneth
- 08-11-11
tough to follow at times
a little dry, the narrator is actually fantastic, I'm used to hearing Porter in the Joe Ledger novels so i was always expecting him to start talking about the inner workings of the brain, and then have a zombie eat it.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Janypoo
- 03-14-11
Good listen but strong scientific bent
Although this has a strong scientifc bent, I enjoyed the entire book; but like the two previous posters, I have a science background. The material is extremely interesting, but some may find it less than enthralling with all the scientific explanations. Having said that, how could any writing about the function of the human brain not have a strong scientific bent...
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4 people found this helpful
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- Richard
- 03-07-11
Does Not Make Its Case but Highly educational
While some of the explanations of brain physiology seemed a bit more complex than necessary to build a foundation for later chapters, the book was still quite fascinating. No one should be fooled into thinking that this is light reading/listening though. The author gives about as deep of a treatment of the neuroscience behind subjects such as why we dream, how we form memories and why we fall in love as a college educated lay person can handle. On the other hand, the author's insistence that the brain is an inefficient kludge was not supported at any reasonable scientific level. For example, the comparisons of the speed of neuro-transmission to the speed of electrons over copper wire, and the focus on agglomeration of newer and ancient brain structures that have some overlap do not make the case for inefficiency. Nevertheless, this is not the focus of the book. Well worth the credit for anyone interested in understanding the science.
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20 people found this helpful
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- Donald E. Campbell
- 01-05-14
Interesting but deep at times
Would you listen to The Accidental Mind again? Why?
I would have to listen again -- with pen and paper in hand to be able to start to understand some of the science that he explains.
Any additional comments?
This book is heavy lifting at first if you do not have a background in the science of the brain. The first couple of chapters give an overview of the biology of the brain -- which necessarily requires a lot of unfamiliar terms and concepts. He doesn't go into such detail, however, that the uninitiated feels like it is not worth going on. There's a lot of interesting stuff there, even though I would have to listen several times and take notes to keep up with it all.
But in the later chapters, when the author goes through a discussion of what is going on with memory, dreams, and sleep, the pace picks up (and it becomes clear why the scientific explanation was necessary in the first place). There is also a discussion of religion which is two-fold. First is a discussion of the neurological need to develop a religion -- which exists in cultures throughout the world. I was particularly interested in this aspect when I selected the book, and I thought this part of the book was the least developed which was a little disappointing. The second religious discussion was a response (repudiation?) to the idea of intelligent design. I thought the author did a good job of setting out the arguments made by intelligent design folks (some of which were new to me) and then responding to them. Interesting stuff.
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Overall
- Lynn
- 03-31-11
Insights into the Brain
David Linden in “The Accidental Mind” relates how the human brain has evolved and describes how it biologically works. Along the way he links the chemical, electric, psychological and behavioral apparatus as we experience it on a daily basis. Linden uses an engaging style which keeps the reader’s attention. This is also an approachable introduction to neuroscience as it is currently understood. The novice with little or no background will not find segments of the book difficult, but will need to pay attention to follow the descriptions and explanations provided. Otherwise, the book is readily approachable by the person with a general interest. The text is aptly read by Ray Price.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Joel
- 03-26-12
Good facts and background,
Would you listen to The Accidental Mind again? Why?
yes
Who was your favorite character and why?
n/'a
Have you listened to any of Ray Porter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
no
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
n/a
Any additional comments?
a few too many details of the biochemistgry in several places for an audiobook, but overall very informative, lots of good examples and applications. Most technically oriented people will enjoy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!