Introduction
I selected this book, "The Tell-Tale Brain", as part of an assignment for my college-level neuroscience class. In particular, the professor had referenced the author, V.S. Ramachandran several times in class, and after finding this book on Amazon, my interest was piqued. I read the book over a period of several weeks, and I have selected three chapters to critique that I thought were particularly interesting. Given the scope and ambition that went into this book, giving a brief glimpse into Ramachandran's quest would spark the interest of other readers, just as mine was.
Structure and Style
V.S. Ramachandran, a pre-eminent scholar in the field of neuroscience, has written books on the subject matter previously. However, this is my first read of any material from the author, in addition to any such book related to neuroscience. From my class, I have a very basic understanding of neuroscience, the anatomy of the brain, and the workings of the various parts of the brain. That being said, "The Tell-Tale Brain" was an interesting, varied, and compelling read. Ramachandran, being at the forefront of neuroscience himself, presents cutting edge research and modern medical mysteries as the cornerstone of contemporary neuroscience. Although Ramachandran focuses on a select few topics, he explores them not only from the perspective of a neuroscientist, but also that from a medical doctor, evolutionist, artist, and humanist. His entire philosophy in neuroscience emanates from a desire to help patients, and that could not be clearer. The book is full of case studies from patients that Ramachandran himself observed or treated, and through their misfortunes, he makes poignant observations that slowly give the reader a little more information to understanding the secrets of the human brain. The examples of afflicted people grabbed my attention, but Ramachandran's complete analysis from every possible perspective made for a thought provoking and fascinating experience.
Ramachandran's style is easily one of my favorite parts of this book. His voice is neither overly scientific, nor is it absolutely informal. Rather, I feel that he is trying to have a conversation with the reader. Although Ramachandran never completely throws the ball into the reader's court, he always makes sure to engage the reader through every step of explaining his thoughts and theories. Each chapter focuses on a topic in contemporary neuroscience, including hot topics such as phantom limbs (which Ramachandran is arguably most famous for), synesthesia, language, consciousness, and several others. Within each chapter, Ramachandran typically opens with a case study of patients he has observed or experimented on displaying a peculiar phenomenon that gave him insight into the workings of the brain. He then analyzes these case studies and forms a theory based in empirical neuroscience. He usually connects and places his theory into the contexts of neuronal physiology, psychology, and evolutionary theory. In the later chapters of the book, Ramachandran references earlier ideas and theories addressed, particularly those from Chapter 2, which focused on vision. For the most part, however, each chapter is standalone in terms of concepts and analyses presented.
Opinions on Specific Parts
For the sake of brevity, I will only review two chapters that were particularly fascinating to me. Chapter 2, titled "Seeing and Knowing" appropriately begins with a Sherlock Holmes quote, "You see but you do not observe." Ramachandran makes the distinction between what the eyes see and what the brain sees. He also points out that the human visual system is unique among animals, in that humans have much more complex visual perception and imagination. Ramachandran underscores the difference between image and perception through his analysis of several visual illusions. One of the reasons why this chapter is a cornerstone of the book is Ramachandran's active involvement of the reader. Throughout this chapter, he asks the reader to engage in the illusions, understand the basis behind them, conduct their own experiments, and develop theories behind them. Ramachandran's humor about the complexity of the visual system emerges when he quips, "The `black box' has been opened, and it out to contain... a whole labyrinth of smaller black boxes! Oh well, no deity promised us it would be easy to figure ourselves out." Finally, he ties everything back to a case study of a patient introduced at the beginning of the chapter, and connects his theories talked about in the chapter to a real-world connection. Ramachandran's theories are sharp, based in evidence, and paint a real picture about the intricacies of the brain. For me personally, this chapter was fascinating because I noticed that what I had learned in class regarding the visual system was actually synthesized by Ramachandran in his theories. This goes to show that even the most humble student of neuroscience can stand to gain so much insight and thoughts from this book.
The other chapter which appealed to me was Chapter 7, titled "Beauty and the Brain: The Emergence of Aesthetics." This chapter is unique because instead of presenting case studies involving patients, Ramachandran chooses to focus on something else entirely: his own past experiences which culminated into a self-admitted affair with aesthetics. In addition, Ramachandran shows himself to be a diverse scientist, because he can not only develop neuroscience theories based on medical observations, but also from cultural phenomenon as well. In this chapter and the subsequent chapter, Ramachandran delves into investigating a biological and neurological basis of aesthetics, in contrast to what he clearly identifies as the psychological approach to aesthetics. As part of his theory, Ramachandran introduces his nine laws of aesthetics, which he takes great care in describing and explaining from a neuroscience and evolutionary perspective. However, he places his theory into the context of other disciplines, since aesthetics is paramount to the humanities and art. When illustrating the connection between science and humanities, Ramachandran notes, "Nor should the diamond you are about to give your lover lose its radiance or romance if you tell her that it is made of carbon and was forged in the bowels of the Earth when the solar system was born. In fact, the diamond's appeal should be enhanced!" Observations such as this lends credence to the overall theme of the book of Ramachandran's quest to what makes us human, and that seeking to explain why humans are the way they are should not diminish or weaken the miracles of life itself.
Summary and Overall Recommendation
Overall, I thought that this book was excellent. It gave me an opportunity to critically think about the topics that I had learned in my neuroscience class and how they are applied in the real world. This book gave me a much greater appreciation for the field of neuroscience and what it is accomplishing on a daily basis. However, Ramachandran makes it clear that this is a quest, and that it is not over yet. Although I already had a healthy interest in neuroscience, this book made me recognize the boundaries that exist, and the ones that need to be pushed. For anyone even remotely interested in neuroscience, this book offers a comprehensive coverage of cutting edge ideas and theories. Even without an in-depth knowledge of science, the styling and content of the book make it accessible to anyone. I would absolutely recommend this book, and I look forward to seeing Ramachandran's next works.
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