An Alchemy of Mind
The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain
Published on 30. October 2012
320 pages
978-1-4391-2508-3 (ISBN)
Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Zookeeper's Wife, an ambitious and enlightening work that combines an artist's eye with a scientist's erudition to illuminate, as never before, the magic and mysteries of the human mind.
Long treasured by literary readers for her uncommon ability to bridge the gap between art and science, celebrated scholar-artist Diane Ackerman returns with the book she was born to write. Her dazzling new work, An Alchemy of Mind, offers an unprecedented exploration and celebration of the mental fantasia in which we spend our days?and does for the human mind what the bestselling A Natural History of the Senses did for the physical senses.
Bringing a valuable female perspective to the topic, Diane Ackerman discusses the science of the brain as only she can: with gorgeous, immediate language and imagery that paint an unusually lucid and vibrant picture for the reader. And in addition to explaining memory, thought, emotion, dreams, and language acquisition, she reports on the latest discoveries in neuroscience and addresses controversial subjects like the effects of trauma and male versus female brains. In prose that is not simply accessible but also beautiful and electric, Ackerman distills the hard, objective truths of science in order to yield vivid, heavily anecdotal explanations about a range of existential questions regarding consciousness, human thought, memory, and the nature of identity.
Long treasured by literary readers for her uncommon ability to bridge the gap between art and science, celebrated scholar-artist Diane Ackerman returns with the book she was born to write. Her dazzling new work, An Alchemy of Mind, offers an unprecedented exploration and celebration of the mental fantasia in which we spend our days?and does for the human mind what the bestselling A Natural History of the Senses did for the physical senses.
Bringing a valuable female perspective to the topic, Diane Ackerman discusses the science of the brain as only she can: with gorgeous, immediate language and imagery that paint an unusually lucid and vibrant picture for the reader. And in addition to explaining memory, thought, emotion, dreams, and language acquisition, she reports on the latest discoveries in neuroscience and addresses controversial subjects like the effects of trauma and male versus female brains. In prose that is not simply accessible but also beautiful and electric, Ackerman distills the hard, objective truths of science in order to yield vivid, heavily anecdotal explanations about a range of existential questions regarding consciousness, human thought, memory, and the nature of identity.
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10/2005
Simon & Schuster
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Person
Diane Ackerman is a naturalist and poet and the author of ten books of literary nonfiction, including A Natural History of the Senses, A Natural History of Love, and Cultivating Delight. Also the author of six volumes of poetry and several nonfiction children's books, she contributes to The New York Times, Discover, National Geographic, Parade, and many other publications. Ackerman lives in Ithaca, New York.
Content
Contents
Miracle Waters
(Evolution)
Chapter 1. The Enchanted Loom
Imagining the brain.
Chapter 2. This Island Earth
Evolution; the world's tiniest reptile; our brain and other animals'.
Chapter 3. Why We Ask "Why?"
What happens in the right brain vs. the left brain; why we're driven to tell stories.
Chapter 4. The Fibs of Being
Consciousness; some definitions and theories.
Chapter 5. Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines
The unconscious; how it collaborates with the conscious mind.
Sweet Dreams of Reason
(The Physical Brain)
Chapter 6. The Shape of Thought
Neurons, dendrites, axons; how all the parts speak to each other.
Chapter 7. Inner Space
Synapses, the plasticity of the brain; how we influence brain development; medication and the brain.
Chapter 8. Attention Please
How we unconsciously choose what to pay attention to; multitasking; absentmindedness.
Chapter 9. A Passion for Patterns
How our brain quests for meaning in what it senses.
Chapter 10. In the Church of the Pines
The spiritual brain.
Chapter 11. Einstein's Brain
What happened to it? Was it different?
Chapter 12. The Mind's Eye
The brain's ability to imagine/see things that aren't in view at the time.
Pavilions of Desire
(Memory)
Chapter 13. What Is a Memory?
The importance of memory to who we are; how memories are formed; how they're influenced.
Chapter 14. Reflections in a Gazing Ball
How memories are recalled; association of pain and
memory; unconscious memory.
Chapter 15. Remember What?
What happens when we learn; words on the tip of the tongue; Alzheimer's and the aging brain; IQ; short-term vs. long-term memory; how memories affect the present.
Chapter 16. Remember, I Dream
The role of dreams in memory.
Chapter 17. "Hello," He Lied
True and false memories; subliminally influencing thought and memory.
Chapter 18. Traumatic Memories
How they're stored and recalled; connections between emotions and memory.
Chapter 19. Smell, Memory, and the Erotic
Proust; perfume; love.
Never a Dull Torment
(The Self, and Other Fictions)
Chapter 20. Introducing the Self
How we think of ourself; the multiple facets of a self.
Chapter 21. The Other Self
Body and mind; immune system and brain; brain damage and loss of self.
Chapter 22. Personality
Nature vs. nurture; genetics and experience; development as babies.
Chapter 23. "Shall It Be Male or Female? Say the Cells"
Male and female brains; if they work differently; how they're shaped; how traits get passed on.
Chapter 24. Creating Minds
Artistic minds, mathematical minds -- inherited, cultivated; how they differ; synesthesia.
The World Is Breaking Someone Else's Heart
(Emotions)
Chapter 25. The Emotional Climate
Anger, stress, adrenaline, how they affect and are relieved by the brain; our brain isn't made for the modern world; fear, painful thoughts.
Chapter 26. The Pursuit of Happiness
Happiness as hereditary and achieved; the difference in the brain between natural and forced laughter; optimistic and pessimistic brains.
The Color of Saying
(Language)
Chapter 27. Memory's Accomplice
Language acquisition, use, and nonverbal thinking.
Chapter 28. Metaphors Be with You
How words organize experience.
Chapter 29. The Color of Saying
The origin of words; how we reveal ourselves through words; the brain finding relations among things.
Chapter 30. Shakespeare on the Brain
How Shakespeare's brain was different.
The Wilderness Within
(The World We Share)
Chapter 31. Oasis
Evolution of life; how our brain came to be.
Chapter 32. Conscience and Consciousness
Are we the only conscious animals? Some theories about consciousness.
Chapter 33. A Kingdom of Neighbors
Animal minds.
Chapter 34. The Beautiful Captive
Imaging the brain; brain research; celebration of the uniquely human brain.
Alchemical Symbols
Notes, Addenda, and Afterthoughts
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
