The Brain - Story of Us

 A while ago, I read a collection by David Eagleman titled Sum, which I quite enjoyed. Therefore, I was looking forward to reading The Brain – The Story of Us.

The script is very well organized and serves as a great introductory précis of the most complicated, yet majestically efficient and wondrous thing that we all possess. As they say, we are but a sum of our experiences. This insight into the brain delves into the idea of what an experience is. It is quite a feat for us to use the brain to try to decipher its intricacies, and we are just at the beginning of this journey.

Starting with ‘who am I’, David brings into view ‘what is reality’ and follows through to ‘who is in control’. The crescendo of the three sections culminates in ‘how do I decide’ and ‘do I need you’.

To me, this book is a well-lensed introduction. However, the last section, ‘who will we be’, although it starts with the progress we have made to compensate for losses, such as hearing, sight, limbs, etc., it sours in the end with cryogenics and similar topics. For me, a life that ends, a life that has limitations which we try our best to overcome, is what makes us human. The push further into transhumanism and cryogenics is too far from what I would consider human.

For anyone looking for an introduction to the brain, this would be a decent start.

For what it's worth.

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