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Connetoma. La Nuova Geografia Della Mente (2012)

by Sebastian Seung(Favorite Author)

3.77 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

887578423X (ISBN13: 9788875784232)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Codice Edizioni

review 1: This is a very well-written book about a topic which, alas, I discovered just doesn't do very much for me. That said, if you're interested in a layman's description of how the brain works from the perspective of a neuroscientist rather than a psychologist, this is a great book.Seung's thesis is that the brain is all about how it's wired, how it's connected. Two twins may have identical genomes, but differ from one another in skills and personality and other attributes because their differing environments and experiences and memories have caused their brains to be differently wired. "Wiring" in this case refers to the patterns of axons and dendrites and synaptic connections that enable neurons to signal each other and collectively create the mind. The reason why Seung think... mores that connectomics -- the science of the connectome -- is so interesting is because of its potential to change how we behave. Many things can go wrong with the brain: developmental disorders, strokes, traumatic injuries, psychosis, brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimers, and so forth. In order to cure or alleviate these, he believes that we must understand how the brain is wired. Then, we can look at how to change it, through the basic processes of reconnecting, reweighting, regenerating.Unfortunately, the complexity of the brain's structure and processes are mind-boggling in their complexity. As a result, the science of the connectome is still in its infancy. We can't even see the connectome yet, let alone tinker with it in a predictable, effective way. Our interventions are still at a very gross level: with drugs, surgery, electro-stimulation, and the like.So, while I admire the scientific brilliance of people like Seung, and appreciate his extremely lucid and readable prose, I think I'll check back in with this field in another 10 or 20 years when some more serious progress has been made. In the meantime, I'll stick to reading books about the brain from the perspective of psychologists, which I find considerably more accessible and of more immediate usefulness.
review 2: Started great -- like one of the best science books for a general audience I'd ever read. Then it got tedious and even annoying, as when the author urged me to memorize a set of terms (frontal, temporal, occipital...) because he'd be using them a lot. Then he hardly did. I think the author forgot his audience, got a little sloppy, and maybe thinks just a bit too highly of his idea. Which I think is brilliant, by the way. I just didn't need the last 89% or so of this book. less

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