The World's Best Book Summaries
Can neuroplasticity heal brain damage? To what extent, can the brain naturally recover lost functions? According to psychoanalyst Norman Doidge, neuroplasticity means we can change our brains to suit our needs. This has resulted in huge developments in neuroscience that have helped many people recover motor, sensory, and cognitive functions they had lost. Let’s look at some instances of neuroplasticity’s healing power.
How reliable are citizen journalists? What kind of person can you go to for expert advice on the validity of an information source? Neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin believes that you can do your overwhelmed brain a favor by not trying to hold everything in your head. That means that you must rely on external sources of information. But, you want to do all you can to make sure the information is valid. Read more for Levitin’s advice on how to evaluate information and its sources.
What is selective attention? What would it be like if you didn’t have it? You’re walking down a city street. A pigeon flutters just ahead of your step. A taxi cab honks. A hot burst of air shoots up from a vent in the sidewalk. Someone calls your name. Thankfully, your brain has a tool to sort through all these stimuli and tell you where to focus your attention. Keep reading to understand selective attention and how it works for you.
What causes ice ages? How much of the Earth has been covered by ice? Are we in an ice age now? The geological history of the Earth indicates that ice covers much of the planet at times and, at other times, it doesn’t. Author Bill Bryson looks into the ice age cycle to understand what scientists know and how. Keep reading for a brief overview of the ice age cycle.
What is Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself about? What is the key message to take away from the book? In The Brain That Changes Itself, Norman Doidge explains that the brain is plastic, meaning it can change its own structure and connections in response to stimuli. This contrasts with the long-held belief that the brain is hardwired from an early age. Below is a brief overview of Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph From the Frontiers of Brain Science.
What can you do with ChatGPT? What are the best ways to use it? What are ChatGPT’s limitations? ChatGPT, a new language generation tool, was an instant hit upon its release in November last year. While the bot is uncannily good at holding conversations, producing written texts, and coding, it also generates many outputs that are biased or factually incorrect. Keep reading to find out what you can do with ChatGPT, plus its limitations.
How old is the Earth? What’s below the Earth’s surface? What’s plate tectonics? In A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson provides an accessible overview of the natural sciences. In his discussion of geology, he explains the age of the Earth, the Earth’s interior structure, plate tectonics, and ice ages. Keep reading for a brief introduction to these geology basics from Bryson.
What is brain mapping? Who developed the first brain map? Early brain maps were developed based on localizationism—the paradigm that postulated that every function has a specific location in the brain. Although it’s not quite how it works, brain maps became very useful in the study of the brain. Keep reading to learn about the advent and evolution of human brain mapping.
What is the origin of life on Earth? What can lab experiments tell us about it? The origin of life is one of the great mysteries of science. Scientists can synthesize amino acids, but not with chemicals available on the early Earth. Furthermore, no one knows how amino acids formed proteins; random chance can’t account for it. Continue reading to learn more about origin-of-life research and its findings.
What is learned nonuse in psychology? What are some ways learned nonuse can be corrected? Learned nonuse is a behavioral phenomenon whereby the use of an affected extremity is suppressed due to previous failed attempts to use it. In other words, the individual learns not to use the weak limb—although it’s perfectly functional—because it’s easier to use the healthy limb. Keep reading to learn about learned nonuse, why it happens, and ways to correct it.