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5.0 out of 5 stars
deja vu book review, April 26, 2008
This review is from: The Deja Vu Experience (Essays in Cognitive Psychology) (Hardcover)
Alan s. Brown wrote the book, the déjà vu experience, in 2004. This book talks about the déjà vu experience and how it has been scientifically studied. The book provides the reader with a number of historical facts about the journey of the déjà vu studies and essays that were written about déjà vu. The déjà vu experience also provides the reader with different thoughts about what déjà vu is. This book could be a good start and a good reference for researching the déjà vu experience and especially the causes of déjà vu. The book also talks about Jamais Vu. Basically this book is a research book Scientific vocabulary was used a lot in the book. The language that was used in this book is a little hard, because of the fact that it is a scientific book.
The first chapter of this book is the introduction of the book. The introduction has several examples of the déjà vu experience. The first chapter provides the reader with a short definition of the experience without explaining what is really happening. After the f that the book explains why scientists should study this experience. A number of essays and books about studying déjà vu are listed with all their publication dates. The last paragraph in this chapter provides a summary of when the research about the déjà vu topic started.
The following chapter gives a brief definition of the déjà vu experience. This chapter contains a list of English terms used to describe the déjà vu experience with the dates of their use. Thirty-two terms are listed. This chapter collects all the definitions that scientists have invented since the 1800s. The chapter also has subtypes of this experience listed with all of their meanings.
The following chapters report data about déjà vu and its investigation. There is a brief explanation of how scientists design surveys and the problems they face. Also a description of how the samples of scurvies are unrepresentative. Then the book provides the reader with subjective and objective evaluations of déjà vu of a total population. Frequency and type of déjà vu was discussed in the book, too. The nature and the causes of the déjà vu experience are briefly explained. The book also talks about the physical reaction of a person after experiencing déjà vu. Age seems to be so important in this book and in explaining déjà vu. The book has a whole chapter talking about age at the first experience and age when a person has déjà vu a lot. The chapters briefly discuss how déjà vu explanation varies from one person to another, and from one researcher to another.
Starting from chapter seven, the book starts to states the déjà vu experience pathologically. The book has most of the possible diseases that déjà vu might be related to and goes over each one explaining the relationship that the diseases might have with déjà vu. Also, the déjà vu experience has the description of why people with this disease might have déjà vu experience.
Then, the book shows the exact opposite of déjà vu, which is Jamais Vu. Jamais Vu is an objectively familiar situation that feels unfamiliar. The book explains how déjà vu and Jamais Vu are related. The book provides the reader with incident of Jamais Vu, like déjà vu. By the end, the book provides the reader with as much information as possible about déjà vu. The book presents explanations, causes, and studies. Each chapter of the book has a short summary.
The last chapter is a conclusion of this book and of all the research that is in the book. The appendixes in this book are very helpful, even though they are short ones. They have descriptions of the déjà vu experiences and a summary of the scientific explanation of déjà vu.
Over all, I like this book. It has so many hard words in it, but that is the nature of the subject. There is no unnecessary information that is in the book. It was so interesting to read, I didn't get bored at all or fall asleep while reading it. I like books with short chapters so I don't get lost or confused while reading them, and this book is one of those books. The book is a relatively short book. This book has given me a lot of information about how scientists started thinking of déjà vu, and how hard it was to understand and study the déjà vu experience.
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