Customer Reviews

The Wisdom Paradox: How Your Mind Can Grow Stronger As Your Brain Grows Older

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a very well-written, readable, and interesting book that incorporates some of the latest information about brain neurology, consciousness, and memory. Goldberg presents complex information in an easy to understand way. His thesis is that early in life, our brains have a greater ability to analyze and assimilate new information, developing neural "patterns." As we age, our analytical ability degrades due to physical aging of the brain, but we continue to thrive because the many "patterns" accreted over our lifetime help us to quickly recognize new data and categorize it. The adult brain's extensively-developed repertoire of patterns/data funnels is an analogy for "wisdom" which intuitively reaches insightful conclusions without much analysis.

As a result, Goldberg suggests that if we consciously cultivate our mental activity, building up neural connections and "patterns," we will insulate ourselves against any potential cognitive erosion due to aging. In the final chapters, Goldberg goes on to describe his facility that provides computer-mediated mental "workouts" to those who desire such therapy. I felt that this part of the book was a bit of a tease, or advertisement. Goldberg doesn't tell us what mental exercises to undertake, the implication is that we need to seek the services of his facility, or devise our own mental exercise program. I found this part a bit disappointing. (For those seeking such practical advice/exercises for brain development I recommend "Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot" by Richard Restak.)

If you like the thinker's prose, the so-called "romantic science",a style attributed to the Russian neuroscientist A. R. Luria,which consists in publishing original research in literary form, you would love this book. Clearly intellectual scientists are vanishing under the weight of the commoditization of the discipline. But once in a while someone emerges to reverse such setbacks.
Goldberg, who was the great Luria's student and collaborator, is even more colorful and fun to read than the master. He is egocentric, abrasive, opinionated, and colorful. He is also disdainful of the conventional beliefs in neurosciences --for instance he is suspicious of the assignment of specific functions, such as language, to anatomical regions. He is also skeptical of the journalistic "triune" brain. His theory is that the hemispheric specialization is principally along pattern matching and information processing lines:the left side stores patterns, while the right one processes novel tasks. It is convincing to see that children suffer more from a right brain injury, while adults have the opposite effect.
There is a little bit of open plugging of Goldberg's for-profit institute;he would have gotten better results by being subtle. A fre minor points. I did not understand why Goldberg discusses "modularity", of which he is critical, as if it were the same thing in both neurobiology and in cognitive science. In neurobiology, modularity implies regional localization, while cognitive scientists (Marr, Fodor, etc.) make no such assumption: for them it is entirely functional and they would be in great agreement with Goldberg. Also I did not understand why he attributes the language instinct to Pinker, not Chomsky, and why he makes snide remarks about behavioral scientists like Kahneman and Tversky. But these are very minor details that do not weaken the message (I still gave the book 5 stars). I am now spoiled; I need more essays by opinionated, original,and intellectual, contemporary scientists.

Elkhonon Goldberg has once again created a book that blends his extensive knowledge of neuropsychology and neuroscience, modestly including his own very large (and probably still underestimated) contribution to the cutting edge of the field, and his own introspective experience as a living, breathing brain-owner, into a highly accessible, often playful, yet profoundly elegant treatise on the fate of the brain and cognition over the course of "normal aging."

Similar to his equally excellent and well-received earlier book "The Executive Brain," he writes with warmth and genuine affection for his reader and his material. As a clinical neuropsychologist myself, I generally prefer the more "textbook" type of presentation to those that are created for popular consumption, but in Goldberg's case, I make a strong exception. His gift seems to be his ability to "connect" hard science to life experience using accessible language that captures what might otherwise be arcane discourse, instead providing cogent explanation of complex ideas in a lively and inviting fashion.

Goldberg, as a deep and heuristic thinker, has contributed several highly promising and potentially advancing observations to the field of neuropsychology. Each of these ideas is incorporated into a forward-looking path toward understanding the complex changes in brain function and cognition that take place over the lifespan, culminating for those who are fortunate (and have worked hard for it) into a "style" of cognitive processing that, in more poetic terms, has been referred to through the ages as "wisdom."

One of the more elegant aspects of Goldberg's writing is that while resorting to science to explain what has otherwise required the "poetic," he manages to hold on to the poetry, perhaps even creating some in the process.

I recommend that you read the Scientific American review that you can find above. It contains just about everything this book has to offer. The ideas about brain hemispheres are interesting, but you won't learn much more by reading the 300+ pages.
The Wisdom Paradox has a very promising premise and the topic is very important and the author has a mighty pedigree, but still the book leaves you emptyhanded. The most infuriating part is the last chapter that describes a program for cognitive fitness, i.e. a way of enhancing your brain power. And that's it: a description! Nothing else. The author doesn't give the reader a single exercise, but he just pats himself on the back for inventing such a wonderful program.
You won't become any wiser from this book.

This is a terrific book explaining how new knowledge of brain plasticity can be put to use to combat mental decline. It combines state-of-the-art knowledge about the brain delivered in a very clear and lucid manner with enjoyable cultural and historical digressions. I liked Goldberg's other book, The Executive Brain, but this one is even better. It is refreshing to see a serious scientist stepping out of the ivory tower and developing practical applications. The idea of cognitive fitness through cognitive exercise is fascinating and I can't wait to start!

Highly recommended. A fascinating, well-conceptualized proposition that educates, integrates, and provokes at many levels. Dr. Goldberg's clarity of writing makes intriguing concepts understandable for lay persons, yet challenges experienced neuroscientists to re-think old paradigms. Who wouldn't be interested-from either a personal or professional perspective-in coming to understand how our aging brains change in "style", and can be strengthened throughout our lifetime? While there is no guarantee that reading Dr. Goldberg's book will make you wise, reading, understanding, and practising the "wisdom" the book offers is certainly a step in the right (or left!) direction.
GBS, Saskatoon

I came across this book after I read Joe DeLoux's Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are, and it proved to be an enjoyable read. Elkhonon Goldberg has written quite complex information into a very comprehensible direction for the reader in his "The Wisdom Paradox."

There are fifteen chapters in this book, with an addition of an epilogue. With each chapter, it is more like a personal journey than a simple or dry work. It is both personal and informative.

I personally like this book because it adds to my understanding of neuropsychology and neurobiology as it would be a good resourceful book. After reading this book, I find myself feeling compelled to exercise my mind and get those synapse of mine firing. My current skills are limited and useless. However, I can increase my skills by doing what I never done before. Knowledge is indeed unlimited and so is our brain power.

In my opinion, I recommend this book.

The Wisdom Paradox is a book about the benefits and possible preventive power of vigorous mental life. Goldberg provides an optimistic perspective on the aging process of the brain and of the mind. In this book, the author combines historical and clinical anecdotes with sound theories of neuroscience in a lively discourse, which is both informative and entertaining. This is a must read for both neuroscience aficionados and professionals. Having read the book, I couldn't help but to draw a parallel between the mind and wine. In both cases, effervesence is more characteristic of the young while depth and complexity is more characteristic of those who are more mature. Cheers to the benefits of healthy aging!

The author's main thesis is that the brain does not age uniformly. Different parts of the brain suffer more with age. More recent parts of the brain in terms of evolution are more affected than older ones, for example the prefrontal cortex, involved in planning and execution is the most severely damaged part of the brain, while the sensory input areas and the motor cortex are preserved longer. The right hemisphere frontal cortex suffers more than the left, etc. This differences give rise to "The wisdom paradox": Wise people are always older people, despite the normal age-related deterioration of their brains.

In chapter 6 "Down memory lane", the author gives truly interesting insights into memory formation and various degrees of "forgetting". For more on this subject I strongly recommend In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind. Neural networks and pattern recognition are closely linked subjects. One of the theories of brain function claims that each pattern is stored by forming a neural network (attractor). One single stimulus can then trigger the activation of a complete network so that the whole pattern becomes active. REDES COMPLEJAS (complex networks - not yet translated to English) can give you more insight into this fascinating topic; it even includes one chapter on neural networks. Plasticity is also covered nicely, neurons are born through your life and sent to where they are needed most. For more on plasticity and plenty of other topics read A User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain. The brain can be "exercised" and there are books and Gyms to help you make a brain work-out session best suited for you, no examples are given here, but you could try The Mind Gym: Wake Your Mind Up or other books by Mind-Gym.

What I enjoyed most was that I finally found a theory that seems to explain the mess regarding laterality and the different functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Other literature stated that language resided mainly in the left hemisphere, but not completely and everything seemed confusing and unresolved. The author proposes that the right hemisphere deals with novel situations and is therefore the seat of creativity or genius (more active in young people) while the left hemisphere deals with known situations and is the seat of wisdom, which is closely linked to pattern recognition (more active in older people). This is why you cannot learn to speak (novel situation) without the right hemisphere (language in children is handled by the right hemisphere). In adults language resides mainly in the left hemisphere. Only when new tasks related to language are performed, the right hemisphere gets involved again. Wisdom is seen as the accumulation of useful patterns in the left hemisphere and is not achievable without intensive mental work through a lifetime: wisdom is therefore not an age related "gift" but a hard won reward.

I consider the first 100 pages a lengthy introduction, while the last 60 are a lengthy conclusion, which means that only half of the book corresponds to the meaty part. However, the book is very easy to read, so even the lengthy parts are read quickly and the author is a master in explaining complicated subjects in a very understandable way. I strongly recommend this book, especially to those that are entering this field for the first time.

Elkhonon Goldberg brings to fore many insights about the brain, but the overriding theme of the book is that as we age our brain shifts focus from a right-hemisphere dominated approach to a left-hemisphere dominated approach. New evidence has generally shown that, contrary to older studies, the right hemisphere is used to 'learn new things' and the left hemisphere is used for pattern recognition. As we age, we shift our brain dominance from right to left. Goldberg explains how we can take advantage of our awareness of this shift. (For example: keep our brain active so it doesn't atrophy -- especially the right hemisphere.)

Just as our brain shifts focus, this book shifts focus as we read along, too. The first part of the book is generally fact and hypothesis based. Goldberg explains his theories interlaced with personal narrative. The book then shifts focus to what we can do to maintain our cognitive abilities as we age. Goldberg outlines cognitive exercises we can do to keep our brain sharp. This chapter comes immediately following a chapter summarizing recent research proposing that humans grow neurons their entire life -- how many we grow and where they migrate to is up to us (in theory).

This is a positive book, bringing hope and some scientific rigor to those older folk interested in the life-cycle of their brain. Goldberg comes across as a competent scientist and, at over 50, still hasn't lost his writing ability. (If you read the book you'll learn, from a technical point of view, why this isn't so surprising. Hint: writing is a mostly left-hemisphere activity.)