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Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "IT WAS A MUSEUM, in a way like any other, this Musee de l'Homme, Museum of Man, situated on a pleasant eminence with, from the..." (more)
Key Phrases: borderline science, solar sailing, entry probes, New York, United States, Big Bang (more...)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
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Product Description

Carl Sagan, writer and scientist, returns from the frontier to tell us about how the world works. In his delightfully down-to-earth style, he explores and explains a mind-boggling future of intelligent robots, extraterrestrial life and its consquences, and other provocative, fascinating quandries of the future that we want to see today.


From the Inside Flap

Carl Sagan, writer and scientist, returns from the frontier to tell us about how the world works. In his delightfully down-to-earth style, he explores and explains a mind-boggling future of intelligent robots, extraterrestrial life and its consquences, and other provocative, fascinating quandries of the future that we want to see today.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 12, 1986)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0345336895
  • ISBN-13: 978-0345336897
  • Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #171,317 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Carl Sagan
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
IT WAS A MUSEUM, in a way like any other, this Musee de l'Homme, Museum of Man, situated on a pleasant eminence with, from the restaurant plaza in back, a splendid view of the Eiffel Tower. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
borderline science, solar sailing, entry probes, high surface temperature, outer solar system
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New York, United States, Big Bang, Cornell University, Milky Way Galaxy, Yerkes Observatory, Astrophysical Journal, Albert Einstein, Soviet Union, World War, American Astronomical Society, Cardiff Giant, Naval Observatory, New Guinea, Percival Lowell, Princeton University, Alexander the Oracle-Monger, California Institute of Technology, Clark University, Comet Kohoutek, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lick Observatory, Red Planet, Red Sea, South Fore
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37 Reviews
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4.6 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Writing that is almost religious in power, June 12, 2001
By Charles Ashbacher "(cashbacher@yahoo.com)" (Marion, Iowa United States(cashbacher@yahoo.com)) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science (Hardcover)
Carl Sagan is so widely known for his popularization of science that his thoughts on the philosophy of science are easily forgotten. Which is unfortunate, because he also shines in this area. This is never more aptly demonstrated than when he discusses the ideas of Immanuel Velikovsky. The ideas themselves are “explanations” of many of the ancient myths created by invoking rather extreme and unusual astronomic phenomena. While the explanations are clearly preposterous, Sagan does not simply dismiss them, but subjects them to a thorough critical examination. Along the way he also criticizes some of his scientist colleagues, pointing out that the role of science is not to make preconceived value judgements, but to subject all ideas to the ruthless meritocratic critical analysis that makes science work. His reasoned arguments against Velikovsky’s ideas and against some who rejected them using attacks beyond the normal bounds of legitimate criticism, is the best explanation of how science should work that you will ever find.
The title of the book is derived from his finding the preserved brain of Paul Broca in a French museum. Broca is best known for discovering the previously unsuspected fact that the brain is compartmentalized into functional regions. Broca’s brain is preserved in a jar of formalin and when he finds it, Sagan asks some questions that go to the heart of what makes humans what they are and what we become after death. His simple question, “How much of that man known as Paul Broca can still be found in this jar?” is a very profound one. If you possess a religious nature, the answer is probably “nothing.” However, if you follow modern studies of how the brain functions, there is the fascinating thought that since memories seem to be stored in proteins, it may be theoretically possible to “recreate” a dead person by manipulating their memory proteins. Such thoughts could also be used to argue in favor of life after death, in that we live on if our protein patterns live on. The soul of a human could then be considered as a permanent record of these patterns, that are continually updated as a person generates new memories.
The first book by Carl Sagan that I ever read was Intelligent Life In The Universe, which he co-wrote with I. S. Shklovski. I struggled through the book when I was still in elementary school, being overwhelmed with the science but so enthralled with the writing and subject matter that I refused to quit until I completed it. He was clearly the most lucid, readable and passionate expositor of what science is that his generation produced. His passing left a void that is not easily filled.
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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars It's Sagan, for heaven's sake!, November 5, 2001
This review is from: Broca's Brain (Mass Market Paperback)
At some point in my life, much of what Sagan wrote became "common knowledge" and much less interesting to read, because I stopped learning from him.

Then I realized: he had done his job. Sagan excited me, thrilled me, MADE me go out and learn more because I couldn't stand not knowing.

Carl Sagan was a master at distilling science to the masses; he made physics, biology, cosmology, math...he made it all so thrilling that the masses barely knew they were learning.

If you're not already a Sagan fan, try starting with his fiction (Contact--the book is a thousand times better than the movie), and then moving on to his nonfiction. You'll discover from Sagan why we are where and who we are.

Read it. Learn it. Then outgrow it. You'll be honoring Sagan, and you'll be honoring your own humanity.

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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Cosmology at its best, December 17, 1998
By A Customer
Carl Sagan established his reputation as a writer with three works: Cosmos, Broca's Brain, and Contact. Cosmos is renowned as one of the century's best non-fiction works and Contact became a top-grossing, award-winning film. Broca's Brain meets the standard of Sagan's more famous pieces. Even were you to only read one chapter, the book would still be worth purchase. I especially recommend this book to those who have read John F. Haught (theologian) or Stephen Hawking (physicist) and assume that science and religion are locked in a death match.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars For the Love of Knowledge Sagan is simply the best!
Carl Segan's love of science and enthusiasm for sharing it with others is evident in all of his work. Sagan writes in a way that teaches fascinating information. Read more
Published 17 months ago by C. Clayton

5.0 out of 5 stars An Endorsement of the Rational
John W. Campbell, Jr. had many virtues as a science writer. He was well-trained in science (mostly at M.I.T.), and he had a wide range of interests. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Paul Camp

3.0 out of 5 stars As a big Sagan fan, I recommend one of his other books!
PROS: Classic, elegant prose from one of the best science writers of all time. Sagan was a genius of making science interesting to the masses and his works reflect that... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Francis Tapon

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
This is a great book. Some of the science is a little outdated, but Carl Sagan always provides and enjoyable and interesting read.
Published 20 months ago by C. Pennington

5.0 out of 5 stars The antidote to science class
Most of us who have been educated in the American public school system quickly learned to dread science classes as one of the more boring times of the day. Read more
Published on July 9, 2007 by Jeanne Tassotto

5.0 out of 5 stars Science for the average reader, masterfully presented
Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my negative reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews... Read more
Published on June 11, 2007 by Wanderer

3.0 out of 5 stars Good to help you gain insight into Dr. Sagan's mind
"Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science" is a series of essays by Carl Sagan. I'm rather a fan of Carl Sagan's works and got this book expecting that it would be... Read more
Published on May 9, 2007 by Marc Bourassa

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book on the Popularized History of those Brainy Scientists.
It's a good paperback on great scientists.-Warning!-When you are reading this book,remember Sagan is playing on your "lay-man's understanding of common falsehoods.". Read more
Published on September 19, 2006 by Magickal Merlin

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories that relate the essence and romance of science.
When science is written about it can be dull or it can be a mysterious, and fascinating subject that has a special appeal. Read more
Published on April 16, 2006 by Jim Morrison

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring
Maybe if I was in a exo-biology class or some other acedemic pursuit, it would have held a little more merit. But as a casual reader, it was DRY and uninteresting. Read more
Published on August 16, 2005 by Arvin

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