This book surprised me with its clarity, accessibility, and objectivity. Restak lays out the latest brain research, focusing on what he calls the brain's 'elasticity', which is a fancy way of saying the brain adapts. Restak seemed surprised that the brain remains fairly elastic throughout someone's lifetime, instead of remaining fixed after a certain age (I think he mentioned 30). He, also, seems surprised that geniuses are made and not born. That while a person may have a knack for something, what will distinguish this person is how much effort he dedicates to his craft.
I think both of these observations are non-sequiters, since many, if not most, people know many old, or older people that adapt very well to new things and pick up new information as easily as anyone else who puts in the effort to learn it. Also, I think it's fairly obvious that people considered to be geniuses in a particular field are simply those that have worked hardest to master all aspects of it, especially the gritty, tediuos details, not just the cool parts.
Besides these not so surprising results, much of the book provides insight into some of the most fascinating aspects of the brain. For example, the fact that parts of the brain used for two separate tasks, but located next to each other, will have some sort of bleed over. Like associating colors with numbers. I associate red with the number 3 and a light green with the number 4, and so on. This is due to the proximity of the parts of the brain that process numbers and colors.
Another cool thing was the naming of letters. He gave as an example an alphabet with only two letters, one shaped like a circle, the other shaped like a five pointed star. Which one do you think has the name 'ooh' and which was is named (I think) 'ecka'. Either way, the letter you would name 'ooh' is the the same letter that over 99% of the world, across cultures and languages, would name 'ooh'. This is because of the roundness of your mouth when you say 'ooh' and the hardness of the 'ck' in 'ecka' that would be associated with sharp edges.
He, also, gives an interesting, and, I thought, surprisingly objective discussion of using pharmacology in a 'cosmetic' way, i.e., using drugs to diminish perfectly normal feelings that you don't want to feel. He uses the example of a person taking a Prozac like drug so he can handle a funeral, instead of feeling real grief.
The most surprising subject in the book talks about restoring the senses. The most striking story in the book is about a man born blind, but, through technology has his sight restored. Surprisingly, this does not make him whole. Because he got his sight so late in life, he never developed an emotional attachment to his sight. So instead of improving his life, he fell into depression because he thought the world was so 'drab'. I never thought of anything like this. It makes me think that if a deaf person had his hearing restored, he wouldn't enjoy music because he never developed an emotional attachment to sound.
I can't imagine either scenerio. I enjoy music and sound, and colors and sight so much that I never thought restoring those senses might cause an emotional dissonance.
I recommend reading this book. There's very little jargon and almost no wasted paper. Every sentence provides more information, instead of just filling up a book.
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