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Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change your Life by [Michael Merzenich]

Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change your Life Kindle Edition

by Michael Merzenich (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 725 ratings

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What if you had the power to change your brain for the better?

In Soft-Wired, Dr. Michael Merzenich--a world authority on brain plasticity--explains how the brain rewires itself across the lifespan, and how you can take control of that process to improve your life. In addition to fascinating descriptions of how your brain has produced your unique memories, skills, quirks, and emotions, Soft-Wired offers sound advice for evaluating your brain and gives clear, specific, scientifically proven guidance for how to rejuvenate, remodel, and reshape your brain to improve it at any age.

Print length

228 pages
Language

English
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On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

August 2, 2013
File size

1407 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Michael Merzenich, PhD is a Professor Emeritus at the University of California at San Francisco, a member of both the National Academies of Science and the Institute of Medicine, and the co-founder of Scientific Learning and Posit Science. Often called "the father of brain plasticity," he is one of the scientists responsible for our current understanding of brain change across the lifespan. To learn more, visit www.soft-wired.com. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00EB48ZDU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Parnassus Publishing; 1st edition (August 2, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 2, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1407 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 228 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #272,504 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #133 in Alzheimer's Disease
- #450 in Healthy Living
- #935 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 725 ratings

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L.J. Haddaway

Human brain is malible not static

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2023

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Have a family member who has had multiple strokes and this was an amazing help in learning what can be done. I've even signed up for one year subscription on changing my brain via working out with it on the computer and it's been illuminating.

2 people found this helpful

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Hunter W

Anecdotal

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2023

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It’s clear the author is a pioneer in the field, but most of the book was anecdotal in nature.

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Douglas Goldstein

It’s hard work to keep all your marbles

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2022

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Though Michael Merzenich’s book begins with a great deal of research and science, it definitely pays to stick with it to the end to discover his suggestions for maintaining, or possibly restoring, your mental prowess. There are plenty of interesting facts that he points out, including that men’s brains and women’s brains reach their peak at different times, suggesting a material difference between the sexes. But the bottom line of the book is that in order to have a strong brain, you need to exercise it. The problem is that lots of mental tasks that we do actually don’t challenge the brain enough to make any real difference. He talks a lot about BrainHQ, an app that people can use, which has been tested many times in the scientific community and seems to show tangible results in upping brain performance. As a result of reading the book, I decided to try using BrainHQ, and I even paid for a year’s subscription. I’m not sure if it is doing anything, and I don’t exactly know how I can ever really know if it’s keeping my brain in shape, but I’m willing to keep trying it for a few more months.

8 people found this helpful

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Murray Duffin

Wonderful (obvious in retrospect) insights

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2018

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I am surprised at the negative reviews. I have spent about 2000 hours over the last 20 months researching all aspects of cognitive impairment in the elderly. I have read at least 1900 abstracts of scientific papers, 522 complete papers, 6 books besides this one, and at least 200 pertinent articles or blog posts. I am a bit stunned that I never came across this book until now - it is copyrighted 2013. The book is written in layman's language, uses examples and analogies that are easy to connect with, and is very informative. Reading some of the papers that Michael Merzenich has authored/coauthored will give you an idea of how the technical language on this subject can be close to incomprehensible, a problem this book completely overcomes - quite a feat for such an involved technologist/researcher.
I have read a lot on brain plasticity and brain exercises, but this book gave me several new insights that I had not seen before - some that are wonderfully obvious once your attention is called to them. The author gives many examples of why our brains' capabilities decay for lack of
use, in ways that we never think about, and often because of the technological developments we love because they make that disuse possible. Wow!
Some critics perceive the book only as a "come-on" for Posit Science's brain training software. I am thankful that such software exists, so I can now avoid the decay it can prevent or remedy, and I welcome the explanations of why I need it and how I can benefit from it. While I am not considered cognitively impaired by the usual tests, at age 83 I can recognize some of the symptoms (in me) of decline the book describes. I am starting the training immediately.
This book is a "must read" for every loving caregiver who helps an impaired loved one or patient, and for every senior citizen who wants to retain their faculties to the end.
The "Catch 22" of early cognitive impairment is that the impairment can keep the victims from knowing they have the problem. The one star
reviewers have missed the message, and may need the book much more than they realize.
PS - One or more one star reviewers deplored the lack of reference links. Every chapter ends with an instruction to link to the references at www.softwired.com/ref/ch_.

301 people found this helpful

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Mike Mertens

Brain Plasticity and a great guide on how to use it to your advantage!

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2015

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Dr. Michael Merzenich has written an easy to read and very valuable resource on the latest information on brain plasticity (the idea that we are not hard-wired but soft-wired - it even includes a few pages on how he came to "see the light" in this area) and how we can use it to improve our lives at any age. It is important to understand that neuroplasticity can work to our advantage or disadvantage and he gives examples of each throughout this book.

Here are just a few of the valuable topics covered in this book:
* 10 Fundamentals of Brain Plasticity. These are core principles including: "change is mostly limited to those situations in which the brain is in the mood for it", "learning-driven changes in connections increase cell-to-cell cooperation, which is crucial for increasing reliability", "initial changes are just temporary", and "brain plasticity is a two-way street; it is just as easy to generate negative changes as it is to produce positive ones"
* His top ten list of changes that that have been demonstrated by the research to date
* His 8 brain fitness rules including "try to work on a demanding level" and "find exercises that are inherently satisfying and rewarding"
* As a runner, I really benefited from his 6 rules in planning one's exercise routines (and the need to vary the challenges we give our bodies as well as our minds)
* His chapter on "Taking a Holistic approach to improving your life". This includes my favorite "Continuously enrich your life on small and larger scales."

Throughout the book he uses examples to illustrate the concepts in memorable ways. He discusses the impact of aging and the brain and how to limit and counteract the challenges that come with age. It is clear that Merzenich has a true passion for brain science and wants us all to use the information from brain science to enrich our lives and improve our well-being. I hope that you benefit as much as I did from reading this book and putting the ideas into practice!

Note: I also recommend reading the book by Norman Doidge "The Brain that Changes Itself" for some fascinating stories and examples of plastic changes that are truly remarkable

85 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Sue Waterworth

The most important book you'll ever read

Reviewed in Australia on January 16, 2023

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This book is so important, everyone should have a copy on their bookshelf; and you'll want to re-read it often.
The author is at the centre of research in brain plasticity, so you can be assured that what he writes is accurate and cutting-edge.
A big plus is that he is also very funny, so this serious subject is really easy to learn about.

Buena

Three Stars

Reviewed in Australia on December 14, 2014

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Needs editing;too wordy

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Repetitive and high level. Constantly refers the reader to ...

Reviewed in Australia on December 22, 2015

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Repetitive and high level. Constantly refers the reader to other resources.

One person found this helpful

Ria

REPETITIVE!!!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2019

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Never before in my life have I given a 1 star review.....

...From where to begin!!
The book's actual PRACTICAL HELP begins on PAGE 200!!!!!
Until then there is ENDLESSSSS repetition about what brain plasticity is and there are numerous examples given about how people have been helped thanks to the author's/doctor's brain plasticity program (he kept on citing his damn program WITHOUT TELLING US how to help ourselves!!!!) and I would literally read one sentence, only to read the exact same thing but in a different way in the next one.....

As for the "practical help" that is given in the book, the usual crap about meeting new people, being aware of your body etc; these things one can find every-freakin-where on the Internet (I could easily find all of his suggestions listed in one single random article).

I swear to god, I pity the money I gave for this trash. I was reading it and wondering "DID NO ONE NOTICE THAT EACH SENTENCE AND PARAGRAPH IS A REPETITION OF THE PREVIOUS ONE???! How could someone even pay to have this trash published!!!" - but oh, I forgot, that guy's a doctor, so it's bound to sell, right???
I was seduced by the "FATHER of brain plasticity" written in this product's description... if only I knew.

tldr; repetitive, the practical advice can be found anywhere on the Internet, he keeps on trying to sell his brain-plasticity program.
This book's useful information could literally fit in 20 pages.

Shame for the author and shame for the ones who published this trash.

4 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Fascinating topic, but I have found it difficult to stay interested whilst reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

I bought this book because I am fascinated by the topic of brain plasticity and I deeply respect the author and his contribution in the scientific field. However, I found that this book is very difficult to read and maintain interest. There is often repetition of the same ideas throughout the chapters. There is very little practical advice in this book and it really comes close to the final chapters.In my opinion this book could’ve been half the size was still delivering the same message. Nevertheless it presents quite different and scientifically validated point of view on brain and physical exercise.

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