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Altered Traits is the joint effort of two highly respected figures in the world of neuroscience and science journalism, Richard Davidson and Daniel Goleman, respectively. They're also longtime friends who share an abiding interest in the power of meditation.
Davidson made headlines several years ago with the results of his study of the brains of Tibetan monks, which showed unequivocally that years of meditation had significantly altered their brains (for the better). Goleman is the bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence.
Altered Traits is a collaborative overview of the history of research on meditation and an analysis of what claims in the mainstream press are legitimate as opposed to those that are overreaching or simply wrong. (The altered traits of the title are those that endure long term, as opposed to those that are transient, taking place during meditation sessions and vanishing shortly thereafter.) The book is written entirely in third person, which is sometimes a bit odd, when it's clearly talking about the experiences of one author vs. the other.
I have to admit that I found the first several chapters tedious--the autobiographical stuff about their trips to India and personal explorations of meditation was okay, but there was a lot of detail about early research studies--what worked and what didn't--that got old for me. A different reader might eat it up, however. The book really got interesting when it embarked on Davidson's studies of Tibetan monks, and that's when I didn't want to put it down.
This is not in any way a how-to book about meditation. (There are plenty of those, as well as CDs and videos and apps, so that's not its purpose.) What it is is a scientific analysis, albeit designed for a general audience, about which claims about meditation are legitimate, which need more, and better, research and which can be debunked altogether. I've already recommended the book to a friend who recently began meditating at the suggestion of his doctor, but as a science teacher has been skeptical about its benefits. He, I would say, would be the ideal audience for Altered Traits.
- Paperback
- Publisher: Penguin LCC US (September 5, 2017)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 073522031X
- ISBN-13: 978-0735220317
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 109 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#2,880,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #769 in Cognitive Neuroscience & Neuropsychology
- #1271 in Scientific Reference
- #3521 in Spiritual Meditations (Books)
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