User Profile

I found The Brain that Changes itself to be a decent entry level reference to brain plasticity. Norman writes with clarity and accessibility on a topic that could have been crowded with complicated medical jargon, on the flip side, I found his narrative to be sometimes dangerously close to hyperbolic, but I think it is important to read between the lines of pragmatic research and selling the reader the idea through case studies. Why I say this, is because he doesn't question the findings of others but runs with it wholeheartedly. This might be what he refers to as "perfectibility", and something he unconsciously is doing himself.

He does write briefly about the contrary nature of neurological plasticity (the plastic paradox), and revisits that notion in the last chapter. I wanted more from the other side of the argument and why the contradictions don't stand up, so I could balance an objective view.

I found some of the descriptive asides of the neurological scientists to be a little sycophantic in the sense of an unnecessary embellishment on scientific prose. Norman's tone does change, however, when he touches on the science of his own background, psychology and psychiatry. I felt the chapter on "Acquiring Tastes and Loves" should have been omitted from this case study, as it could fill a book of its own, and I found some of Norman's lines of reasoning to be arguable.

There certainly is some fascinating stuff to be found in this book, and I found it gave me a better understanding to how a brain copes under the stress of injury or malformation. I would recommend it to anyone wanting an overview of neurological plasticity, and a little knowledge of its history, and where it is going. I commend Norman for penning the book, and I certainly found it interesting. On the whole it isn't a pseudo-scientific study, nor intended for self-help, but it is an eye opener, and the general principles are incredibly valuable for those of us challenged by brain injury.

This thesis by Charles Darwin is a curio for me. It begins quite casually observing emotions relating to humans and animals, especially dogs, cats, horses, and monkeys. It then focusses on humankind as the premise for the rest of the observation. Darwin references heavily on other works and adds smatterings of his own family experiences, as well as accounts from friends in distant places. At one point it seems Charles is quite fascinated with the brow (corrugator) to a point where his bemusement is ticklish and later on with his chapter on blushing seems particularly keen on reporting incidents of women baring their bosoms. "This case is interesting, as the blush did not thus extend downwards until it became intense by her attention being drawn to this part of her person."

It's written more from a kind of early David Attenborough style, blending the personal with the scientific but not backed up with much experiential scientific theory. It is extensive in its approach and he covers a great deal of emotions, the detail of describing these is certainly comprehensive, and well worth the read from a purely cursory anthropological point of view.

Darwin is no psychologist but he does attempt to reason such actions and expressions to the best of his knowledge and ability at the time. There are a few amusing anecdotes, one I particularly enjoyed was the image of Darwin retching while attempting to clean skeletons which were not sufficiently macerated.

Another wonderful anecdote relates to one of his children which he fed a ripe cherry ... “When a piece of ripe cherry was put into his mouth. This was shown by the lips and whole mouth assuming a shape which allowed the contents to run or fall quickly out; the tongue being likewise protruded. These movements were accompanied by a little shudder. It was all the more comical ..." I have done this to all my sons when they were infants, but with a slice of lemon and the effect is extremely comical.

The book is of its time, so if you are sensitive to archaic lexicon used to describe peoples, you may have to put that sensitivity aside. "In Tierra de Fuego a native touched with his finger some cold preserved meat which I was eating at our bivouac, and plainly showed utter disgust at its softness; whilst I felt utter disgust at my food being touched by a naked savage, though his hands did not appear dirty."

As mentioned in the beginning of my review, this book remains for me a curio of science rather than a compendium of sound knowledge.

There's a fair amount of character development to begin with, some of it seems extraneous but without it, the pace of the book would flounder. Aldous remarked that this book was his most successful attempt of fusing story with ideology. At the heart of the story lies a very simple ethical dilemma which is framed between asceticism and hedonism. The young would-be poet, Sebastian is our protagonist caught between two family ideologies wedged in between two world wars. There are some shining moments where Aldous uses language and convention masterfully. The end I found was a bit too didactic but considering the length of the story, it worked in a kind of contemporary parable. Huxley's writing doesn't disappoint, but at times it strays from strengthening points to instead fill in genealogical gaps. There were times I was lost in the book, and other times I was lost elsewhere. There are some wonderful interjections by Sebastian's recently deceased Uncle Eustace, usually portrayed by a seance, but they allow another voice to enter the drama. I also found the strained sexual relationship between Sebastian and Mrs Thwale to be delightfully awkward and unsentimental. In fact, I found all the character interactions to be interesting and unlaboured. I think that's key to Aldous's writing, nothing feels forced, it's a natural diatribe unravelled with a simple plot.

This thesis by Charles Darwin is a curio for me. It begins quite casually observing emotions relating to humans and animals, especially dogs, cats, horses, and monkeys. It then focusses on humankind as the premise for the rest of the observation. Darwin references heavily on other works and adds smatterings of his own family experiences, as well as accounts from friends in distant places. At one point it seems Charles is quite fascinated with the brow (corrugator) to a point where his bemusement is ticklish and later on with his chapter on blushing seems particularly keen on reporting incidents of women baring their bosoms. "This case is interesting, as the blush did not thus extend downwards until it became intense by her attention being drawn to this part of her person."

It's written more from a kind of early David Attenborough style, blending the personal with the scientific but not backed up with much experiential scientific theory. It is extensive in its approach and he covers a great deal of emotions, the detail of describing these is certainly comprehensive, and well worth the read from a purely cursory anthropological point of view.

Darwin is no psychologist but he does attempt to reason such actions and expressions to the best of his knowledge and ability at the time. There are a few amusing anecdotes, one I particularly enjoyed was the image of Darwin retching while attempting to clean skeletons which were not sufficiently macerated.

Another wonderful anecdote relates to one of his children which he fed a ripe cherry ... “When a piece of ripe cherry was put into his mouth. This was shown by the lips and whole mouth assuming a shape which allowed the contents to run or fall quickly out; the tongue being likewise protruded. These movements were accompanied by a little shudder. It was all the more comical ..." I have done this to all my sons when they were infants, but with a slice of lemon and the effect is extremely comical.

The book is of its time, so if you are sensitive to archaic lexicon used to describe peoples, you may have to put that sensitivity aside. "In Tierra de Fuego a native touched with his finger some cold preserved meat which I was eating at our bivouac, and plainly showed utter disgust at its softness; whilst I felt utter disgust at my food being touched by a naked savage, though his hands did not appear dirty."

As mentioned in the beginning of my review, this book remains for me a curio of science rather than a compendium of sound knowledge.

The blurb on the back cover is a poor summary to the unusual slice of post-atomic life Dick has served up as a snapshot of dystopian life. There are mutants, but not in the ubiquitous way contemporary fantastic science-fiction and urban fantasy tend to saturate their stories with. And the mutations are more considered and implicit as part of the narrative convention as opposed to characterisation or some sort of "super/magic power". Dick has been selective on the mutant/human ratio for greater affect. Like most of Dick's writing, he has the unrivalled talent of marrying offbeat nuances within the most mundane of circumstances. The story is a snapshot of several communities during the aftermath of an atomic accident. It's an easy, relaxing read with only a slight authorial parable at the end but mostly it focuses on how people interact with each other under the circumstances of having to put their society back together again. Amusingly, Dick concentrates on eye-wear, cigarettes, alcohol, and vermin traps. He manages to create a claustrophobic world without too much intensity and if highfalutin sci-fi puts you off, you won't find it in this novel. Dick writes with a penetrable, if at times unfathomable, penmanship that achieves a bizarre sort of synergy.

The blurb on the back cover is a poor summary to the unusual slice of post-atomic life Dick has served up as a snapshot of dystopian life. There are mutants, but not in the ubiquitous way contemporary fantastic science-fiction and urban fantasy tend to saturate their stories with. And the mutations are more considered and implicit as part of the narrative convention as opposed to characterisation or some sort of "super/magic power". Dick has been selective on the mutant/human ratio for greater affect. Like most of Dick's writing, he has the unrivalled talent of marrying offbeat nuances within the most mundane of circumstances. The story is a snapshot of several communities during the aftermath of an atomic accident. It's an easy, relaxing read with only a slight authorial parable at the end but mostly it focuses on how people interact with each other under the circumstances of having to put their society back together again. Amusingly, Dick concentrates on eye-wear, cigarettes, alcohol, and vermin traps. He manages to create a claustrophobic world without too much intensity and if highfalutin sci-fi puts you off, you won't find it in this novel. Dick writes with a penetrable, if at times unfathomable, penmanship that achieves a bizarre sort of synergy.

"The more one tries to analyze oneself the more one is conscious of amazing paradoxes and inconsistencies which lurk under the simplest surface." And so J.C.P does exactly that. He launches into a confessional that is rampantly earnest but at the same time shrewdly conscious. Dictionary to hand, I enjoyed every drop of his flurry. This book was to involve all five brothers but ended up being just John and Llewlyn. The latter producing a diarist piece that was more reflective and less probing. Llewlyn states in his introduction that he felt a "confession" was more akin to airing one's sins. Both men were liberally open-minded for their time and it is no wonder that John was a writer's writer, inspiring many a new wave of literally rebel. I can mark the effectiveness of a book by the amount of book tags I place in the pages and in this book, I marked thirteen. It is a cursory read and whatever is missing in the text makes the writing more intriguing. John delves into his aesthetics and addresses some of the common themes of death, religion et cetera. Llewlyn, on the other hand, plies the reader with his thoughts and observations, only touching on the surface. Both staunch atheists, there's no parable in what's written, it's an earthy attempt at undressing humanity in a modest way. It certainly has me in the pursuance of more John Cowper Powys and I wouldn't mind reading Llewlyn's Skin for Skin.