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amelia_lim's review against another edition
3.0
My problem with this book is that it used too many metaphors to explain a rather easy to understand and straightforward concept. Most of the time I find those metaphors unnecessary, I would appreciate if author takes the time and effort to explain the concept in depth rather than just throw in yet another citation. Another problem I had with this book is that it is too repetitive, same underlying concept had been repeated in several chapters, only wrapped with different fluffy words.
Overall still a fun read and I learned couple of interesting stuff. The book targets more for people who wants to takes their first step into the neuroscience wonderland.
Overall still a fun read and I learned couple of interesting stuff. The book targets more for people who wants to takes their first step into the neuroscience wonderland.
missyjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating.
The information as to the plasticity of the brain and how it adjusts to different situations is amazing. The brain and the body abilities to adjust is very cool! I so appreciate the scientist studying this adaptive computer in our heads and coming up with innovative ideas to work with it and potential for that same adaptability of so many things in the future. Very informative read. Exciting future potential.
The information as to the plasticity of the brain and how it adjusts to different situations is amazing. The brain and the body abilities to adjust is very cool! I so appreciate the scientist studying this adaptive computer in our heads and coming up with innovative ideas to work with it and potential for that same adaptability of so many things in the future. Very informative read. Exciting future potential.
lillanaa's review against another edition
5.0
This book was received as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Eagleman's take here is extremely progressive, and that's far from a bad thing. The idea that the brain is the control center is nothing new, but the idea of "plug and play" is definitely a concept that I only really associated with electronics before this. It's not all that out there, we do call a motherboard the brain of the computer, but it never really occurred to me. Brain plasticity, though, makes this even easier; it's already built into the programming from day one.
From the side of someone who's more knowledgeable about technology than health this was a very intriguing concept, especially the areas discussing what we can use as inputs to be able to aid in people who are disabled. We should be having these kinds of conversations, there's no reason why we're so forcibly against any form of talk about aiding those who need help. It's in our nature not to ask for help, to try and figure things out ourselves, but these ideas are stubborn. In a sense, you could say that someone wearing glasses to help their vision is being augmented in some way (though not digitally), so what's the difference in using a cochlear implant?
Ultimately, this book was an amazing insight into how technology and the brain work together. I had my doubts at first, but the writing in this is very cohesive and easy for a layman to understand.
Eagleman's take here is extremely progressive, and that's far from a bad thing. The idea that the brain is the control center is nothing new, but the idea of "plug and play" is definitely a concept that I only really associated with electronics before this. It's not all that out there, we do call a motherboard the brain of the computer, but it never really occurred to me. Brain plasticity, though, makes this even easier; it's already built into the programming from day one.
From the side of someone who's more knowledgeable about technology than health this was a very intriguing concept, especially the areas discussing what we can use as inputs to be able to aid in people who are disabled. We should be having these kinds of conversations, there's no reason why we're so forcibly against any form of talk about aiding those who need help. It's in our nature not to ask for help, to try and figure things out ourselves, but these ideas are stubborn. In a sense, you could say that someone wearing glasses to help their vision is being augmented in some way (though not digitally), so what's the difference in using a cochlear implant?
Ultimately, this book was an amazing insight into how technology and the brain work together. I had my doubts at first, but the writing in this is very cohesive and easy for a layman to understand.
unladylike's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
Livewired was more entertaining than enlightening to me, and I was really hoping for the latter. From cover to cover, Eagleman tells us anecdotes and analogies about rare deformities, recoveries from injury, and other eye-grabbing headline material. He pushes his coined terminology and website (I haven't looked at it yet, but it sounds like a Magic Eye book from the way he describes it.) as only a modern capitalistic marketer can. Towards the end of the book, he wonders why we don't have cell phones and computers that rewire themselves and adapt to new firmware and technological needs. He prophesies that future generations will look back and wonder why it took so long for our technology to mimic our malleable mammalian brains. Well, David, it's because of capitalism and systems of ethics based on interpretations of ancient religions. Overbroad and underutilized patents, manufactured obsolescence, and anthropocentric philosophies of ecology have prevented our species from understanding buttloads more about neuroscience and practical tech.
All that said, it *was* entertaining! I learned some neat things along the way, and it will be interesting to see how much I remember from it and whether the scattered lessons found in the subtext will influence me positively. For example, Eagleman explains that dreaming takes place across various parts of the brain, but the thing dreams have in common (for sighted people specifically) is the flow of images. The theory he subscribes to is that sighted people's visual cortex (which isn't immutably connected to vision) exercises its seeing abilities during our R.E.M. cycles so that they aren't weakened by neighboring capacities that compete for territory within the brain. This prompted the question within my mind: if this is so, then might listening to music or nature sounds or even white noise (or TV I suppose; yuck and blegh!) help prevent hearing loss as one's body ages?
Learning about our human brains' awesome abilities to adapt from an accessible, pop culture-level audiobook is indeed cool and useful. I just wish he had tackled some of the more difficult questions, like how and why our memory is *creative* (as in, we frequently make false memories and firmly believe them, as can be seen in studies of police line-ups), or how a grown-ass trans woman like myself might intentionally "livewire" my brain to change deeply engrained personality traits or habits. Actually, he doesn't get into differences between male and female or cis and trans brains, which is rather surprising, given psychologists' (white hetero cis men primarily) predilection with those subjects.
One of David Eagleman's other books, [b:Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives|4948826|Sum Forty Tales from the Afterlives|David Eagleman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320528453l/4948826._SY75_.jpg|5014561], was recommended to me by my mom, which is what prompted me to read Livewired (the library only has two audiobooks by him, and this one, published in 2020, became available to listen to at work). I'll give him another chance and certainly digest more material on contemporary neuroplasticity science, but the overall methodology of this book did not impress me.
Livewired was more entertaining than enlightening to me, and I was really hoping for the latter. From cover to cover, Eagleman tells us anecdotes and analogies about rare deformities, recoveries from injury, and other eye-grabbing headline material. He pushes his coined terminology and website (I haven't looked at it yet, but it sounds like a Magic Eye book from the way he describes it.) as only a modern capitalistic marketer can. Towards the end of the book, he wonders why we don't have cell phones and computers that rewire themselves and adapt to new firmware and technological needs. He prophesies that future generations will look back and wonder why it took so long for our technology to mimic our malleable mammalian brains. Well, David, it's because of capitalism and systems of ethics based on interpretations of ancient religions. Overbroad and underutilized patents, manufactured obsolescence, and anthropocentric philosophies of ecology have prevented our species from understanding buttloads more about neuroscience and practical tech.
All that said, it *was* entertaining! I learned some neat things along the way, and it will be interesting to see how much I remember from it and whether the scattered lessons found in the subtext will influence me positively. For example, Eagleman explains that dreaming takes place across various parts of the brain, but the thing dreams have in common (for sighted people specifically) is the flow of images. The theory he subscribes to is that sighted people's visual cortex (which isn't immutably connected to vision) exercises its seeing abilities during our R.E.M. cycles so that they aren't weakened by neighboring capacities that compete for territory within the brain. This prompted the question within my mind: if this is so, then might listening to music or nature sounds or even white noise (or TV I suppose; yuck and blegh!) help prevent hearing loss as one's body ages?
Learning about our human brains' awesome abilities to adapt from an accessible, pop culture-level audiobook is indeed cool and useful. I just wish he had tackled some of the more difficult questions, like how and why our memory is *creative* (as in, we frequently make false memories and firmly believe them, as can be seen in studies of police line-ups), or how a grown-ass trans woman like myself might intentionally "livewire" my brain to change deeply engrained personality traits or habits. Actually, he doesn't get into differences between male and female or cis and trans brains, which is rather surprising, given psychologists' (white hetero cis men primarily) predilection with those subjects.
One of David Eagleman's other books, [b:Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives|4948826|Sum Forty Tales from the Afterlives|David Eagleman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320528453l/4948826._SY75_.jpg|5014561], was recommended to me by my mom, which is what prompted me to read Livewired (the library only has two audiobooks by him, and this one, published in 2020, became available to listen to at work). I'll give him another chance and certainly digest more material on contemporary neuroplasticity science, but the overall methodology of this book did not impress me.
em_r's review against another edition
3.75
Fascinating stuff overall, I knew very little neuroscience background knowledge before going into this and now I'll never see the brain in the same way.
Interesting to hear about the research and technologies that have been/are being developed based on the 'livewired' setup of the brain that Eagleman describes.
I did however find some parts a bit idealistic or slightly lacking in awareness around possible limitations restricting practical applications of new technologies though, e.g:
- At one point Eagleman posits "One might wonder whether this sort of technology will lead to a two-tiered society: the haves and have-nots. I think the risk of economic stratification is low, because these devices are inexpensive".
This is after slightly earlier in the book stating "In contrast, modern technology can address hearing loss for some hundreds of dollars, which opens solutions for the whole globe." I would argue in this example that hundreds of dollars would not be considered inexpensive for a lot of households under financial strain and also that access may be limited or trickier to acquire based on someone's location.
- In describing how the functioning of the brain could influence technological advances he confidently says "We won't have to keep filling dumps with brittle devices forever more. Instead, self-reconfiguring devices will populate not only our biological world but also our manufactured world." Okay David, but have you also not heard of the concept of planned obsolescence? It isn't as if lack of longer lasting products is entirely down to manufacturers not knowing how to make stuff that lasts longer, so proliferation of new items that can repair/adapt themselves will also depend upon how profitable they can be in the current financial structures of a society.
Interesting to hear about the research and technologies that have been/are being developed based on the 'livewired' setup of the brain that Eagleman describes.
I did however find some parts a bit idealistic or slightly lacking in awareness around possible limitations restricting practical applications of new technologies though, e.g:
- At one point Eagleman posits "One might wonder whether this sort of technology will lead to a two-tiered society: the haves and have-nots. I think the risk of economic stratification is low, because these devices are inexpensive".
This is after slightly earlier in the book stating "In contrast, modern technology can address hearing loss for some hundreds of dollars, which opens solutions for the whole globe." I would argue in this example that hundreds of dollars would not be considered inexpensive for a lot of households under financial strain and also that access may be limited or trickier to acquire based on someone's location.
- In describing how the functioning of the brain could influence technological advances he confidently says "We won't have to keep filling dumps with brittle devices forever more. Instead, self-reconfiguring devices will populate not only our biological world but also our manufactured world." Okay David, but have you also not heard of the concept of planned obsolescence? It isn't as if lack of longer lasting products is entirely down to manufacturers not knowing how to make stuff that lasts longer, so proliferation of new items that can repair/adapt themselves will also depend upon how profitable they can be in the current financial structures of a society.