An alchemy of mind : the marvel and mystery of the brain

278 Pages·2004·2.06 MB·English

by  Ackerman

Praise for An Alchemy of Mind
“[Ackerman] is a grand, erudite synthesizer, positioning herself at the place
where knowledge ends and reporting back to us in the language of lyric. . . . At a
time when books about the brain, mind, and consciousness compete for readers’
attention, Ackerman has presented a helpful survey of the field leavened by
yeasty writing and provocative insights.”
—Floyd Skloot, Newsday
“A brilliant distillation of the mysterious intersection of brain and mind that
borrows from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, metaphysics, and the
physical world, all delivered in miraculously readable prose.”
—Elle
“Agile, involving, and uniquely far-ranging. . . . As always, Ackerman is
positively scintillating, thanks to the intensity of her observations, the
imaginativeness of her interpretations of both natural phenomena and science,
the splendor of her distinctive prose, and her flair for making her discoveries
personal, relevant, and resonant. Erudite and playful.”
—Booklist
“In An Alchemy of Mind, brilliant stylist Diane Ackerman fuses science and
personal experience as she explores thought, emotion, memory, language, gender
differences, and creativity. You will probably never read a more lyrical
description of how nerve cells communicate with one another than Ackerman’s.”
—The Arizona Republic
“Ackerman folds some particularly interesting research into her narratives. . . .
Her enthusiasm is contagious, and most readers will quickly be engaged by her
fascination with the brain. . . . A playful, rewarding jaunt through the brain’s
chemical realities and emotional intangibles.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman ponders personality, gender, emotion, and
language in this intriguing tour of the human brain. [She] leaves readers with
nuanced understanding of—and gratitude for—that ‘wrinkled wardrobe of selves’
that makes us all tick. Lyrically described highlights.”
—People
“Incandescent prose and brainy insight. . . . Fascinating.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Ackerman escorts the reader inside the
skull. . . . It is a fascinating trip. [She’s] consistently brilliant and perceptive in
her writing.”
—Alan Prince, Bookpage
“Provocative. . . . [A] stimulus to the zen-like pursuit of thinking about
thinking.”
—San Jose Mercury News
“With elegance and attention to detail . . . Ackerman explores how our
celebrated ‘gray matter,’ an intricate tangle of billions of neurons, functions to
make us at once unique and universal.”
—The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC) “Ackerman fans know what to
expect: the meeting of science and sensuality, of nature and art, seen through
the prism of personal experience and expression. . . . Her continuing
references to the arts, animals, earlier humans, [and] cultural differences create
contexts not found in other books on this subject.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Ackerman fuses art and the mysterious science of the brain.”
—Elissa Schappell, Vanity Fair “By grounding the scientific information
firmly in her own experience of discovery, Ackerman invites readers to share
in her . . . uniquely personal perspective.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Ackerman’s style [is] genuinely
gripping.”
—The Daily Californian
“A beautiful book. . . .[Ackerman] has taken the largely inaccessible and
confusing scientific literature on the brain and made sense out of it. With clarity,
spunk, and feeling, what is known about the brain becomes up-front and
personal.”
—Dr. Michael S. Gazzaniga,
Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Dartmouth College and
editor of Cognitive Neuroscience
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CONTENTS
MIRACLE WATERS (Evolution)
Chapter 1. The Enchanted Loom
Imagining the brain.
Chapter 2. This Island Earth
Evolution; the world’s tiniest reptile; our brain and other animals’.
Chapter 3. Why We Ask “Why?”
What happens in the right brain vs. the left brain; why we’re driven to tell
stories.
Chapter 4. The Fibs of Being
Consciousness; some definitions and theories.
Chapter 5. Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines
The unconscious; how it collaborates with the conscious mind.
SWEET DREAMS OF REASON (The Physical Brain)
Chapter 6. The Shape of Thought
Neurons, dendrites, axons; how all the parts speak to each other.
Chapter 7. Inner Space
Synapses, the plasticity of the brain; how we influence brain development;
medication and the brain.
Chapter 8. Attention Please
How we unconsciously choose what to pay attention to; multitasking;
absentmindedness.
Chapter 9. A Passion for Patterns
How our brain quests for meaning in what it senses.
Chapter 10. In the Church of the Pines
The spiritual brain.
Chapter 11. Einstein’s Brain
What happened to it? Was it different?
Chapter 12. The Mind’s Eye
The brain’s ability to imagine/see things that aren’t in view at the time.
PAVILIONS OF DESIRE (Memory)
Chapter 13. What Is a Memory?
The importance of memory to who we are; how memories are formed; how
they’re influenced.
Chapter 14. Reflections in a Gazing Ball
How memories are recalled; association of pain and memory; unconscious
memory.
Chapter 15. Remember What?
What happens when we learn; words on the tip of the tongue; Alzheimer’s
and the aging brain; IQ; short-term vs. long-term memory; how memories
affect the present.
Chapter 16. Remember, I Dream
The role of dreams in memory.
Chapter 17. “Hello,” He Lied
True and false memories; subliminally influencing thought and memory.
Chapter 18. Traumatic Memories
How they’re stored and recalled; connections between emotions and
memory.
Chapter 19. Smell, Memory, and the Erotic
Proust; perfume; love.
NEVER A DULL TORMENT (The Self, and Other Fictions)
Chapter 20. Introducing the Self
How we think of ourself; the multiple facets of a self.
Chapter 21. The Other Self
Body and mind; immune system and brain; brain damage and loss of self.
Chapter 22. Personality
Nature vs. nurture; genetics and experience; development as babies.
Chapter 23. “Shall It Be Male or Female? Say the Cells”
Male and female brains; if they work differently; how they’re shaped; how
traits get passed on.
Chapter 24. Creating Minds
Artistic minds, mathematical minds—inherited, cultivated; how they
differ; synesthesia.
THE WORLD IS BREAKING SOMEONE ELSE’S HEART (Emotions)
Chapter 25. The Emotional Climate
Anger, stress, adrenaline, how they affect and are relieved by the brain; our
brain isn’t made for the modern world; fear, painful thoughts.
Chapter 26. The Pursuit of Happiness
Happiness as hereditary and achieved; the difference in the brain between
natural and forced laughter; optimistic and pessimistic brains.
THE COLOR OF SAYING (Language)
Chapter 27. Memory’s Accomplice
Language acquisition, use, and nonverbal thinking.
Chapter 28. Metaphors Be with You
How words organize experience.
Chapter 29. The Color of Saying
The origin of words; how we reveal ourselves through words; the brain
finding relations among things.
Chapter 30. Shakespeare on the Brain
How Shakespeare’s brain was different.
THE WILDERNESS WITHIN (The World We Share)
Chapter 31. Oasis
Evolution of life; how our brain came to be.
Chapter 32. Conscience and Consciousness
Are we the only conscious animals? Some theories about consciousness.
Chapter 33. A Kingdom of Neighbors
Animal minds.
Chapter 34. The Beautiful Captive
Imaging the brain; brain research; celebration of the uniquely human brain.
ALCHEMICAL SYMBOLS
ABOUT DIANE ACKERMAN
NOTES, ADDENDA, AND AFTERTHOUGHTS
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX
For HB, with love
my mind is a big hunk of irrevocable nothing which touch and taste and smell
and hearing and sight keep hitting and chipping with sharp fatal tools in
an agony of sensual chisels i perform squirms of chrome and execute
strides of cobalt nevertheless i
feel that i cleverly am being altered that i slightly am becoming something a
little different, in fact myself
Hereupon helpless i utter lilac shrieks and scarlet bellowings.
e. e. cummings, Portraits, VII