Livewired

The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain

By: David Eagleman

Narrated by: David Eagleman

Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

"Eagleman renders the secrets of the brain’s adaptability into a truly compelling page-turner.” (Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner)

“Livewired reads wonderfully like what a book would be if it were written by Oliver Sacks and William Gibson, sitting on Carl Sagan’s front lawn.” (The Wall Street Journal)

What does drug withdrawal have in common with a broken heart? Why is the enemy of memory not time but other memories? How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue, or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin? Why did many people in the 1980s mistakenly perceive book pages to be slightly red in color? Why is the world’s best archer armless? Might we someday control a robot with our thoughts, just as we do our fingers and toes? Why do we dream at night, and what does that have to do with the rotation of the Earth?

The answers to these questions are right behind our eyes. The greatest technology we have ever discovered on our planet is the three-pound organ carried in the vault of the skull. This book is not simply about what the brain is; it is about what it does. The magic of the brain is not found in the parts it’s made of but in the way those parts unceasingly reweave themselves in an electric, living fabric.

In Livewired, you will surf the leading edge of neuroscience atop the anecdotes and metaphors that have made David Eagleman one of the best scientific translators of our generation. Covering decades of research to the present day, Livewired also presents new discoveries from Eagleman’s own laboratory, from synesthesia to dreaming to wearable neurotech devices that revolutionize how we think about the senses.

©2020 David Eagleman (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Masterful ... Outstanding popular science."⁠ (Kirkus Reviews, starred)

"An altogether fascinating tour of the astonishing plasticity and interconnectedness inside the cranial cradle of all of our experience of reality, animated by Eagleman’s erudite enthusiasm for his subject, aglow with the ecstasy of sensemaking that comes when the seemingly unconnected snaps into a consummate totality of understanding." (Maria Popova, Brain Pickings)

"Vivid ... Since the passing of Isaac Asimov, we haven’t had a working scientist like Mr. Eagleman, who engages his ideas in such a variety of modes. Livewired reads wonderfully like what a book would be if it were written by Oliver Sacks and William Gibson, sitting on Carl Sagan’s front lawn." (Wall Street Journal)

Time to re-learn human learning

I’ve been following developments in Neuroplasticity and long-term memory for about a decade, and in that time most of our formative beliefs have been shattered. First, this book gives ample reason for hope for those who have suffered from brain injuries or impairment due to illness or trauma. Second the book teases us with developments underway to supplement our senses as well as to plug in novel sensory inputs or stimuli. The book provides examples of how this can create completely new and more ‘in-touch’ and effective interfaces for devices, vehicles and interactive experiences.
I am involved in software and data science, and the author compared and contrasted software approaches to learning with what we’ve recently learned about how ‘nature’ handles learning. He also notes how nature handles memory, fault tolerance, and obsolescence/upgrades, and notes how we could learn from nature in designing our technical systems!
narrator lacks a bit in charisma or perhaps inflection but speaks clearly and was fine, just not as great as the content.

Fascinating...

Eagleman has created a truly fascinating, well-researched, well-written, cutting edge piece of work. He incorporates the history of brain research, brain anatomy and functionality, brain plasticity, genetics and epigenetics in a way that i found engaging from ¨cover to cover¨. His writing is intelligible and accessible. He ties in references to science fiction and illustrates how many once considered ¨far-fetched¨ notions of human potential, often interfaced with technology, have become or are on the verge of becoming science-fact. A truly mind-expanding achievement. The only reason i gave the well-performed narration 4 instead of 5 stars is because the tone of the narrator seemed to noticeably change at times.

brain rewired... Thank you!

better insight into how plastic a brain can be. this plasticity continues to amaze.

Insights at the leading edge of brain science

Filled with wonderful analogies and the very latest from neuroscience, Eagleman puts the clues together with remarkable insight. I’ve read over 20 books about the brain and learning in the past few years. This ranks at the top, along with Gazzaniga’s “Who’s In There”, for useful and interesting insight.

Very interesting adaptability in the brain!

Cool to know how fast and all encompassing the brain is with new mediums of stimuli or after losing one sense

Eagleman flexin HORRD on Dragonminn

Just sayin’. To listen to this and to imagine why it’s being released right know kind shares the shit out of me. K love you bai.

Must Read in Neuroscience

Eagleman is not only a gifted writer, he is also a truly original thinker and scientist who puts forth bold, groundbreaking ideas that he backs up with a rigorous understanding of the relevant literatures, knack for analogies, and ability to generate predictions that both make his hypotheses falsifiable (essential for true science) and are interesting in and of themselves.

My understanding of brain function is revised!

A fascinating book that is full of forward looking information based in research. Perspective changing!

Great Book

I enjoyed learning more about the brain. I love the real life examples the author used to drive the points home. The narrating was also excellent.

Wonderful.

A very refreshing and thought provoking view of our world and the brain that navigates our bodies, environment and self.