-
The Idea of the Brain
- The Past and Future of Neuroscience
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 14 hrs and 13 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $29.65
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Fluent Forever
- How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It
- By: Gabriel Wyner
- Narrated by: Gabriel Wyner
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Memory is the greatest challenge to learning a foreign language; there are just too many words and too many rules. For every new word we learn, we seem to forget two old ones, making fluency seem out of reach. Fluent Forever tackles this challenge head-on. Starting with pronunciation, you'll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds.
-
-
i love it
- By Anonymous User on 06-21-17
By: Gabriel Wyner
-
The Secret Knowledge of Water
- There Are Two Easy Ways to Die in the Desert: Thirst and Drowning
- By: Craig Childs
- Narrated by: Craig Childs
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deserts are environments that can be inhospitable even to seasoned explorers. Craig Childs has spent years in the deserts of the American West, and his treks through arid lands in search of water reveal the natural world at its most extreme.
-
-
This book is fantastic
- By Jamesdcawley on 04-09-20
By: Craig Childs
-
The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership
- Embracing the Conflicting Demands of Today's Workplace
- By: Tim Elmore
- Narrated by: Tim Elmore
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership unpacks the fresh strategies and new mindset required today from a next-generation leader. Author Dr. Tim Elmore helps leaders of all kinds navigate increasingly complex, rapidly changing environments, as well as manage teams who bring a range of new demands and expectations to the workplace that haven’t been seen even one generation prior.
-
-
Same Leadership Book Formula, Content and advice
- By Patrick Bogart on 11-29-21
By: Tim Elmore
-
Buzz, Sting, Bite
- Why We Need Insects
- By: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
- Narrated by: Kristin Millward
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we - and the planet we inhabit - could not survive without them.
-
-
Obnoxious narration
- By Caleb E. on 02-24-20
-
The Fate of Food
- What We'll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World
- By: Amanda Little
- Narrated by: Amanda Little
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Climate models show that global crop production will decline every decade for the rest of this century due to drought, heat, and flooding. Water supplies are in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the world’s population is expected to grow another 30 percent by midcentury. So how, really, will we feed nine billion people sustainably in the coming decades? Amanda Little, a professor at Vanderbilt University and an award-winning journalist, spent three years traveling through a dozen countries and as many US states in search of answers to this question.
-
-
Wow.
- By Sara on 06-11-19
By: Amanda Little
-
Everything in Its Place
- First Loves and Last Tales
- By: Oliver Sacks
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of Gratitude and On the Move, a final volume of essays that showcase Sacks's broad range of interests - from his passion for ferns, swimming, and horsetails, to his final case histories exploring schizophrenia, dementia, and Alzheimer's.
-
-
Missing Sacks
- By Brandy on 12-02-19
By: Oliver Sacks
-
Fluent Forever
- How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It
- By: Gabriel Wyner
- Narrated by: Gabriel Wyner
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Memory is the greatest challenge to learning a foreign language; there are just too many words and too many rules. For every new word we learn, we seem to forget two old ones, making fluency seem out of reach. Fluent Forever tackles this challenge head-on. Starting with pronunciation, you'll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds.
-
-
i love it
- By Anonymous User on 06-21-17
By: Gabriel Wyner
-
The Secret Knowledge of Water
- There Are Two Easy Ways to Die in the Desert: Thirst and Drowning
- By: Craig Childs
- Narrated by: Craig Childs
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Deserts are environments that can be inhospitable even to seasoned explorers. Craig Childs has spent years in the deserts of the American West, and his treks through arid lands in search of water reveal the natural world at its most extreme.
-
-
This book is fantastic
- By Jamesdcawley on 04-09-20
By: Craig Childs
-
The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership
- Embracing the Conflicting Demands of Today's Workplace
- By: Tim Elmore
- Narrated by: Tim Elmore
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership unpacks the fresh strategies and new mindset required today from a next-generation leader. Author Dr. Tim Elmore helps leaders of all kinds navigate increasingly complex, rapidly changing environments, as well as manage teams who bring a range of new demands and expectations to the workplace that haven’t been seen even one generation prior.
-
-
Same Leadership Book Formula, Content and advice
- By Patrick Bogart on 11-29-21
By: Tim Elmore
-
Buzz, Sting, Bite
- Why We Need Insects
- By: Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson
- Narrated by: Kristin Millward
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we - and the planet we inhabit - could not survive without them.
-
-
Obnoxious narration
- By Caleb E. on 02-24-20
-
The Fate of Food
- What We'll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World
- By: Amanda Little
- Narrated by: Amanda Little
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Climate models show that global crop production will decline every decade for the rest of this century due to drought, heat, and flooding. Water supplies are in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the world’s population is expected to grow another 30 percent by midcentury. So how, really, will we feed nine billion people sustainably in the coming decades? Amanda Little, a professor at Vanderbilt University and an award-winning journalist, spent three years traveling through a dozen countries and as many US states in search of answers to this question.
-
-
Wow.
- By Sara on 06-11-19
By: Amanda Little
-
Everything in Its Place
- First Loves and Last Tales
- By: Oliver Sacks
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the best-selling author of Gratitude and On the Move, a final volume of essays that showcase Sacks's broad range of interests - from his passion for ferns, swimming, and horsetails, to his final case histories exploring schizophrenia, dementia, and Alzheimer's.
-
-
Missing Sacks
- By Brandy on 12-02-19
By: Oliver Sacks
-
Biography of Resistance
- The Epic Battle Between People and Pathogens
- By: Muhammad H. Zaman
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In September 2016, a woman in Nevada became the first known case in the US of a person who died of an infection resistant to every antibiotic available. Her death is the worst nightmare of infectious disease doctors and public health professionals. While bacteria live within us and are essential for our health, some strains can kill us. As bacteria continue to mutate, becoming increasingly resistant to known antibiotics, we are likely to face a public health crisis of unimaginable proportions.
-
-
Excellent read for a complicated issue
- By Anonymous User on 05-03-20
-
A Question of Power
- Electricity and the Wealth of Nations
- By: Robert Bryce
- Narrated by: Robert Bryce
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Global demand for power is doubling every two decades, but electricity remains one of the most difficult forms of energy to supply and do so reliably. Veteran journalist Robert Bryce tells the human story of electricity, the world's most important form of energy. Through onsite reporting from India, Iceland, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, New York, and Colorado, he shows how our cities, our money - our very lives - depend on reliable flows of electricity. He highlights the factors needed for successful electrification and explains why so many people are still stuck in the dark.
-
-
Not the complete story
- By John on 08-11-20
By: Robert Bryce
-
A Thousand Brains
- A New Theory of Intelligence
- By: Jeff Hawkins, Richard Dawkins - foreword
- Narrated by: Jamie Renell, Richard Dawkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For all of neuroscience's advances, we've made little progress on its biggest question: How do simple cells in the brain create intelligence? Jeff Hawkins and his team discovered that the brain uses map-like structures to build a model of the world - not just one model, but hundreds of thousands of models of everything we know. This discovery allows Hawkins to answer important questions about how we perceive the world, why we have a sense of self, and the origin of high-level thought.
-
-
Starts out good, ends up a train wreck
- By Warren on 03-15-21
By: Jeff Hawkins, and others
-
The Deep Learning Revolution
- By: Terrence J. Sejnowski
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The deep-learning revolution has brought us driverless cars, the greatly improved Google Translate, fluent conversations with Siri and Alexa, and enormous profits from automated trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Deep-learning networks can play poker better than professional poker players and defeat a world champion at Go. In this book, Terry Sejnowski explains how deep learning went from being an arcane academic field to a disruptive technology in the information economy.
-
-
An epic story of astronomical import
- By Matthew Duncan on 02-25-19
-
Moral Tribes
- Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them
- By: Joshua Greene
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A pathbreaking neuroscientist reveals how our social instincts turn Me into Us, but turn Us against Them - and what we can do about it. The great dilemma of our shrinking world is simple: never before have those we disagree with been so present in our lives. The more globalization dissolves national borders, the more clearly we see that human beings are deeply divided on moral lines - about everything from tax codes to sexual practices to energy consumption - and that, when we really disagree, our emotions turn positively tribal.
-
-
Good Science, Bad Philosophy
- By Jacob on 10-27-16
By: Joshua Greene
-
Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire
- The Biggest Ideas in Science from Quanta
- By: Thomas Lin - editor, Sean Carroll - foreword
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bringing together the best and most interesting science stories appearing in Quanta Magazine over the past five years, Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire reports on some of the greatest scientific minds as they test the limits of human knowledge. It communicates science by taking it seriously, wrestling with difficult concepts, and clearly explaining them in a way that speaks to our innate curiosity about our world and ourselves.
-
-
Broad collection of specific physics applications
- By James S. on 06-26-19
By: Thomas Lin - editor, and others
-
Professor Maxwell's Duplicitous Demon
- The Life and Science of James Clerk Maxwell
- By: Brian Clegg
- Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Asked to name a great physicist, most people would mention Newton or Einstein, Feynman or Hawking. But ask a physicist and there’s no doubt that James Clerk Maxwell will be near the top of the list. Maxwell, an unassuming Victorian Scotsman, explained how we perceive color. He uncovered the way gases behave. And, most significantly, he transformed the way physics was undertaken in his explanation of the interaction of electricity and magnetism, revealing the nature of light and laying the groundwork for everything from Einstein’s special relativity to modern electronics.
-
-
Science writing done right
- By Erik Josephson on 04-08-20
By: Brian Clegg
-
Consciousness and the Brain
- Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts
- By: Stanislas Dehaene
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How does the brain generate a conscious thought? And why does so much of our knowledge remain unconscious? Thanks to clever psychological and brain-imaging experiments, scientists are closer to cracking this mystery than ever before. In this lively book, Stanislas Dehaene describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs of other cognitive neuroscientists worldwide have accomplished in defining, testing, and explaining the brain events behind a conscious state.
-
-
I had no idea we knew this much.
- By Tristan on 01-18-16
-
The Human Swarm
- How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall
- By: Mark W. Moffett
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this paradigm-shattering book, biologist Mark W. Moffett draws on findings in psychology, sociology, and anthropology to explain the social adaptations that bind societies. He explores how the tension between identity and anonymity defines how societies develop, function, and fail. Surpassing Guns, Germs, and Steel and Sapiens, The Human Swarm reveals how mankind created sprawling civilizations of unrivaled complexity - and what it will take to sustain them.
-
-
Worthless
- By Richard on 11-24-19
By: Mark W. Moffett
-
On Intelligence
- By: Jeff Hawkins, Sandra Blakeslee
- Narrated by: Jeff Hawkins, Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jeff Hawkins, the man who created the PalmPilot, Treo smart phone, and other handheld devices, has reshaped our relationship to computers. Now he stands ready to revolutionize both neuroscience and computing in one stroke, with a new understanding of intelligence itself.
-
-
Interesting Introduction to a Fascinating Field
- By James on 04-14-06
By: Jeff Hawkins, and others
-
Climate Crisis and Natural Disasters
- A Complete Guide to Understand Causes and Effects of Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and Disasters
- By: Sam Davariem
- Narrated by: Jeremy Prost
- Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The climate of the Earth has changed throughout history. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth's orbit that changes the amount of solar energy. The trend toward current warming is particularly important because the bulk of this phenomenon (more than 95 percent probability) has undoubtedly been the result of human activity since the mid-20th century and is at an unprecedented rate over decades to thousands of years.
-
-
A difficult subject
- By Andrew Tice on 02-14-20
By: Sam Davariem
-
Consciousness Explained
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Paul Mantell
- Length: 21 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The national bestseller chosen by The New York Times Book Review as one of the ten best books of 1991 is now available as an audiobook. The author of Brainstorms, Daniel C. Dennett replaces our traditional vision of consciousness with a new model based on a wealth of fact and theory from the latest scientific research.
-
-
Best analysis of consciousness in modern history
- By Tim on 02-12-14
Publisher's Summary
An "elegant", "engrossing" (Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal) examination of what we think we know about the brain and why - despite technological advances - the workings of our most essential organ remain a mystery.
"I cannot recommend this book strongly enough." (Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm)
For thousands of years, thinkers and scientists have tried to understand what the brain does. Yet, despite the astonishing discoveries of science, we still have only the vaguest idea of how the brain works. In The Idea of the Brain, scientist and historian Matthew Cobb traces how our conception of the brain has evolved over the centuries. Although it might seem to be a story of ever-increasing knowledge of biology, Cobb shows how our ideas about the brain have been shaped by each era's most significant technologies. Today we might think the brain is like a supercomputer. In the past, it has been compared to a telegraph, a telephone exchange, or some kind of hydraulic system. What will we think the brain is like tomorrow, when new technology arises? The result is an essential listen for anyone interested in the complex processes that drive science and the forces that have shaped our marvelous brains.
Critic Reviews
"The story of the most complex object in the universe has never been told with greater clarity, insight, and wit. Charting the route to future discoveries, this is a masterpiece" (Adam Rutherford, author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived)
"This is a book I wish I could have written, and one that I will be thinking about for a long time." (Maria Picciotto, professor of psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine)
"A fresh history and tour d'horizon of 'the most complex object in the known universe.' Although scientists still struggle to understand the brain, they know a great deal about it; Cobb, a professor of biological sciences, delivers an excellent overview." (Kirkus Reviews)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Idea of the Brain
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stephanie Romer
- 05-16-22
Informative and interesting but mispronunciation
This is an extremely important and interesting book tracing the epistemological history of conceptions of the brain from antiquity to the present. However, be prepared to be thrown out of deep listening repeatedly by unbelievably egregious mispronunciation of basic words. For example, the word “synapse” as you can imagine is used extremely frequently later in the book. The narrator hired to read this liberally self-styles the word to sound like perhaps the artist formerly known as “Prince” might take license with a word or symbol. However, this is not pop music, it’s an important science book. As a neuroscientist it was like fingernails on a blackboard to hear even the names of important scientists mispronounced. The absolute worst was “sine-aps” like he was referring to an application on your phone for sine-waves. It’s not spelled like that and grammar is important. It’s positively “syn” ful. Imagine that happening Over and over again like the increase in the rate of firing of the chalkboard ganglion detected by a friggin needle stuck in your brain. And that’s just one of the mispronunciations. Ya… Definitely an hours-long argument for getting the print book.
I wanted to point this out so you can make the right decision about it. An informed decision. Because the content is amazing and I highly recommend this book. I have noticed mispronunciation before but never wrote about it because of course it will happen from time to time—like with names. But not for central words in a book about brain science. There should be sound editing for audio books like there are print editors for print books.
I am especially incensed because I love this book and it’s so important. It deserves better.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazing
- 10-25-20
A tour de force
Yes, the author has accomplished a tour de force about the mind. Must re-read/listen.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RS_Jr
- 03-26-22
An informative overview of neuroscience history, biased and myopic view forward
A useful big step back to reassess neuroscience and whether we really know what we think we know. Also included: Many small, hypocritical, and narrow minded steps in what I think are the wrong directions for the current cutting edge and the future of neuroscience.
There are instances in which the author admits to not understanding an idea or hypothesis, and then goes on to dismiss the value of related work. That’s not very cool!
I do strongly recommend this book for physicists and cognitive neuroscientists. Just don’t believe everything you read or hear in the book.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Liked it
- 03-02-22
Really enjoyed this book
It provided an interesting look at a very complex field. The recording itself was well performed and easy to listen to (I listened at 1.2 speed)
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- CHET YARBROUGH
- 12-02-21
BRAIN SKEPTIC
Matthew Cobb is a skeptic. “The Idea of the Brain” cautions the public about claims of doctors, psychologists, chemists, neuroscientists, philosophers, and technologists who claim breakthrough understandings of the brain. Cobb explains the history of how, where, and why the brain creates thought and action. Even to this day in the 21st century, brain function remains a mystery to science and the general public. Cobb does not deny progress has been made but his history of “The Idea of the Brain” shows progress has been slow, often misleading, and sometimes flatly wrong.
Cobb implies present-day computer comparison to the brain is a dead end. He infers–when neuronal brain activity is understood, today’s comparison of computers to brains will be the equivalent of science recognizing the brain, not the heart, is the source of thought and action. Cobb’s implication is that with an understanding of neuronal brain function, artificial intelligence may, in the far future, create life and consciousness. The ramification of that thought is that human procreation may be a thing of the past.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DeAndre Espree
- 08-10-22
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Best dive into the history and theory of neuroscience. :-) Excellent work.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Phil Brown
- 07-13-22
Very thought provoking
This book covers a large history and future of mankind's understanding of consciousness, and how it pertains to neuroscience, biology, & philosophy. There's no answers, just a lot of new concepts to explore and understand. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the science of consciousness.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Daniel
- 06-20-22
Really well researched
This is a great book if you want a very comprehensive view of how society has interpreted how we think throughout history. One of the things it drives home is how little we know today, and in some ways are just as far away from a real answer to things like where subjective experience arises from as our ancestors were thousands of years ago. Obviously great strides have been made towards understanding the chemistry of the brain at the most discrete levels, but understanding the wholistic nature of "how it works" at anything more than the "hand-wavey" level still eludes us. This book also highlights just how complex a problem that is.
Throughout history the brain has been decomposed to simplified models and metaphors, and throughout history, even now with our most complex computer models, we miss just how complicated it is. I loved how the author acknowledges this level of uncertainty rather than presenting the pat answers you see so often in other books about the workings of the brain. Answers that continue history's progression of failed metaphors.
The performance was precise and well articulated, although not so magnificent as to be considered outstanding (I am not sure how that could be achieved in a non-fiction book).
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Craig Doner
- 01-27-22
Excellent Overview
Very understandable overview of both the history of the "idea of the brain" and the current state of our knowledge of brain function.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KellysHero718
- 12-07-21
Good Science
Excellent and engaging history of neuroscience, filled with facts and insights that are valuable to us now and tomorrow. More proof that science is dynamic, never static, and that even after all these years and all this effort, we know little about ourselves and the planet on which we dwell. A very good read.