Phantoms in the brain
by V. S. Ramachandran (neurology), Sandra Blakeslee · first published 1999
73% recommend23% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Fascinating, approachable tour of neurology's strange cases, such as phantom limbs, Capgras syndrome and blindsight, showing how the brain shapes perception. Suits curious general readers and fans of Oliver Sacks.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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See also: Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran, which discusses Capgras and lots of other awesome neurological conditions: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688172172?ie=UTF8&ref_... (referral link)
on “Capgras Delusion” ↗I highly recommend reading his book Phantoms in the Brain. Fascinating and approachable introduction to the kind of neuroscience--some of the talk's examples come from this book--that he talks about.
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite TED Talk?” ↗Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by Dr. Vilayanur S. Ramachandran Read it around three years ago and I was never the same since. It is non-fiction, and I think VR is only mentioned in passing, but if you see it anywhere, be sure to…
on “Ask HN: Books that altered your view of reality” ↗…Gödel,Escher and Bach: It made me love programming and recursion. 2.Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan: Made me love biology 3.Brief History of Time: Increased interest and self confidence in Science. 4. Phantoms in the Brain : How complex problems can be solved by out of the box thinking.
on “Ask HN: What book(s) changed your life?” ↗This reminds me of an experiment recounted in a great book Phantoms in the Brain, which I always wanted to try. The subject sits with a model nose placed some distance in front of them on which someone taps and strokes in some non predictable fashion. At the same time the subject's…
on “Groundbreaking arm amputation surgery makes a ‘phantom’ hand seem real” ↗Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran. Blew my mind (pun intended) and changed my perspective on pretty much everything forever.
on “Ask HN: What are some must read books?” ↗What a great question! The book that got me into neuroscience was Phantoms in the Brain by V. S Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee. A 22-year old book that wowed 20-year-old me. Principles of Neural Design by Peter Sterling and Simon Laughlin is a more recent book. It is brilliant, beautifully…
on “Ask HN: Which book can attract anyone towards your field of study?” ↗…of experimental evidence for your hypothesis that " the neurological process of seeing and the neurological process of being consciously aware of what I'm seeing are not the same thing" in this book: Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by Ramachandran, Blakeslee
on “Ask HN: Teach me something new” ↗For compelling examples of the brain seemingly deliberate activities that occur without humans conscious awareness, highly recommend the great examples in: "Phantoms in the Brain": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31555.Phantoms_in_the_Br...
on “Research Reveals How AI "Thinks" (It Doesn't)” ↗Phantoms in the Brain [1] has fantastic examples of the type of scenarios you described. [1] - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31555.Phantoms_in_the_Br...
on “Chomsky on what ChatGPT is good for (2023)” ↗I really enjoy books on neuroscience that change the way I think about perception. Phantoms in the Brain by V S Ramachandran - a book about how the brain organises itself in bizarre edge cases. The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes us Human. The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗Sure. I first learned about the research from a brief footnote in the book Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran (highly recommended). Then I spent quite a long time looking for the article sourced, by Tinbergen, which is: Tinbergen N., and Perdeck, A.C. (1950). On the stimulus situation releasing…
on “How Niko Tinbergen Reverse Engineered the Seagull” ↗I'd suggest you first read Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran. He explores some pretty amazing quirks about the human brain. Then, if you're still interested, read The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. It's a pretty good overview of biological…
on “Ask HN: Recommend any books about Medicine?” ↗If you like books by Sacks I would also recommend reading "Phantoms in the brain" by S.Ramachandran
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗The Selfish Gene changed my life, along with Phantoms in the Brain By V.S. Ramachandran.
on “Ask YC: What have you learned that rocked your world?” ↗