The master and his emissary
by Iain McGilchrist · first published 2009
57% recommend38% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Wide-ranging argument about the divided brain: the left hemisphere favors focused, decontextualized thinking, the right favors context, and this shapes Western culture. For readers wanting idea-rich books.
Common criticism: Some find the writing dense and exhausting, with long asides
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Now available in a larger format, a fascinating exploration of the differences between the brain's right and left hemispheres and their effects on society, history, and culture."--Publisher description.
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What Hacker News says
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In no particular order: Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre (Keith Johnstone) The Master and His Emissary (Iain McGilchrist et al.) Emissary’s guide to worlding (Ian Cheng) Black Swan by NNT already recommended elsewhere in the thread. I want to go off-topic and recommend a non-book, Learning to Fly…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗Why not both? Left neocortex hemisphere handles discrete, right handles continuous. Iain McGilchrist makes a convincing argument for that in his book The Master and His Emissary. Also, the main difference between 'hardware' and 'wetware' arises as a consequence of a very simple cybernetic principle, to quote Wikipedia: "Also in 1960, [Manfred Clynes] discovered a biologic law,…
on “Is Information in the Brain Represented in Continuous or Discrete Form?” ↗…around. Yet too often we put these charismats in charge! So that's my Dr. House run-down that I was reluctant to give. In summary, good with spreadsheets, hopeless at finding a direction. [1] See "The Master and His Emissary" by Iain Mcgilchrist. Awesome book.
on “My Billion Dollar Mistake” ↗The Master and his Emissary by Iain McGilchrist. http://iainmcgilchrist.com/the-master-and-his-emissary/
on “Ask HN: Being a hacker, which books engaged your inquisitive mind the most?” ↗The idea that analogy underpins all thought is also argued by Ian McGilchrist in his book Master and His Emissary, which I'd highly recommend to people interested in the sort of epic philosophical undertaking GEB was: http://www.iainmcgilchrist.com/The_Master_and_his_Emissary_b...
on “Douglas Hofstadter has a new book” ↗I am currently reading "The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World" by Iain McGilchrist. It provides a good overview of current insight into the roles of the separate hemispheres of the brain (way beyond the usual…
on “The Two Cultures of Mathematics (2000) [pdf]” ↗After a quick skim, I would recommend Master and his Emissary as a book with similar themes about the limits, dangers and over-dominance of reductionism and mechanistic views of reality, but significantly better written and argued and ultimately much broader (although…
on “Software and Mind: The Mechanistic Myth and Its Consequences” ↗…giant GPU parallel computing system that deals in emotions and our culture. Slapped on to the system is a slow weak single core trying desperately to control everything. I can recommend the book "The Master and His Emissary" by Iain McGilchrist. Notice especially in the Schizophrenic Paranoia in the link in the GP. Most people are dumb, but there are the evil "Persuaders" who are out to get you. And you are the enlightened…
on “To tell someone they're wrong, first tell them how they're right” ↗…depression spectrum. Autism and schizophrenia are so horrible because they are not on the affect spectrum. So in a historic view autism is indeed a new and a modern madness. I would recommend the book "The Master and His Emissary" by Iain McGilchrist.
on “Autism detectable in brain long before symptoms appear” ↗Also: The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist If you want to read a book that has the potential of radically changing your perspective of things, give this a shot.
on “The split brain: A tale of two halves (2012)” ↗Challenging myself. Reading books that are hard and maybe not relevant to my current job but super interesting and provoke ideas. Most recent example is The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist.
on “Ask HN: What are your habits for continued learning and/or career growth?” ↗The Master and his Emissary by Iain McGilchrist on the differences between the brain hemispheres. It's really an under-appreciated 800 lb gorilla hiding in the middle of the room of neuroscience that the two hemispheres are massively…
on “Ask HN: Do you recall any book or course that made a topic finally click?” ↗…understanding of religion, I'd recommend Joseph Henrich's "The WEIRDest People in the World" and "The Secret of our Success". Finally though certainly not least importantly, I'd recommend Iain McGilchrist's "The Master and His Emissary" and "The Matter with Things". Both touch on how it is we see and understand the world and how the current default perspective differs from those of other times and places.
on “Ask HN: What's the Best Book on Religion” ↗…forced actions. So, approximately, Free Will is the story the right brain tells itself after the left-brain already made the decision. For more on the split brain aspect of this, see McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary and The Matter With Things.
on “Is Consciousness Part of the Fabric of the Universe?” ↗The Master and His Emissary by Ian McGilchrist Why Materialism is Baloney by Bernardo Kastrup The first one really opened my mind to alternate modes of thought. The first half of the book is especially interesting, the second…
on “What's the most radical book you've read?” ↗