Great Myths of the Brain

Great Myths of the Brain introduces readers to the field of neuroscience by examining popular myths about the human brain.

* Explores commonly-held myths of the brain through the lens of scientific research, backing up claims with studies and other evidence from the literature * Looks at enduring myths such as "Do we only use 10% of our brain?", "Pregnant women lose their mind", "Right-brained people are more creative" and many more. * Delves into myths relating to specific brain disorders, including epilepsy, autism, dementia, and others * Written engagingly and accessibly for students and lay readers alike, providing a unique introduction to the study of the brain * Teaches readers how to spot neuro hype and neuro-nonsense claims in the media

Christian Jarrett has a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Manchester. He is editor of the British Psychological Society s Research Digest; author of the Brain Watch blog for WIRED; a blogger for Psychology Today; and columnist for 99U, the New York-based creativity think tank. Dr. Jarrett is also the author of The Rough Guide to Psychology (2011) and editor of 30 Second Psychology (Icon Books)

As you can tell from the length of this review, there is a lot to be learnt from this book. I certainly learnt a few things even if I wasn t always taken in by some of the myths out there. The brain is a remarkable organ and clearing away the myths to see what is really there will show its true strengths and if you use in your fiction, make for better up-to-date stories. Read, digest, learn and dispel those myths. (SFCrowsnest.org.uk, 1 November 2014)

Jarrett is a man with substantial knowledge of the brain. Great Myths has been hailed by Ben Goldacre (author of Bad Science and Bad Pharma and scourge of sloppy statisticians and dodgy pharmaceutical marketers) as a masterful catalogue of neurobollocks . Professor David G Myers calls it a tour de force of critical thinking from one of the world s great communicators . (The Listener, November 2014)