Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

By: Lisa Feldman Barrett

Narrated by: Lisa Feldman Barrett

From the author of How Emotions Are Made, a myth-busting primer on the brain in the tradition of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

Have you ever wondered why you have a brain? Let renowned neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett demystify that big gray blob between your ears. In seven short essays (plus a bite-sized story about how brains evolved), this slim, entertaining, and accessible collection reveals mind-expanding lessons from the front lines of neuroscience research. You'll learn where brains came from, how they're structured (and why it matters), and how yours works in tandem with other brains to create everything you experience. Along the way, you'll also learn to dismiss popular myths such as the idea of a "lizard brain" and the alleged battle between thoughts and emotions, or even between nature and nurture, to determine your behavior.

Sure to intrigue casual listeners and scientific veterans alike, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain is full of surprises, humor, and important implications for human nature - a gift of a book that you will want to savor again and again.

©2020 Lisa Feldman Barrett (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Acclaimed neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett narrates her series of essays in this brief but sprightly introduction to the brain. In her erudite, enthusiastic voice…Barrett's goal is to give compelling and comprehensible information to a general audience. In this production she has definitely succeeded." - AudioFile Magazine, An Earphones Award Winner

“An excellent education in brain science…[Feldman Barrett] deftly employs metaphor and anecdote to deliver an insightful overview of her favorite subject…so short and sweet that most readers will continue to the 35-page appendix, in which the author delves more deeply, but with no less clarity, into topics ranging from teleology to the Myers-Briggs personality test to ‘Plato’s writings about the human psyche.’ Outstanding popular science.” - Kirkus, STARRED

"What about that 'three-pound blob between your ears'? In seven essays about the brain and a half-size one about its evolution…Barrett has crafted a well-written tribute to this wow-inducing organ." - Booklist

Excellent primer about new brain science

This is a well produced audiobook read by the author. The only issue I had is that to get the full experience one really needs to be able to look at the website at the same time, but this is a minor issue for a very worthwhile book.

Neuroscience easily understood, well presented.

5 stars for telling the story of the Brain in easily consumable bites. Very well narrated and timely considering we are moving to a time when opinion influences more than facts and information. Knowing how your brain works is the first step to understanding what you believe.

Excellent

Leaves you wanting more! For a neophyte, it was a great frost step to better understanding the brain. Highly recommend!

comprehensive view of the brain

the book describes the anatomy, physiology and social implications of the brain. I was especially impressed with the idea that people's brains interact with each other and influence each other. some ideas seemed a little farfetched. like the notion that our brains decide on a course of action even before receiving stimuli from the outside world. but even the ideas I disagreed with were very intriguing.

Dang! Now we are responsible!

Fifty years ago I thought our application of behavior therapy would affect the way most parents rear their children. One of my colleagues said we had a moral responsibility to use this technology of behavior change. The learning we are obtaining from Barrett’s and others’ labs seems to fit within this imperative.