Mind Sculpture: Unlocking Your Brain's Untapped Potential

by Ian H. Robertson

A leading researcher of brain rehabilitation explains how the growth and function of the human brain can be affected by the manner in which one interacts with the world and by relationships with other people.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Neuroscience, Self Help, Science

256 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Ian Robertson is Professor of Psychology at Trinity College, Dublin and founding Director of Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. Robertson is the first psychologist in Ireland to have been elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Robertson also holds the positions of Visiting Professor at University College London, Visiting Professor at Bangor University, University of Wales, and Visiting Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, University of Toronto. Robertson was previously a Senior Scientist at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the University of Cambridge, where he was also a fellow at Hughes Hall. Robertson sat on the Wellcome Trust Neuroscience and Mental Health Committee from 2006–2011.
Robertson is Director of the NIEL programme (Neuroenhancement for Inequalities in Elder Lives[3]). He was founding director of Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience.
A graduate of Glasgow University, Robertson gained his Masters (Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry) and Doctoral (Neuropsychology) degrees at the University of London.
Ian Robertson has published over 250 scientific articles in leading journals, including Nature, Brain, Journal of Neuroscience, and Psychological Bulletin. Ian has also contributed to public communication and understanding of science, contributing regularly to The Times and The Daily Telegraph, he was also a columnist for the British Medical Journal. Robertson is author and editor of ten scientific books, including the leading international textbook on cognitive rehabilitation (Cognitive Neurorehabilitation), and several books for the general reader which have been translated into multiple languages.

Reviews

[Vish · Rating 2 out of 5]

The books contains alot of information about the physiology of the brain. To most extent topics are repetitive. Psychologists & cognition enthusiasts will find most of the things highly relevant. A poor read for the average non-fiction reader. Fails to deliver what the cover tells you.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book four stars but for the fact that although interesting and at times fascinating, I just didn't find it that easy to read.

One of the things that impressed me most about the book is that although it was first published in 1999, much of the content was new and surprising to me. Reading it, I became aware of how little I knew about how the human brain works, in spite of having an interest in psychology. From the beginning of the book, the author refers to the brain as "the trembling web". At first I found this expression a bit strange but towards the end of the book, I got it. This trembling web is what makes me who I am!

It's the best self-help/human potential book I've come across. I'd like to share this paragraph:
"Should you wish to, you could train yourself vastly to improve your memory. You could learn to solve problems much better than you can now and thus improve your intelligence. You could learn to play any musical instrument you like. You are free to train your eye to detect the subtlest nuances of colour in a Vermeer painting, or to recognise the complexities of mathematical beauty in a Bach concerto. For 'you', though embroidered into a trembling web, are also in command of it - in charge of a fragment of the universe that has more connections than there are stars in our galaxy."

[Benedict Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting. But it felt like the author didn't really grasp all the concepts he was talking about. The lack of references makes it feel like the sort of thing which a journalist would knock together in his spare time. I suspect a few of the concepts are already outdated.

[Jong Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our thinking and Science

This books displays excellent view points on our thinking and how our brain works.
Our brain evolves rather than fixed asset.