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Mind Games: 31 Days to Rediscover Your Brain
This original and innovative book is an exploration of one of the key mysteries of the mind, the question of consciousness. Conducted through a one month course of both practical and entertaining 'thought experiments', these stimulating mind-games are used as a vehicle for investigating the complexities of the way the mind works.
- GenresPhilosophy
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 31, 2010
1 person is currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Martin Cohen
126 books64 followersMartin Cohen is a well-established author specializing in popular books in philosophy, social science and politics.
I have a book being published November 2018 on the sociology of food this year, called provocatively 'I Think Therefore I Eat'! with an emphasis on how historical philosophers have approached the 'food issue'. It's a popular 'explainer' kind of book, already given a nice plug by Eater!
Food is very much an interdisciplinary area - though it is often treated in a narrow, specialised way. There is the nutritionist's perspective, the economist's, the cook's, the ecological... the list is as long as we want. And each perspective is 'valid', but only partial. So I think it's a good place to bring in a little philosophy.
Part of the book looks at the historical views of well-known philosophers on food (they have indeed had some!) but most of it looks at modern theories which are still philosophical in a fundamental sense, including for example, the ideas that we are living in an 'obesogenic' environment, or that our bodies, far from being guided by a single essential soul, are really constructed out of an uneasy alliance of micro-organisms.
It's published by Turner in the US mid-November, and this is their page for the book including my video trailer if you would like to see a little movie!
For rights inquiries, please contact my literary agent:
Mark Gottlieb
Literary Agent
Trident Media Group
mgottlieb@tridentmediagroup.com
(212) 333-1506
https://www.tridentmediagroup.com/
So, the book contains analysis of many current food-related debates,
including the vexed question of the obesity epidemic, which is much more complicated than merely people eating the wrong things, a fact that won't surprise many of us have explored by trying to go on a diet ourselves!
But perhaps the 'USP element' in it is more on what those venerable philosophy gurus had to say anyway. On the social science side, these two extracts give the flavour:
1. If you went by TV and the newspapers, you could be forgiven for thinking that celebrities, be they chefs or models, have more of a handle on the key food issues than qualified doctors and nutritionists – let alone philosophers. And you might well be right. Because the worst thing about food science, the elephant in the room, is that it’s not just the opinions that are changing – but the ‘facts’ themselves shift too. To get to the bottom of the food question. requires us to tease apart the strands of diet science and biochemistry, as well as an ounce of economics and a dash of human psychology.
Rather the obesity epidemic is an economic issue as I put in back in 2016 in an article for the Guardian newspaper. "The causes of the epidemic are complex, spanning the social sciences to biology and technology"
I took the same issue a bit further when I compared figures for childhood obesity - and found more evidence that, as I wrote, "It's poverty, not individual choice, that is driving extraordinary obesity ..."
Incidentally, the same sort of disgraceful thing applies to educational achievement. Did you know, that you can pretty much do away with exams (hooray!), as exam results mimic exactly a student's position in the class hierarchy (boo!). Shocking and disgraceful and no one - of course - s gong to do anything about it.
So that's really the the Politics of Food Science – as I put it for Gavin Wren's fabulous Brain Food Magazine at Medium , wri
I have a book being published November 2018 on the sociology of food this year, called provocatively 'I Think Therefore I Eat'! with an emphasis on how historical philosophers have approached the 'food issue'. It's a popular 'explainer' kind of book, already given a nice plug by Eater!
Food is very much an interdisciplinary area - though it is often treated in a narrow, specialised way. There is the nutritionist's perspective, the economist's, the cook's, the ecological... the list is as long as we want. And each perspective is 'valid', but only partial. So I think it's a good place to bring in a little philosophy.
Part of the book looks at the historical views of well-known philosophers on food (they have indeed had some!) but most of it looks at modern theories which are still philosophical in a fundamental sense, including for example, the ideas that we are living in an 'obesogenic' environment, or that our bodies, far from being guided by a single essential soul, are really constructed out of an uneasy alliance of micro-organisms.
It's published by Turner in the US mid-November, and this is their page for the book including my video trailer if you would like to see a little movie!
For rights inquiries, please contact my literary agent:
Mark Gottlieb
Literary Agent
Trident Media Group
mgottlieb@tridentmediagroup.com
(212) 333-1506
https://www.tridentmediagroup.com/
So, the book contains analysis of many current food-related debates,
including the vexed question of the obesity epidemic, which is much more complicated than merely people eating the wrong things, a fact that won't surprise many of us have explored by trying to go on a diet ourselves!
But perhaps the 'USP element' in it is more on what those venerable philosophy gurus had to say anyway. On the social science side, these two extracts give the flavour:
1. If you went by TV and the newspapers, you could be forgiven for thinking that celebrities, be they chefs or models, have more of a handle on the key food issues than qualified doctors and nutritionists – let alone philosophers. And you might well be right. Because the worst thing about food science, the elephant in the room, is that it’s not just the opinions that are changing – but the ‘facts’ themselves shift too. To get to the bottom of the food question. requires us to tease apart the strands of diet science and biochemistry, as well as an ounce of economics and a dash of human psychology.
Rather the obesity epidemic is an economic issue as I put in back in 2016 in an article for the Guardian newspaper. "The causes of the epidemic are complex, spanning the social sciences to biology and technology"
I took the same issue a bit further when I compared figures for childhood obesity - and found more evidence that, as I wrote, "It's poverty, not individual choice, that is driving extraordinary obesity ..."
Incidentally, the same sort of disgraceful thing applies to educational achievement. Did you know, that you can pretty much do away with exams (hooray!), as exam results mimic exactly a student's position in the class hierarchy (boo!). Shocking and disgraceful and no one - of course - s gong to do anything about it.
So that's really the the Politics of Food Science – as I put it for Gavin Wren's fabulous Brain Food Magazine at Medium , wri
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 5, 2020
Quirky? Unconditionally.
Q:
Dr Rapaille slithered to this understanding... (c)
Q:
The element of mind comes in as one jug is infused with spiritual power by being prayed over, whilst the other jug is left just holding plain old water. If you like, you can also have a third pot of water which you curse regularly, to infuse it with ‘ negative vibrations ’. (c)
Q:
By the time the CIA had finished, no one knew who was an artistic or intellectual radical and who was a stooge and stool - pigeon.
But then, perhaps there isn ’ t any difference? (c)
Q:
It is the Academy ’ s job to make sure that in France, it is courriels that are sent, not emails, and that no one attempts to do le shopping at le weekend but instead continue to faire les courses en fi n de semaine , even if it takes a bit longer. (c)
Q:
... people judge luck not by outcome but by expectation. For instance, psychologists have found that amongst Olympic champions, those second placed are not necessarily more content than those who came in third, despite on the face of it having done better. On the contrary, the silver medallists focus on the gold medal so near and yet so far, ruing their lack of that little bit more speed or whatever, whilst the bronze medallist is very pleased with their lot, thinking of how they might easily have come in fourth and got nothing at all. (c)
Q:
Biologically, we are not so different. It is only in our personal .narratives that we discover our identities. Some people start their life story with tales of misfortune and repression, burdens imposed and opportunities lost. Others start it with reports of special opportunities, exceptional abilities, and good fortune. Whether the ‘ real ’ histories were really so far apart – or even reversed – is of no matter. Such narratives have their own logic. The individual plays out a role determined by their life ‘ story ’ , not by any crude physical fact.
‘ Experience is not possible until it is arranged iconically; action is not possible unless it is organised iconically ’ , adds Dr Sacks. Indeed, the human mind processes not ‘ raw sense date ’ , but symbols, icons, human constructions from out of the shapeless world. (c)
Q:
Dr Rapaille slithered to this understanding... (c)
Q:
The element of mind comes in as one jug is infused with spiritual power by being prayed over, whilst the other jug is left just holding plain old water. If you like, you can also have a third pot of water which you curse regularly, to infuse it with ‘ negative vibrations ’. (c)
Q:
By the time the CIA had finished, no one knew who was an artistic or intellectual radical and who was a stooge and stool - pigeon.
But then, perhaps there isn ’ t any difference? (c)
Q:
It is the Academy ’ s job to make sure that in France, it is courriels that are sent, not emails, and that no one attempts to do le shopping at le weekend but instead continue to faire les courses en fi n de semaine , even if it takes a bit longer. (c)
Q:
... people judge luck not by outcome but by expectation. For instance, psychologists have found that amongst Olympic champions, those second placed are not necessarily more content than those who came in third, despite on the face of it having done better. On the contrary, the silver medallists focus on the gold medal so near and yet so far, ruing their lack of that little bit more speed or whatever, whilst the bronze medallist is very pleased with their lot, thinking of how they might easily have come in fourth and got nothing at all. (c)
Q:
Biologically, we are not so different. It is only in our personal .narratives that we discover our identities. Some people start their life story with tales of misfortune and repression, burdens imposed and opportunities lost. Others start it with reports of special opportunities, exceptional abilities, and good fortune. Whether the ‘ real ’ histories were really so far apart – or even reversed – is of no matter. Such narratives have their own logic. The individual plays out a role determined by their life ‘ story ’ , not by any crude physical fact.
‘ Experience is not possible until it is arranged iconically; action is not possible unless it is organised iconically ’ , adds Dr Sacks. Indeed, the human mind processes not ‘ raw sense date ’ , but symbols, icons, human constructions from out of the shapeless world. (c)
March 15, 2014
I hated having to flip to the back to explore the theme further or understand the daily task. Two book markers will be essential.
December 23, 2014
"I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance" Lady Bracknell.
Alternative subtitle: Thinking For Dummies.
Alternative subtitle: Thinking For Dummies.
August 30, 2015
"This is not a self-help book."
Yeah, it is just a crazy one. Reminds me of Douglas Adams, but it is way too juvenile.
Yeah, it is just a crazy one. Reminds me of Douglas Adams, but it is way too juvenile.
March 26, 2014
Çok önemli bir şey anlattığını düşünüp birini dinlemeye başlarsınız da, konuşma bittiğinde pek de aydınlanmadığınızı farkedersiniz... İşte öyle.
April 18, 2020
Read a version in Spanish: "Juegos Mentales 31 días para redescubrir mi mente". It was a Christmas present. ;)
July 28, 2013
Nějak jsem této útlé knize nepřišel na chuť. Experimenty mi nijak zábavné a ani obohacující nepřišly. Hlavně ale je jazyk nudný a vysvětlení různých "jevů" poloprázdné, nikam nevedoucí.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews