Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

David Eagleman

Jan 2011 · Text Publishing

About this ebook

If the conscious mind - the part you consider you - is just the tip of the iceberg in the brain, what is all the rest doing?
Why can your foot jump halfway to the brake pedal before you become aware of danger ahead? What do Odysseus and the global financial crisis have in common? Why are people whose names begin with J more likely to marry other people whose names begin with J? And why is it so difficult to keep a secret?
Our behaviour, thoughts and experiences are inseparably linked to a vast chemical-electrical network called the nervous system. The machinery is utterly alien to us, and yet, somehow, it is us.
Neuroscientist David Eagleman plumbs the depths of the subconscious to illuminate this hidden world in his fascinating and engaging exploration of the human brain.

About the author

David Eagleman received undergraduate degrees in British and American literature from Rice University in 1993. He received a PhD in neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in 1998, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute. He is currently a neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the Laboratory for Perception and Action and the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. He has written several nonfiction books including Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia, Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Unconscious Brain, Live-Wired: The Dynamically Reorganizing Brain, and Cognitive Neuroscience. He has also written a work of fiction entitled Sum: Tales from the Afterlives. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Science, Nature, the New York Times, Discover Magazine, Slate, Wired, and New Scientist.