Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

Written 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 readers 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Nov 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781721358052

Lisa Feldman Barrett

LISA FELDMAN BARRETT, PhD, is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University. She received a National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award for her groundbreaking research on emotion in the brain, and is an elected member of the Royal Society of Canada. Barrett is the author of How Emotions are Made and Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain.

Reviews for Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

[Chen Goldberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting to hear a modern understanding of the brain, and purge old Misinformation. There were also interesting philosophical points raised. And the narration is great. I deducted one ⭐ for being overly preachy.

[Lari Myr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It has a lot of interesting things about human brain.

[Remus Gogu · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I loved “How emotions are made”, and I was expecting a bit more from this one. A bit repetitive and thin (some of the cases discussed in this book to support author’s claims were limited and repetitive), I feel the reading of the book is a bit dull, and I also feel at times the constructions are not very well thought through: one example is that the author claims only humans have social constructions but we know that many animals have hierarchies and can construct interaction models which could be qualified as forms of social fabric. I am not necessarily saying she is wrong with this example but there is no discussion on some obvious counter-arguments to her claim.

For me it was a good recap after my first book by Lisa but I don’t feel I have gained a lot.

[kmbrwhit · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

social reality - all made up, yep!
one brain - not 3, yep!

[diana friedman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Made a complicated topic simple enough for the average person. I finished it quickly and found I was easily able to stay focused. She used many analogies and metaphors to make it easy to understand. Well narrated in addition to well written.

[Shane McLendon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good and new info on psychology type stuff. This can help you understand yourself this book can. And also if you’re a marketer or copywriter which I am, it is helpful in that arena as well.

[Karen Nelson-Koop · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The fact that I read it in a day says it all (to me at least). There was no point in which I felt overloaded or bewildered by jargon or vocab. The author is a master of making the absurdly brain-bending topics seem as simple and digestible as the facts on a Snapple cap. Will absolutely be reading again, thank you Lisa!!

[Home Alone · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Few useful insights make this audiobook a quick and pleasant listening at ×1.8 speed.

[Dmitriy Shpak · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Starts off with great scientific information then moves on to indoctrination explaining how the best example and application of each brain function supports WOKE theology. OPEN BORDERS, GENDER SPECTRUM, Social and Race structures, hate speech, etc… sad when science is no longer science but used only to push a specific narrative. Completely unnecessary

[steve02476 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very short, ok I guess, but I didn’t see much of anything new or any kind of different take on understanding brains. A fine intro really, if you haven’t read much about the topic.

[stellarexplorer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s hard to top the opening paragraph in this short primer about the current scientific understanding of our brains: “Once upon a time, the Earth was ruled by creatures without brains. This is not a political statement, just a biological one.” In fact, Lisa Barrett, eminent neuroscientist and University Distinguished Professor at Northeastern University, evidently enjoys slyly sprinkling her account with pertinent political examples affording her plausible deniability. On the human construction of social reality: “We could have a leader who says terrible things on video, and then news outlets could agree that the words were never said. That’s what happens in a totalitarian society. Social reality may be one of our greatest achievements but it’s also a weapon we can wield against each other.” The book may cover complex material, but the author delivers it with a sense of fun and humor.While Barrett is at the forefront of neuroscience research, her book also demonstrates her ability to translate complex and technical material into clear and concise communications, easily absorbed by the reader. Extensive references and expanded details are available on an associated website.She dispenses with well-intended fallacies about the brain, substituting instead cogent explanation with minimal jargon. Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain reads like a synthesis of the last decade or two of the thinking in brain science. She has performed an invaluable service by distilling this emerging understanding into a set of bite-sized narratives that summarize how neuroscientists think about their subject.I particularly appreciate her attention to metaphors. People have long put forward their ideas about the brain, often seemingly oblivious to their metaphorical and often misleading consequences. For example, one hears the distorted claim that the left side of the brain is linguistic and logical, while the right is intuitive and creative. That one was especially in vogue when I was a neuroscience student in the late ‘70s. People use phrases like “the storage of memories”, as if the brain handles files like a computer and places them in an ordered location for later retrieval. And no, your brain doesn’t have an ancient reptilian layer dedicated to instinct and survival. To her credit, she devotes time to warning about the lure of simplification, wherein metaphor can substitute for explanation, and alerts the reader to examples of her own use of metaphor, along with her reasons and intentions. While this slim volume doesn’t require even more compression here, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say something about one of her central teaching points about the brain. This is no substitute for Barrett’s careful and clear narrative. The brain uses the sensory data it’s receiving to help you survive. It does it’s best job at this essential task not by waiting patiently for clarity about the meaning of the information it’s receiving. One cannot afford to confirm that a charging tiger is in fact about to sink its teeth into your throat. Instead, the brain anticipates, utilizes memories of past similar experiences and brain states, and uses these to make predictions about what is likely to happen next. We are not aware of this process, but the neural conversation about predictions results in one winning prediction and, to quote Barrett “…the winning prediction becomes your action and your sensory experience.” So in an essential sense, your brain is a prediction device which accelerates your responses, efficiently acting to help you survive. In fact, we couldn’t do something as simple as bouncing a ball were it not for our brain’s ability to accurately predict the behavior of bouncing balls and the body’s interaction with them.I’ve left out most of the actual lessons in favor of offering the flavor of the book. I’d highly recommend Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain for anyone interested in a mini-exposition of current neuroscience thinking. Or for anyone like me who could benefit from an update!