Science Resources RSS Feeds
|
 |
 |
 |
| View Larger Image | Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others | Hardcoverby Marco Iacoboni (Author)
| List Price: | $25.00 | |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | | Edition: | 1stst Edition | | Page Count: | 320 Pages | | Publication Date: | May 13, 2008 | | Sales Rank: | 116,065th |
|
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
What accounts for the remarkable ability to get inside another person’s head—to know what they’re thinking and feeling? “Mind reading” is the very heart of what it means to be human, creating a bridge between self and others that is fundamental to the development of culture and society. But until recently, scientists didn’t understand what in the brain makes it possible. This has all changed in the last decade. Marco Iacoboni, a leading neuroscientist whose work has been covered in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal, explains the groundbreaking research into mirror neurons, the “smart cells” in our brain that allow us to understand others. From imitation to morality, from learning to addiction, from political affiliations to consumer choices, mirror neurons seem to have properties that are relevant to all these aspects of social cognition. As The New York Times reports: “The discovery is shaking up numerous scientific disciplines, shifting the understanding of culture, empathy, philosophy, language, imitation, autism and psychotherapy.” Mirroring People is the first book for the general reader on this revolutionary new science. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 12 reviews)
|
Another step in understanding the brain by Eric Balkan (Maryland)  5 Stars
September 22, 2009
For something like 150 years, economists have argued with sociologists and psychologists as to whether human behavior, including decision-making, is rationalistic, individualistic, and self-aware -- or if it's often the result of forces that act on us unconsciously. In recent years, neuroscience and related fields have weighed in on the side of unconscious motivators. Joining other books like "Brain and Culture" by Bruce Wexler and "Mindless Eating" by Brian Wansink, Marco Iacoboni's "Mirroring People" is another step forward in understanding how our minds actually work, as opposed to how armchair theorists would like them to work.
Other reviewers have described the book pretty well, so I won't really get into that here. But just briefly, it's a well-researched, easy-to-read account of what scientists have learned about mirror neurons, the mechanism through which the brain uitilizes what we perceive other people doing and feeling. Mirror neurons are the key to understanding why we play better tennis after watching a pro match on TV, or why we're likely to laugh if people around us are laughing.
I'll add another note, in case no one else has mentioned it: often after describing an experiment, the author then asks the question that a reader may fairly ask: couldn't the results have a different explanation? He then answers this by describing other experiments done to eliminate other likely possibilities. The result is that the reader comes away feeling that Prof. Iacoboni has been careful to get all the facts he can before coming to a conclusion.
There are about 16 pages of notes at the end, giving references that the reader can follow up on to learn more. No need to take anything on faith here. :-) An excellent work!
| |
Mirroring Others, Ourselves and Our Selves by Pavel Somov, Ph.D., Author of Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) 5 Stars
June 11, 2009
"Mirroring People" starts out as an easy to read, casually narrated science-popularization tale and gradually evolves into a thought-provoking discussion of the nature of Self, behavioral causality, and neurolaw, neuroethics, and neuropolitics. The narrative makes sense: science first, social implications second. The tone is personal (you catch many a colorful glimpse of author's home country (Italy) and home life). The author, a neuroscientist, builds the suspense by connecting data dots into a hypothesis and then presenting research findings. He is committed to his conclusions and laconically emphatic about their interdisciplinary implications. Towards the end of the book, very appropriately, Iacoboni reveals himself a social visionary with a global message of empathy and compassion.
Pavel Somov, Ph.D., author of "Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time" (New Harbinger, 2008) [...]
| |
The Science of Imitation by Jay Young (Austin, TX USA) 5 Stars
February 06, 2009
If you want to know the neurological reasons for empathy, and imitative violence, you need to read "Mirroring People." Recently, using experiments on monkies, scientists have discovered mirror neurons. Basically, through electrodes attached to the brain, they found certain neurons firing in response to the actions of other monkies. They called these mirror neurons. Through mirror neurons, the monkies enact in their brain the perceived act and consequence of the action they are observing. They mirror neurons exist in the area roughly equivelant to the "Broca" area in the human brain, which is the area of language. So the kind of electrodes they used on the monkies haven't been implanted in humans, but noninvasive brain scanning has been done using the same kinds of experiments, and that humans have mirror neurons is a strong conclusion.
What this suggests is that symbolic language, culture, and civilization itself are largely due to our ability to imitate, and this comes from mirror neurons. Iacobini is sympathetic to Blackmore's Meme hypothesis, which is that we humans have big brains because of our ability to imitate, and that imitation on a large and signfiicant scale is what makes us human.
Iacobini offers much food for thought. He talks about how mirror neurons offer the basis for empathy, sympathy, and unfortunately, imitative violence. Indeed, he suggests that our notions of free-will will probably have to be revised. One of the most fascinating aspects of this book for me was the author's description of how he and his colleagues tested specific hypothoses about mirror neurons- the reader gets to see science in action. If you enjoy popular science books, and are interested in learning about why we are the way we are, you should read "Mirroring People."
| |
Mirror neurons: understanding others by re-enacting rather than by analysis by K. G. Karl (Los Angeles) 5 Stars
February 01, 2009
This book isn't an "easy read", but it rewards your careful attention with wonderful insights into neuroscience, psychology, and the day-to-day practice of science, including fascinating descriptions of ingenious experimental designs. Starting with the fantastic, serendipitous first discovery of "mirror neurons", Iacobini guides you along a path of years of theoretical speculation and experimentation, ending up at our current state of understanding of the role of mirror neurons in human cognition -- most particularly, how mirror neurons enable us to empathize with and understand other people. How do we know what someone is up to when they smile a certain way or do certain things? Iacobini explains that we don't understand others by "logical analysis", which would be far too slow and cumbersome. (Imagine trying to successfully maneuver through, say, a big party if you had to consciously think about and analyze every little thing you saw people doing in order to know how to respond! You'd probably give up and run away!) Instead, and amazingly (at least until you really think about it), we understand others by "mirroring" the things we see other people doing, and feeling what it's like to be in that person's shoes. For instance, when I see you smile a certain way, I subconsciously and subtly activate the muscles in my face to echo your expression. Voila! Instantly, without any conscious analysis whatsoever, I know that you're being sarcastic! Iacobini's book is full of fantastic information like this, including data which help to explain why people with social deficits (e.g., autistic children) are the way they are: their mirror neuron systems don't function properly ... as fascintating experiments, described by Iacobini in detail, establish. If you're interested in neuroscience, and want to know more about mirror neurons, this is the perfect book for you. I've read many books about neuroscience (from Damasio to Edelman to Ramachandran) and this book compares favorably with the best -- it's enlightening, clearly written, and neither too esoteric nor too simple. It's just right!
| |
Fascinating reading for the intellegent lay person by Jaybird (TX) 5 Stars
December 24, 2008
This book was definitely one of the top 3 I have read all year (and I read a lot of non-fiction). I will concede with the more negative reviewers that if you are looking for a cure for Autism, or detailed technological data you won't find it here. But if you are looking for an interesting layperson's view into recent advances into the nature of the brain and working of the mind, this is definitely an excellent book. The writing style is not quite up to the level of Lewis Thomas or S. J. Gould, but certainly readable and an intelligent exposition of the subject.
| |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| Mirrors in the Brain: How Our Minds Share Actions, Emotions, and Experience
by Giacomo Rizzolatti (Author), Corrado Sinigaglia (Author), Frances Anderson (Translator)
Emotions and actions are powerfully contagious; when we see someone laugh, cry, show disgust, or experience pain, in some sense, we share that emotion. When we see someone in distress, we share that distress. When we see a great actor, musician or sportsperson perform at the peak of their abilities, it can feel like we are experiencing just something of what they are experiencing. Yet only recently, with the discover of mirror neurons, has it become clear just how this powerful sharing of...
| 
| Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World
by Chris Frith (Author)
Written by one of the world’s leading neuroscientists, Making Up the Mind is the first accessible account of experimental studies showing how the brain creates our mental world.
Uses evidence from brain imaging, psychological experiments and studies of patients to explore the relationship between the mind and the brain
Demonstrates that our knowledge of both the mental and physical comes to us through models created by our brain
Shows how the brain makes communication of ideas...
| 
| Human: The Science Behind What Makes Us Unique
by Michael S. Gazzaniga (Author)
One of the world's leading neuroscientists explores how best to understand the human condition by examining the biological, psychological, and highly social nature of our species within the social context of our lives. What happened along the evolutionary trail that made humans so unique? In his widely accessible style, Michael Gazzaniga looks to a broad range of studies to pinpoint the change that made us thinking, sentient humans, different from our predecessors. ...
| 
| Being a Brain-Wise Therapist: A Practical Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology)
by Bonnie Badenoch (Author)
This book, the latest addition to the acclaimed Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology, brings interpersonal neurobiology into the counseling room, weaving the concepts of neurobiology into the ever-changing flow of therapy. In easy-to-understand prose, Being a Brain-Wise Therapist reviews the basic principles about brain structure, function, and development, and explains the neurobiological correlates of some familiar diagnostic categories. You will learn how to make theory come to life...
| 
| Mirroring People: The Science of Empathy and How We Connect with Others
by Marco Iacoboni (Author)
Includes a new Afterword by the Author
What accounts for our remarkable ability to get inside another person's head--to know what he or she is thinking and feeling? Marco Iacoboni, a leading neuroscientist, explains the groundbreaking research into mirror neurons, the "smart cells" in our brain that allow us to understand others. From imitation to morality, from political affiliations to consumer choices, mirror neurons are relevant to myriad aspects of social cognition. Mirroring...
|
|
|
|
