Thinking Beyond Science

First published August 19, 1998

Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran is internationally renowned for uncovering answers to the deep and quirky questions of human nature that few scientists have dared to address. His bold insights about the brain are matched only by the stunning simplicity of his experiments — using such low-tech tools as cotton swabs, glasses of water and dime-store mirrors. In Phantoms in the Brain, Dr. Ramachandran recounts how his work with patients who have bizarre neurological disorders has shed new light on the deep architecture of the brain, and what these findings tell us about who we are, how we construct our body image, why we laugh or become depressed, why we may believe in God, how we make decisions, deceive ourselves and dream, perhaps even why we’re so clever at philosophy, music and art. Some of his most notable cases:

A woman paralyzed on the left side of her body who believes she is lifting a tray of drinks with both hands offers a unique opportunity to test Freud’s theory of denial.
A man who insists he is talking with God challenges us to ask: Could we be “wired” for religious experience?
A woman who hallucinates cartoon characters illustrates how, in a sense, we are all hallucinating, all the time.
Dr. Ramachandran’s inspired medical detective work pushes the boundaries of medicine’s last great frontier — the human mind — yielding new and provocative insights into the “big questions” about consciousness and the self.

About the Author

Vilayanur Subramanian Ramachandran, born in 1951, is a neuroscientist prominent for his work in the fields of visual psychophysics and behavioural neurology. He has done his MBBS from University of Madras and PhD from University of Cambridge. He is a professor in the department of psychology, and the graduate program in neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego. Ramachandran is also the director of the Center for Brain and Cognition, that is affiliated with the UC San Diego Department of Psychology. He is the author of several books with gained public recognition. His other book is called Tell-Tale Brain, a 2010 publication.

He is a scientist who is able to explore the subjective and personal ramifications of his work. He re-humanized this sterile field of the human brain, and captured the spirit of wonder. Sandra Blakeslee is a co-author.

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31555.Phantoms_in_the_Brain

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