Great Myths of the Brain

THESE days you can't go to a children's birthday party withoutone of the adults making a knowing comment about the excited scampsbeing high on sugar . In fact, there's no evidence that sugarmakes children hyperactive. But the remark illustrates the wayfalse beliefs about how our brains work permeate most aspects oflife as does the burgeoning of buzzwords likeneuromarketing or neuroleadership. Such neurobollocks , to borrowthe title of a popular scienceblog, is ably and entertainingly demolished by ChristianJarrett in Great Myths of the Brain . As a journalist in thisfield, I thought I would know most of these myths, but there wasplenty here that was new and interesting to me. New Scientist,December 2014 As you can tell from the length of this review, there isa lot to be learnt from this book. I certainly learnt a few thingseven if I wasn t always taken in by some of the myths outthere. The brain is a remarkable organ and clearing away the mythsto see what is really there will show its true strengths and if youuse in your fiction, make for better up-to-date stories. Read,digest, learn and dispel those myths. ( SFCrowsnest.org.uk , 1 November 2014) Jarrett is a man with substantial knowledge of the brain. Great Myths has been hailed by Ben Goldacre (author of Bad Science and Bad Pharma and scourge of sloppystatisticians and dodgy pharmaceutical marketers) as amasterful catalogue of neurobollocks . Professor David GMyers calls it a tour de force of critical thinking from one of the world s great communicators . ( The Listener , November 2014) Christian Jarrett s Great Myths Of The Brain is the sort of book that every amateur brain enthusiast should haveon his or her shelf. The book is an effort to assemble all thecommon and not-so-common myths about the brain, past and present,and explain why they re all wrong using genuineneuroscience. BBC Focus, January 2015