About the Book
From the creative brain behind WE HAVE NO IDEA, an introductory journey into your own mind—if your inner voice had a PhD in neuroscience, cracked jokes, and drew cartoons
Why do you love? Why do you hate? What makes you happy? Every single thought you have comes from one place: your brain. But what makes it tick? How much of it have we decoded, and how much of it remains an impenetrable mystery?
Join bestselling author and online cartoonist Jorge Cham and neuroscientist Dwayne Godwin on a deep dive into the fascinating world of the human brain, in which they will explore questions such as: What is consciousness? Do we have free will? And what happens when we die? All while illuminating everything we know (and don't know) about one of the most complex objects in the known universe. Think of it as conversation ammunition for your next cocktail party, or a quick, fascinating read while you’re in the bathroom (don’t worry, the chapters aren’t that long). Centered on questions we all ask ourselves at some point but don’t usually have answers to, Out of Your Mind is an illustrated book about the brain that isn’t too "brainy." Playful, accessible, and deeply insightful, it’s the one brain book that’s truly suitable for all brains.
Table of Contents:
A Mindful Introduction 3
1 Where Is the Mind? 7
2 Why Do We Love? 31
3 Why Do We Hate? 57
—Comic Interlude: A Primer on Fear— 83
4 Will an AI Take My Job? 87
5 What Are the Limits of Memory? 111
—Comic Interlude: A Primer on Alzheimer’s Disease— 143
6 What Is Addiction? 147
—Comic Interlude: The Case of the Addicted Detective— 175
7 What Is Consciousness? 179
8 What Makes Us Happy? 207
9 Do We Have Free Will? 243
—Comic Interlude: What Makes Something Funny?— 275
10 What Happens When We Die? 285
11 What Makes Us Human? 309
A Brainy Conclusion 335
Acknowledgments 341
For Further Exploration 343
About the Author :
Jorge Cham is the Daytime Emmy-nominated and best-selling cartoonist creator of the popular online comic strip “Piled Higher and Deeper” (known as PHD Comics - phdcomics.com). He is the co-creator, Executive Producer and Creative Director of “Elinor Wonders Why,” one of the highest-rated animated shows on PBS Kids, and the co-author of two popular science books: the best-selling and award-winning We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe and Frequently Asked Questions about the Universe, as well as the children’s book Oliver’s Great Big Universe. Jorge is also the co-host and co-creator of “Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe” a popular podcast and radio show. He obtained his Ph.D. in robotics from Stanford University and was an Instructor and Research Associate at Caltech from 2003-2005. He is originally from Panama.
Dwayne Godwin is a neuroscientist, an educator, and an academic leader who is a professor in the Department of Translational Neuroscience and served as graduate dean at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His research centers on the cellular basis of abnormal brain rhythms, including active projects on calcium channel function, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. His goal is to use emerging insights about the brain to develop treatments and potential cures for neurological diseases. His science outreach includes Mind in Pictures, cocreated with Jorge Cham for Scientific American Mind, as well as blogs for the Society for Neuroscience and the Museum of the Moving Image.
Review :
“Filled with wit (visual and verbal), charm, and good sense, Out of Your Mind is an inviting and enjoyable way to learn about the human brain.”—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of How the Mind Works and Rationality
“Utterly delightful. . . . As entertaining and fun to read as it is deeply insightful and philosophical.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“The lay reader is well served by the deft and compassionate handling of complex topics. . . . Interesting and accessible . . . without sacrificing accuracy or scientific credibility.” —American Scientist
“Out of Your Mind is a highly creative way to convey science, especially about that most mysterious of all human organs, the brain. This is no dry text book, nor a comic book. It is a fun-filled trip, with clear and easy to read explanations, humor and wit, entertaining illustrations, and good storytelling to boot.”—Alan Lightman, author of The Transcendent Brain
“For anyone curious about the new frontiers of brain science, from why we love to how we remember, this playful and accessible approach is the perfect place to start.”—Casey Schwartz, author of In the Mind Fields: Exploring the New Science of Neuropsychoanalysis
“Together [Cham and Godwin] make brain science—an extremely complicated subject—accessible to the general reader. . . . Cham’s drawings turn complexity into amusing simplicity. . . . An entertaining examination of fundamental questions about what makes us human.”—Kirkus
“If you’re interested in brain science and unsure where to start, this is a good choice.”—Outside, "The 2024 Sweat Science Holiday Book List"
“[A] fizzy investigation of how the brain works . . . [m]ixing science with lighthearted illustrations.”— Publishers Weekly
“Fun and inventive. . . . I was so engrossed that I was reading for hours.”—Girl Who Reads Blog
“Out of Your Mind is the perfect combination of great reading, clever illustrations and smart science. . . . Here’s the book to help you know your own mind, and to understand others.” —Narrative Species Blog
“Highly informative and fun to read. . . . [If] you’ve pondered serious questions about the human mind, memory, consciousness, and other experiences that make us human then Out of Your Mind is a book for you.” —The Gay League Blog
“Brilliant. . . . A properly accessible introduction to the fascinating world of how our minds work.”—TheLucidGuide.com
“An excellent primer. . . . A worthy edition to any personal library.”—VDevianceOnline Blog
“Human brains are the single greatest natural resource we have on the planet, and Jorge and Dwayne are two of my favorites. Out of Your Mind is fascinating, moving, funny, and thoughtful (no pun intended).”—Ryan North, author of How to Invent Everything
“The most gentle and comprehensive introduction to the human mind—from cells to societies. Thanks to the lucid writing and charming art, after years of pretending, I now actually understand neurons and neural networks.”—Zach Weinersmith, illustrator and co-author of Soonish and A City on Mars
“With a witty and humorous combination of words and pictures, Cham and Godwin distill the intricacies of one of nature’s most complex phenomena—the human brain! They’ve created an accessible illustrated introduction to the cognitive roots of many of life’s mysteries . . . love, hate, fear, consciousness, and what makes us human. Out of Your Mind will stay on your mind, as you think about your mind!”—Neil Cohn, Ph.D., cognitive neuroscientist and author of The Visual Language of Comics
“Cham and Godwin dare to ask some of the most difficult questions about the human brain with a mix of prose and comics that will have you laughing as hard as you’re thinking.”—Matteo Farinella, author of Neurocomic
“A delightfully accessible and informative book about the brain for minds of all ages.”—R. Douglas Fields, PhD, author of Electric Brain
“As a theoretical physicist, I usually stay away from thinking about the brain because it's too complicated. This book might just be the solution. Psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy are all explained in an engaging way that will fit well with just about anybody's brain.”—Sean Carroll, author of Quanta and Fields: The Biggest Ideas in the Universe
“Out of Your Mind will bring you into your brain. It will entertain you and charm you and yet respect the science that inspired it.”—Antonio Damasio, author of Descartes’ Error
