Interview with Amanda Ellison, author of Splitting: The Inside Story on Headaches
Amanda Ellison, author of Splitting: The Inside Story on Headaches, makes some great book recommendations! Before jumping into the interview, please check out Amanda's new book:
Review from Book Depository:
Written by a leading neuroscientist, Splitting tells the fascinating true story about headaches, and the secrets they reveal about your brain and overall health.
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Splitting: The Inside Story on Headaches
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From migraines to sinus pain to tension headaches - and everything in between - Splitting separates fact from fiction, putting you in control and helping you practise habits that will protect you from headache.
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Book Depository €12.83
Waterstones £16.99
Wordery $16.43
Q. Do you have a favourite smart thinking book (and why that book)?
Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness by Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner. I pick this book up every now and again when I want to bend my mind. The premise is pretty simple. A central principle of quantum physics is that you can’t say anything about the state of matter until it is observed. As a neuroscientist, I know that our reality is shaped by our observation of the world and that a lot happens in the brain before that reality becomes conscious. In a sense, just like in quantum theory, all possibilities are viable before we are conscious of the outcome. Drawing the parallels between the two fields to speculate on how that actually happens in the brain is fascinating.
Review From Book Depository
In trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics, the most successful theory in science and the basis of one-third of our economy. They found, to their embarrassment, that with their theory, physics encounters consciousness. Authors Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner explain all this in non-technical terms with help from some fanciful stories and anecdotes about the theory's developers. They present the quantum mystery honestly, emphasizing what is and what is not speculation. Quantum Enigma's description of the experimental quantum facts, and the quantum theory explaining them, is undisputed. Interpreting what it all means, however, is heatedly controversial. But every interpretation of quantum physics involves consciousness. Rosenblum and Kuttner therefore turn to exploring consciousness itself--and encounter quantum mechanics. (All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing) Review From Book Depository
Rachel and Eliza are hoping to have a baby. The couple spend many happy evenings together planning for the future.
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For smart thinking fiction, I would look no further than Sophie Ward’s Love and Other Thought Experiments.
Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness
Free will and anthropic principles become crucial issues, and the connection of consciousness with the cosmos suggested by some leading quantum cosmologists is mind-blowing. Readers are brought to a boundary where the particular expertise of physicists is no longer the only sure guide. They will find, instead, the facts and hints provided by quantum mechanics and the ability to speculate for themselves. In the few decades since the Bell's theorem experiments established the existence of entanglement (Einstein's "spooky action"), interest in the foundations, and the mysteries, of quantum mechanics has accelerated. In recent years, physicists, philosophers, computer engineers, and even biologists have expanded our realization of the significance of quantum phenomena. This second edition includes such advances. The authors have also drawn on many responses from readers and instructors to improve the clarity of the book's explanations.
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Book Depository €19.98
Love and Other Thought Experiments
One night Rachel wakes up screaming and tells Eliza that an ant has crawled into her eye and is stuck there. She knows it sounds mad - but she also knows it's true. As a scientist, Eliza won't take Rachel's fear seriously and they have a bitter fight. Suddenly their entire relationship is called into question.
Inspired by some of the best-known thought experiments in philosophy, particularly philosophy of mind, Love and Other Thought Experiments is a story of love lost and found across the universe.
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Book Depository €11.12
Waterstones £14.99
Wordery $15.45
Q. What's the most recent smart thinking book you've read (and how would you rate it)?
Hannah Fry’s Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine. I was long overdue in reading this book and enjoyed it immensely.
Review From Book Depository
You are accused of a crime. Who would you rather determined your fate - a human or an algorithm?
An algorithm is more consistent and less prone to error of judgement. Yet a human can look you in the eye before passing sentence.
Welcome to the age of the algorithm, the story of a not-too-distant future where machines rule supreme, making important decisions - in healthcare, transport, finance, security, what we watch, where we go even who we send to prison. So how much should we rely on them? What kind of future do we want?
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Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine
Hannah Fry takes us on a tour of the good, the bad and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us. In Hello World she lifts the lid on their inner workings, demonstrates their power, exposes their limitations, and examines whether they really are an improvement on the humans they are replacing.
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Book Depository €6.64
Waterstones £10.99
Wordery $10.11
Q. Do you have a favourite childhood book?
The Magic Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton.
Review From Book Depository:
Join Joe, Beth and Frannie as they take their cousin Rick on a an adventure he'll never forget - up the Magic Faraway Tree! Along with their friends Moon-Face, Saucepan Man and Silky the fairy, the children tumble from the fun of the Land of Toys to the thrill of trying to escape the Land of Dreams. Will they ever make it home for tea? Anything's possible in THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE! (All links earn commission from purchases that help fund this site. Prices accurate at time of writing)
The Magic Faraway Tree
Buy On:
Book Depository €6.61
Waterstones £6.99
Wordery $11.49
Q. Do you prefer reading on paper, Kindle or listening to an audiobook?
I use all three. They all do the same thing of course, they convey words. But paper books somehow make me feel like I am holding the author’s thoughts in my hands and that can be a very special privilege.
Q. Do you have a favourite bookshop (and why that shop)?
I have memories of visiting an old bookshop in Dublin called The Winding Stair, just by the River Liffey in the city centre. I have never found another bookshop to top it for atmosphere. All your senses were engaged, and this seemed to make you receptive to books you may never pick up elsewhere.
Many thanks to Amanda for answering my questions and for her super interesting book recommendations! Please don't forget to check out her new book Splitting: The Inside Story on Headaches.
Daryl
Image Copyrights: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (Splitting), Prelude (Quantum Enigma), Little, Brown Book Group (Love and Other Thought Experiments), Transworld Publishers Ltd (Hello World), Egmont UK Ltd (The Magic Faraway Tree)
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