Phantoms in the Brain: Human Nature and the Architecture of the Mind

The writings of Oliver Sacks and others have shown us that we can learn much about ourselves by looking closely at the deficits shown by people with neurological problems. VS Ramachandran has seen countless patients suffering from anosognosia, phantom limb pain, blindsight and other disorders, and he brings a remarkable mixture of clinical intuition and research savvy to bear on their problems. He is one of the few scientists who are able and willing to explore the personal, subjective ramifications of his work; he rehumanizes an often too-sterile field and captures the spirit of wonder so essential for true discovery. Phantoms in the Brain is equal parts medical mystery, scientific adventure, and philosophical speculation; Ramachandran's writing is smart, caring, and very, very funny.

Whether you're curious about the workings of the brain, interested in alternatives to expensive, high-tech science (much of Ramachandran's research is done with materials found around the home), or simply want a fresh perspective on the nature of human consciousness, you'll find satisfaction withPhantoms in the Brain. --Rob Lightner

I think this book may be the best way to learn about the brain because the book is just unputdownable but you learn so much.


better than the man who mistook his wife for a hat   March 19, 2005
Josephine M. Scoble (UK)
5 out of 10 found this review helpful

sorry oliver sacks, but v.s ramachandran has got 'it' better than you. the book is an intense delight into the world of neuroscience and philosophy. it's hard to put down and you find yourself educating your friends or anyone who will listen just to tell them about scinarios in the book. this book will keep your mind busy long after you have finsihed reading it


Reverse engineering the brain   August 21, 2008
happyreviewer (UK)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Building a brain from scratch too difficult? No problem. Why not try it the other way. Dismantle a brain piece by piece to find out what each bit does (or did). OK, since this is ethically incorrect, how about waiting for patients with brain injuries to come to you and if you know which part of their brain is damaged (and there are plenty of modern techniques that can do this these days, such as PET or MRI) and if they also have behavioural or physical symptoms then you can put two and two together to infer what that piece of the brain is responsible for. This is kind of what Professor Ramachandran does. Not only does he introduce us to his patients (or composites of them), he also scours medical literature to find other celebrated cases too.

With his own patients he also sometimes devises deceptively simple experiments to probe their conditions further. Such as his Blue Peter-style mirror box which he uses on his neglect and phantom pain patients (two intriguing pathologies). The result is a fascinating book. My only slight gripe was with the last chapter, 12, which was supposed to be a summing up chapter about putting everything we'd learned together to tackle the problem of "self" via "qualia" -- the subjective, raw feel of something. For me he stretched what I'd learned in the preceding chapters too far and crammed too much information in. The result was that I finished a delightful book feeling a little frustrated. I'd like to give it 4.5 stars but demoting it to 4.0 would be too unfair.


Spiritually motivating   September 25, 2006
N.Parimala Devi (Bangalore ,India)
4 out of 23 found this review helpful

The chapter which attracted me the most was, God and the limbic system. By nature I am a spiritually inclined person, so I could not resist myself in reading the chapter again and again. After reading this book,a desperate urge to feel God exists in me always. Anybody who reads this book will definetly come to a conclusion, that a supreme power exists above everything and man with all his acquired knowledge cannot even move a blade without the help of this power.
N.Parimala Devi(Bangalore, india)



great   August 4, 2008
aberdeen lass (aberdeen, scotland)
I purchased this book as it had a chapter that partly related to the subject of my thesis(linking proprioception to phantom limb sensation). The chapter on phantom limb sensation was brilliant. It was very interesting and gave me food for thought. However, i then proceed to read more of the book when i really should have been doing my thesis...