Mind Wide Open

From the author of Emergence and The Ghost Map, Steven Johnson's Mind Wide Open: Why You Are What You Think takes us on a journey to the frontiers of brain science and reveals exactly how we're hardwired to think and feel.

'You are part reptile, part mammal, part primate. You are a dopamine fiend. You are a walking assembly of patterns and waves, clusters of neurons firing in sync with one another...'

Experimenting with the latest technology, Stephen Johnson discovers (among other things) that everything we do - from falling in love to forming a sentence - is caused by neurons firing and chemicals swirling around our heads; that there are gadgets which can enable us to control our own brainwaves; that everyone's mind, like their fingerprint, is unique; and this can help us understand our own mental foibles - and see ourselves in a totally new way.

'As Steven Johnson explores his inner world . . . we have a new sense of what it means to be human' The New York Times

'Refreshingly personal . . . endlessly fascinating' Guardian

'Steven Johnson has an eye for the most interesting new ideas in this exploding field, and he explains them with insight and gusto' Stephen Pinker

Steven Johnson is the author of the acclaimed books Everything Bad is Good for You, The Ghost Map, Where Good Ideas Come From, Emergence and Interface Culture. His writing appeared in the Guardian, the New Yorker, Nation and Harper's, as well as the op-ed pages of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He is a Distinguished Writer In Residence at NYU's School Of Journalism, and a Contributing Editor to Wired.