Reflecting & Thinking Ahead (Pt 2)

 Did you honestly think that I, a student librarian (on purpose!) am not an extreme bookworm? Oh, you didn't? Yeah, I figured.

I'm super into anatomy, the workings of the human body, mental health/illness research. I'm especially into neuroscience, because it pretty much has to do with all of that. Recently, I finished reading The Idiot Brain by Dean Burnett, which pushed me so much further into my nerdy fixation on the human brain. It's a non-fiction self-help book (published February 16, 2016) where the author, a neuroscientist, explains (and sort of dumbs down - as much as neurology can be dumbed down at least) some important inner-workings of the human brain and how it contributes to the things I bet most people experience everyday, such as addiction and emotions (etc). It's meant to help understand your mind so you know what can be done in situations where it acts out, and what exactly may be causing the reactions. Not only did I love reading this because of my passion for neuroscience, but also because now that I know all of these seemingly basic aspects of the brain, I feel reborn in a way. I feel that I can handle tough or overwhelming situations and genuinely self-improve because of everything I learned from this book. 

The beginning of chapter 7, titled Group Hug! - How the brain is influenced by other people, is opened with the following passage;

"Many claim to not care what anyone thinks of them. They will say this often, and loudly, going great lengths to behave in ways that make it absolutely clear to anyone who'll listen."

It goes on to talk about how anyone who tries to be different does so in hopes of approval, and the same going for those who try to fit in. Either way we place ourselves in categories and groups of others. Human beings are driven by the opinions and approvals of others, henceforth, I will never actually be out of highschool. Life is highschool, if that's the way this cookie will crumble.

And this is just one of many examples of the author using sarcasm, humour, wit, and so on, to spread information. He does it in a way that even though the topic of the book itself may not interest an average individual who may not really care to know about the patterns of the brain, they will likely still be inclined to read more. That's what I meant by dumbing it down. I think it's a very effective way to write research-y kinds of literature because I think it's very important to know about your body, and that most definitely includes the organ that controls, like, the whole thing, especially important whilst it's still developing so you can grow to understand alongside your brain. And this witty style of informative writing can indeed gather the attention of many younger generations that wouldn't give it the time of day otherwise.

Sometimes not knowing what's going on can be frustrating, scary, upsetting, overwhelming. Having that understanding of what's wrong, what's the cause, and how might it be fixed, can be the most relieving thing. I'd recommend this book to many, like myself, who simply need the comfort of knowing what could be going on in their heads. People who may not have access to someone specialised that already knows it all, or might shove remedies in your pocket that don't help or make things worse. I'd recommend this to someone who wants to do better in school, at work, or in any relationship.