| The Birth of the Mind: How a Tiny Number of Genes Creates the Complexities of Human Thought Contributor(s): Marcus, Gary (Author) |
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ISBN: 0465044069 ISBN-13: 9780465044061 Publisher: Basic Books OUR PRICE: $24.74 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 2004 Annotation: In The Birth of the Mind, award-winning cognitive scientist Gary Marcus irrevocably changes the terms of the ancient nature/nurture debate by linking the findings of the Human Genome project to the development of the brain. Synthesizing up-to-the-minute research with his own original findings on child development, Marcus details for the first time how a tiny number of genes create the infinite complexities of the human mind. Research on the brain and its functions has made great strides in the past two decades, challenging the age-old perception of infants as "blank slates" who learn all behavior by imitation from the environment. We now know that as soon as they are born, babies can recognize faces, connect what they hear with what they see and tell the difference between Dutch and Japanese. And yet, startling findings of the Human Genome project have revealed that the genome is much smaller than we once thought, containing no more than 30,000-40,000 genes, a tiny figure in comparison to the 10 billion neurons in a newborn's brain Marcus is the first to resolve this apparent contradiction. Drawing on new research available to the public for the first time, Marcus chronicles exactly how a small number of genes configure the intricate functions of the brain. Along the way, he reveals the common misconceptions people harbor about genes, debunking oversimplified concepts of genes as blueprints and offering readers a richer, multi-layered understanding of the role that genes play in brain development--and how it is that genes make nurture itself possible. He goes on to explore the stunning implications of this research on our understanding of such hot-button topics as cloning, designerbabies and stem cell research. Vibrantly written and completely accessible to the lay reader, The Birth of the Mind will forever change the way we think about our origins and ourselves. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Psychology | Neuropsychology - Psychology | Cognitive Psychology & Cognition |
| Dewey: 155.7 |
| LCCN: 2003012545 |
| Physical Information: 0.74" H x 5.92" W x 7.5" (0.67 lbs) 288 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In The Birth of the Mind, award-winning cognitive scientist Gary Marcus irrevocably alters the nature vs. nurture debate by linking the findings of the Human Genome project to the development of the brain. Startling findings have recently revealed that the genome is much smaller than we once thought, containing no more than 30,000-40,000 genes. Since this discovery, scientists have struggled to understand how such a tiny number of genes could contain the instructions for building the human brain, arguably the most complex device in the known universe. Synthesizing up-to-the-minute biology with his own original findings on child development, Marcus is the first to resolve this apparent contradiction by chronicling exactly how genes create the infinite complexities of the human mind. Along the way, he dispels the common misconceptions people harbor about genes, and explores the stunning implications of this research for the future of genetic engineering. Vibrantly written and completely accessible to the lay reader, The Birth of the Mind will forever change the way we think about our origins and ourselves. |