Admittedly, specialists would probably find the explanations simplistic (I extrapolate), but then, why would they read this book in the first place? Neuroscientists, this book is not for you. Well, my idiot brain genuinely liked this book very much, and it's always right, isn't it? (not really). This eventually resulted in a regular blog on the Guardian website in 2012, which is still going strong today.ĭean lives in Cardiff with his wife and children. His interest in comedy and science lead to him combining the two and attempt to write humorous takes on topical science stories. After working several jobs he returned to Cardiff University as part of the Psychology School where he completed a neuroscience PhD in the role of the hippocampus in configural learning.Īlongside his studying, Dean developed an interest in comedy, eventually taking the plunge and trying stand-up in 2004, a hobby he maintains to this day. After completing his A-levels he attended Cardiff University to complete a BSc in Neuroscience. This is the website for Doctor Dean Burnett, neuroscientist, lecturer, author, blogger, media pundit, science communicator, comedian and numerous other things, depending on who’s asking and what they need.Īlthough employed as a tutor and lecturer by the Cardiff University Centre for Medical Education in his day job, Dean is best known for his satirical science column ‘Brain Flapping‘ at the Guardian, and his internationally acclaimed debut book ‘The Idiot Brain‘.ĭean Burnett was born and raised in Pontycymer, a working-class former mining village in the South Wales valleys, which explains his strong Welsh accent. **Editor's note: please read the book before testing this conclusion.ĭean Burnett is a neuroscientist and psychiatry lecturer at the Centre for Medical Education at Cardiff University and is the author of the Guardian’s most-read science blog, Brain Flapping. Expertly researched and entertainingly written, this book is for anyone who has wondered why their brain appears to be sabotaging their life, and what on earth it is really up to. Along the way he explains the human brain's imperfections in all their glory and how these influence everything we say, do and experience. In The Idiot Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett tours our mysterious and mischievous grey (and white) matter.

For example, did you know that your memory is egotistical? That conspiracy theories and superstitions are the inevitable effects of a healthy brain? Or that alcohol can actually improve your memory?** For something supposedly so brilliant and evolutionarily advanced, the human brain is pretty messy, fallible and disorganised.

but can't remember her name? And why, after your last break-up, did you find yourself in the foetal position on the sofa for days, moving only to wipe the snot and tears haphazardly from your face? Why do you lose arguments with people who know MUCH LESS than you? Why can you recognise that woman, from that thing.

The idiot brain by dean burnett