my mind on books

“Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year.”

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10/11 update: Here is the video –

According to Shelf Awareness, Alison Gopnik will be on the Colbert Report on Wednesday Oct 7, talking about her recent book The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life.

(link for UK)

Product description from the publisher:

For most of us, having a baby is the most profound, intense, and fascinating experience of our lives. Now scientists and philosophers are starting to appreciate babies, too. The last decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of infants and young children. Scientists used to believe that babies were irrational, and that their thinking and experience were limited. Recently, they have discovered that babies learn more, create more, care more, and experience more than we could ever have imagined. And there is good reason to believe that babies are actually smarter, more thoughtful, and even more conscious than adults.

This new science holds answers to some of the deepest and oldest questions about what it means to be human. A new baby’s captivated gaze at her mother’s face lays the foundations for love and morality. A toddler’s unstoppable explorations of his playpen hold the key to scientific discovery. A three-year-old’s wild make-believe explains how we can imagine the future, write novels, and invent new technologies. Alison Gopnik – a leading psychologist and philosopher, as well as a mother – explains the groundbreaking new psychological, neuroscientific, and philosophical developments in our understanding of very young children, transforming our understanding of how babies see the world, and in turn promoting a deeper appreciation for the role of parents.

Robert Wright at bloggingheads.tv

website for the book

Tonight’s NOVA program on “Musical Minds” was based on Oliver Sacks’s Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. The program will be available to view online starting tomorrow (July 1, 2009) through the website.

Nothing to do with Memorial Day though, really….

• If you like this blog, you’re probably already reading Neuronarrative, which recently featured an interview with psychologist Bruce Hood, author of SuperSense: Why We Believe in the Unbelievable. Another recent interview, with Dread author Philip Alcabes, included this quote I enjoyed pondering over: “…once the fantasy scenarios start being painted, the facts become scenery on the stage.”
• Encephalon #71 — Neuroanthropology does a great job as always hosting the blog carnival, with a clever Big Night theme this time (and even a My Mind on Books post!)
• Richard Wrangham, author of Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, recently appeared as a “blogginghead” in diavlog with John Horgan. Also at bloggingheads: “Percontations: What Should We Believe” with Clayton Littlejohn and Juan Comesana on epistemic justification