A big thank you goes out to Simon & Schuster Inc. for sending me this grat book!
TITLE: Embracing the Wide Sky
AUTHOR: Daniel Tammet
GENRE: Science
RATING: 4 Stars
One of the best part of the love of reading is the opportunity it gives us to discover new books. I recently read Embracing the Wide Sky, which is not the type of book I would normally engage in.
I was extremely surprised to find out that this book was wayyyy more interesting than I originally thought it would be. The subject matter is one of mystery: how the human brain functions. I have certainly had my moments of wondering "what the heck I was thinking".
But seriously, this book takes us on a detailed look at how our brains work and it certainly helped me relate to my day to day actions. There is a whole section on IQ tests and whether they really are relevant at determining IQ. I have always wondered about this myself as I use to HATE taking these in high school - they always made me feel stupid because I could never get through the whole test without stumbling on a few questions.
I also like the section on language and how learning a second language as a baby/young child is different than when you learn it as an adult. Having spoken French and English since I could actually talk, this has also been a question I have asked myself many times - especially when I was asked once in what language I think - and I realized that I did not really know.
This book is extremely interesting and I suggest it is a must read for anyone who is curious about the human brain.
3 comments:
It's so interesting that you don't know what language you think in! I've often wondered that about people who are truly bilingual and don't necessarily have one first language. This book sounds interesting.
This book does sound interesting. You're so lucky to speak 2 languages. I've taken a lot of French classes, but never could master it, even when I lived in France.
Interesting that you don't know which language you think in...perhaps a mixture of both? My parents alternate between Vietnamese and English when speaking - and I follow them without batting an eye. I, however, don't know Viet well enough to think it :)
I love IQ tests and brain teasers, though some of them are really crazy-hard!
I'm not too crazy for non-fiction books. This sounds interesting...but I don't know if I have the attention span for it.
cecilia
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