Does listening to Mozart make us more intelligent? Is there such a thing as a gay gene? Does the size of the brain matter? Does the moon influence our behaviour? Can we communicate with the dead? Can graphology tell us anything about a person's character? Is the human brain clonable? What role do dreams have in cognition? Can mind conquer matter and diseases? Are out-of-body experiences possible? Can we trust our intuitions?
To some, the answer to all these questions might well be a resounding 'no', but to many people these represent serious beliefs about the mind and brain - beliefs that drive their everyday behaviour, beliefs that cost them huge amounts of money. Whole industries have developed founded on these dubious claims about the mind and brain. Even major corporations have dabbled with assessment methods such as those advocated by graphology, accepting and rejecting candidates on the basic of their handwriting. Expectant parents buy books and tapes by the dozen showing them how to improve the intelligence of their child by playing them classical music. People subscribe to expensive therapies founded on beliefs rather than science, or risk their health buying books that tell them how they can conquer illness through positive thinking, perhaps at the expense of more scientifically proven treatments.
Tall Tales about the Mind and Brain presents a sweeping survey of common myths about the mind and brain. In a lighthearted and accessible style, it exposes the truth behind these beliefs, how they are perpetuated, why people believe them, and why they might even exist in the first place.
Part I - Where Do Tall Tales about the Mind and the Brain Come From?Introduction - the myth of 10% and other tall tales about the mind and the brain, Sergio Della Sala1. Cognitive factors underlying paranormal beliefs and experiences, Christopher C French & Krissy Wilson2. Critically thinking about paranormal belief, Peter Lamont3. The magic in the brain; how conjuring works to deceive our minds, Massimo PolidoroPart II - Tall Tales on Memory and Learning4. The legend of the magical number seven, Nelson Cowan, Candice C Morey & Zhijian Chen5. Setting the record (or video camera) straight on memory: the video camera model of memory and other memory myths, Seema L Clifasefi, Maryanne Garry & Elizabeth Loftus6. The myth of the incredible eyewitness, Amina Memon & Don Thomson7. We've got the whole child witness thing figured out, or do we?, Rachel Sutherland, Deryn Strange & Maryanne GarryPart III - Tall Tales on Intelligence8. Is bigger really better? The search for brain size and intelligence in the 21st century, David Carey9. Biology and intelligence: the race/IQ controversy, Mike Anderson10. The refined Mozart effect: let's enjoy the music, Colin Gray & Sergio Della Sala11. The powers and perils of intuuition, David G Myers12. Creative thinking: the mystery myth, Ken GilhoolyPart IV - Tall Tales on Language and Communication13. The more, the merrier: facts and beliefs about the bilingual mind, Antonella Sorace14. The Merry Vibes of Wintzer: the tale of foreign accent syndrome, Nick Miller15. Talking with the dead, communicating with the future and other myths created by cold reading, Ray Hyman16. Graphology - a total write-off, Barry L Beyerstein17. The truth about deception, Aldert Vrij & Samantha MannPart V - Tall Tales on the Brain18. The dual-brain myth, Michael C Corballis19. The neurology of the weird: brain states and anamalous experience, Barry L Beyerstein20. The myth of the clonable human brain, Giovanni Berlucchi21. Out on a limb: neglect and confabulation in the study of aplasic phantoms, Peter Brugger & Marion Funk22. Imagery and blindness, Cesare Cornoldi & Rossana DeBeni23. Something wicked this way comes: causes and interpretations of sleep paralysis, Christopher C French & Julia SantomauroPart VI - Tall Tales on the Mind24. The power of the full moon. Running on empty?, Eric H Chudler25. Ouija, dowsing, and other seductions of ideomotor action, Ray Hyman26. Inducing out-of-body experiences, Olaf Blanke & Gregor Thut27. Can mind conquer cancer?, Barry L Beyerstein, Wallace I Sampson, Zarka Stojanovic & James Handel28. The elusive search for a "gay gene", Fernando Saravi29. To sleep, perchance to REM? The rediscovered role of emotion and meaning in dreams, Mark Solms & Oliver Turnbull
Editor of Cortex, Fellow Royal Society (Edinburgh) - FRSE, Fellow British Psychological Society - FBPsS
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