First, I call it “gourmet” because the author is a master craftsman, a chef with ideas through the expressive power of words. The mastery here goes well beyond the classic “food for thought.” Indeed, the composition of the interviews is not the standard Q&A sequence (though that is there at times, with many quotes) but more of an essay or even memoir of the author’s findings from the conversations. In each we get an overview of the person, and his or her work and personal struggles, as the author probes the interviewees and participates by offering his own struggles and ideas. Afterwards we get the author’s concluding, sympathetic reflections on the hows and whys of the people’s lives, and the relationship of conscious versus unconscious contributions to those lives.
Second, the book is a “feast.” The foods assembled are life experiences and theories of major public intellectuals (Christof Koch, neuroscientist and President of the Allen Institute for Brain Science; Douglas Hofstadter, cognitive scientist and Pulitzer Prize winner; Alison Gopnik, developmental and child psychologist; Stuart Kauffman, complexologist and multi-book author; Elyn Saks, Distinguished Professor of Law at USC; Owen Flanagan, big-picture philosopher of mind; Rebecca Goldstein, philosopher-novelist; Robert Trivers; evolutionary biologist and psychologist; Deirdre McCloskey, optimistic economist and recipient of six honorary doctorates). All have broken ground in their field; all have fascinating life stories. Success is cited. But key to the book are the personal struggles, with analyses into how their theories have (or have not) influenced their personal lives. The author’s own metacognitive asides (about himself) are alternately serious, ironic, and often humorous.
I suspect readers will get buzzed in some way with each essay, by identifying, by being prompted to ask themselves questions, by reminiscing on decisions made in life, or upon one’s own meaningful experiences and moments of change. One occurred with me as Alison Gopnik described her “spiritual-slash-numinous-experiences.”
Perhaps read one essay per day, to avoid being overstuffed at any one time from the feast, and if you read over a focused series of days, you will gain continuity, as points in some essays reflect back to others. However, the essays could be read in any order. If you want images of the people (and more): go to the website for the book. I did that after I read the book in its paper format, which I prefer so I can mark it up.
I want to say that the author is a friend and colleague, a compatriot in seeking answers through exploring the universe of ideas we are lucky enough to live in during this 21st century. Sometimes I find myself a bit reluctant to read the work of friends, because I will have already heard the main ideas 1-1 and therefore think I know everything I need. But not at all in this case. Though I was familiar with the author’s aims and some of his findings and experiences with the people interviewed, and had seen him lecture (Poetry-Science Talks in NYC), this was small potatoes compared to the full book itself, with its density of important ideas, the intrigues with the interviewees, the author’s personal asides, and reflections on what took place during the interviews and applications of results to the author’s own life. All in all, this is a thrilling, thought-provoking read with the craftsmanship of a great writer, which one cannot get from a conversation or a lecture.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2019
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Ricardo
A good book, with a fresh collective perspective by mind-experts on the mind-body problem.
Reviewed in Mexico on June 7, 2021