As to the conflicting reviews, it seems the critical reviews are from those with some expertise in the field and the uncritical review is from an "enthusiastic, but non-brain specialist".
I would communicate my expectation to the student that they will need to compare the book to research findings. You may be correct in thinking that a freshman may not be ready for this. It would be up to you to make sure that they have some accurate readings to prepare them to review this book. I wouldn't refrain from allowing a student to read a book that contained inaccuracies. I think practice at evaluating these kinds of trade books is some of the most relevant work we can give students. This is highly related to the kinds of psychology-related critical thinking they will be doing for the rest of their lives and is a great exercise at some point but maybe more so in a Cognitive Psych or BioPsych class. Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences John Brown University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 rfro...@jbu.edu ________________________________________ From: tay...@sandiego.edu [tay...@sandiego.edu] Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 5:09 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] Mapping the Mind I have a student who wants to read Mapping the Mind by Rita Carter, for a class assignment in honors intro. I do not know the book well and so looked to amazon for some reviews. Interestingly the only 3 bad reviews all said the same things and provided evidence for their statements, namely, that as a journalist and not a scientist, she makes some broad generalizations that do not reflect accurately bwhat is going on in the brain. Here are some quotations: "Few examples: 1) large parts of the brain are not active at birth -- a straightforward lie. 2) The putamen control activities like riding bicyvle -- a confabulation 3) "The caudate nucleus automatically prompts you to wash" -- a confabulation." Another reviewer noted: "I was surprised when Carter identified the amygdala as the "source of negative emotions of anger, fear and sadness" (p. 103). And she writes: "the amygdala, as we have seen, does not convey concepts, it simply creates emotional feelings." These are misleading formulations that you'd never read in anything written by Antonio Damasio." Another reviewer: "The first line of the book summary says it all: "Today a brain scan reveals our thoughts, moods, and memories as clearly as an X-ray reveals our bones. We can actually observe a person's brain registering a joke or experiencing a painful memory." The fallacy in the first sentence should be obvious." My fear is that a freshman student, even an honors freshman, will not have the sophistication to evaluate this. On the other hand 42 people gave it 5 stars. Such as this comment: "This book is probably the most comprehensive, rounded and best in the genre of brain/mind science that I have read. It is complimented with impressive colour illustrations and a prose that is light and readable, for the enthusiastic, but non-brain specialist like myself. Excerpts and comments from related fields such as philosophy, psychiatry, evolutionary psychology, anthropology, and even archaeology etc have been inserted in highlighted boxes, which provide welcome and complimentary notes." I am at a loss of what to think of the book so if any tipsters have read it I'd like to hear their views. Also, is there a favorite other place for quality reviews other than Amazon? Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 tay...@sandiego.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
