Mind Hacks: Tips & Tools for Using Your Brain (Hacks) (edit title)

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Liked It Rated 5 stars “I thought this was a very interesting book. I love reading about psychological things and just what your brain can be capable of. I think that books such as these arent always 100 % accurate but I still think they are very interesting to read. I didnt really try out any of these tricks after...” see full review » see other reviews »

Didn’t Like It Rated 2 stars “Here we have a book by O’Reilly, entitled “Mind Hacks,” and sub-titled, “Tips and Tools for Using Your Brain.” O’Reilly is a publisher of computer books, and has other titles such as “Google Hacks,” “Windows XP Hacks,” and, (my favorite) “TiVO Hacks”. In each case, the book tells the reader how...” see full review » see other reviews »

Newest Reviews

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  • Rated 2 stars

  “Here we have a book by O’Reilly, entitled “Mind Hacks,” and sub-titled, “Tips and Tools for Using Your Brain.” O’Reilly is a publisher of computer books, and has other titles such as “Google Hacks,” “Windows XP Hacks,” and, (my favorite) “TiVO Hacks”. In each case, the book tells the reader how to extend the subject in question beyond its normal capabilities.
  I dug into the book with keen excitement, eager to find out what tools I could use to hack my brain.
  
  Unfortunately, this is a case of Humpty-Dumpty all over again. You will recall from Through the Looking Glass, that Humpty famously said, “`When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.'”
  
  So, first, the authors get to redefine the term ‘hack’ to their liking, not your (or, at least, my) expectation: “Some of the hacks in this collection document the neat tricks the brain has used to get the job done.” Well, it’s safe to say that MOST of the ‘hacks’ in the book fall into this category.
  
  They go on, “Other hacks point to quirks of our own minds that that we can exploit in unexpected ways…” Well, that sounds promising, but in fact, the “we” the authors are alluding to in this sentence are psychologists, who dream up new and exciting illusions to demonstrate how various bits and pieces of the human mind work.
  
  Don’t get me wrong, this is a fascinating book about cognitive neuroscience. But it doesn’t have the information the cover promised. The authors more or less admit that, in Hack #6, page 9, where they put the rest the myth that most people only use 10% of your brains. You are, in fact, using most of your brain most of the time, and there aren’t any easy hacks to overclock your brain. Not in this book, at any rate.
  
  Hmmmm… I see that O’Reilly has another title, “Mind Performance Hacks, Tips and Tools for Overclocking Your Brain.” No, I won’t be reading it. Fool me once, and I can’t help but suspect this book redefines the word “Overclocking” to mean exactly what the authors want it to mean.”

  Bob F wrote this review Saturday, June 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 5 stars

  “I thought this was a very interesting book. I love reading about psychological things and just what your brain can be capable of. I think that books such as these arent always 100 % accurate but I still think they are very interesting to read. I didnt really try out any of these tricks after reading the book, but I think that I may in the future just for the fun of it. I thought that the seeing things as cause and effect was a little black and white because I dont really agree that everything can be broken down into such distinct categories, nor do I think that it is good for someone to think of everything in that way. I would recommend this book to everyone because the language is easy to understand and I think that anyone can enjoy this book. It is one of those books with easy to memorize information and a lot of people will be able to make light, fun conversation from it.”

  ANASTASSIA E wrote this review Sunday, June 14 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 4 stars

  “Interesting to learn nuances about how the mind and associated systems work. Most things are not too deep for the average reader, and the "hacks" make nice party tricks / conversation.”

  Andy S wrote this review Monday, November 5 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No

  
  
  • Rated 4 stars

  “A very good book for discovering, in a fun and documented way, the mechanisms of our brain, in order to better us it!”

  David Dossot wrote this review Saturday, September 1 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No