How the Mind Changed: A Human History of our Evolving Brain

The human brain has evolved significantly over seven million years, with our brains four times bigger than those of our earliest ancestors. Dr. Joseph Jebelli's book "In Pursuit of Memory" explores how memory, meditation, magic mushroom use, climate, and autism have shaped our brains and turned us into Homo sapiens.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 07 July 2022
Publisher: John Murray Press

The remarkable tale of how the human brain has evolved and continues to do so is presented here. We have come a long way. The earliest human had a brain as small as a child's fist, whereas ours are four times larger, with amazing skills and untapped potential that we are only now beginning to comprehend.

This is How the Mind Changed, a seven-million-year journey through our own heads, packed with vivid stories, groundbreaking science, and thrilling surprises. Discover how memory has almost nothing to do with the past; meditation rewires our synapses; magic mushroom use might be responsible for our intelligence; climate accounts for linguistic diversity; and how autism teaches us hugely positive lessons about our past and future.

Dr Joseph Jebelli's In Pursuit of Memory was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize and longlisted for the Wellcome. In this, his eagerly awaited second book, he draws on deep insights from neuroscience, evolutionary biology, psychology, and philosophy to guide us through the unexpected changes that shaped our brains. From genetic accidents and environmental forces to historical and cultural advances, he explores how our brain's evolution turned us into Homo sapiens and beyond.

A single mutation is all it takes.

Weight: 524g
Dimension: 164 x 241 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529300130