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Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains Kindle Edition

by Helen Thomson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 861 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
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An Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of the Month
Indiebound Bestseller

Award-winning science writer Helen Thomson unlocks the biggest mysteries of the human brain by examining nine extraordinary cases

Our brains are far stranger than we think. We take it for granted that we can remember, feel emotion, navigate, empathise and understand the world around us, but how would our lives change if these abilities were dramatically enhanced – or disappeared overnight?

Helen Thomson has spent years travelling the world, tracking down incredibly rare brain disorders. In Unthinkable she tells the stories of nine extraordinary people she encountered along the way. From the man who thinks he's a tiger to the doctor who feels the pain of others just by looking at them to a woman who hears music that’s not there, their experiences illustrate how the brain can shape our lives in unexpected and, in some cases, brilliant and alarming ways.

Story by remarkable story, Unthinkable takes us on an unforgettable journey through the human brain. Discover how to forge memories that never disappear, how to grow an alien limb and how to make better decisions. Learn how to hallucinate and how to make yourself happier in a split second. Find out how to avoid getting lost, how to see more of your reality, even how exactly you can confirm you are alive. Think the unthinkable.

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  1. Print length
    278 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Ecco
  5. Publication date
    June 26, 2018
  6. File size
    3348 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Throughout, Thomson emphasizes 'we are our brains, ' convincingly showing that these strange minds belong to people from whom much can be learned.

-- "Publishers Weekly"

With a scientist's boundless curiosity and a writer's keen observation, Thomson imparts caring and humanity to each profile of these remarkable people. Unthinkable could easily sensationalize the weird and pervert the odd. Instead, Thomson underscores our commonalities and reminds readers that we all have truly extraordinary brains.

-- "Booklist"

Ultimately a celebration of variance within human experience...Thomson has a gift for making the complex and strange understandable and relatable.

-- "Library Journal (starred review)"

A user-friendly tour of the brain and the curious things that go on inside of it, from splendidly practical visions to debilitating hallucinations...Pleasing and accessible.

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

A stirring scientific journey, a celebration of human diversity, and a call to rethink the 'unthinkable.'

-- "Nature"

Helen Thomson is the science teacher you wish you'd had at school...The unruliness of the misfiring brain is what makes Unthinkable so fascinating and so frightening...Thomson's book repays careful reading. Don't skip the science to get on to the well-I-never case histories. You need both together.

-- "Times (UK)"

Helen Thomson's remarkable book is an astonishing tour of the human brain in all its awesome power and bewildering variation. In beautiful prose, she seamlessly dances between conversations with nine extraordinary people and beautiful explanations of how the brain works. Unthinkable will enrich your brain, blow your mind, and warm your heart.

-- "Ed Yong, author of I Contain Multitudes"

From the Back Cover

Our brains are far stranger than we think. We take it for granted that we can remember, feel emotion, navigate, empathize, and understand the world around us, but how would our lives change if these abilities were dramatically enhanced—or disappeared overnight? Award-winning science writer Helen Thomson has spent years traveling the world, tracking down incredibly rare brain disorders. In Unthinkable she tells the stories of nine extraordinary people she encountered along the way. From a man who thinks he’s a tiger to a doctor who feels the pain of others just by looking at them to a woman who hears music that’s not there, their experiences illustrate how the brain can shape our lives in unexpected and, in some cases, brilliant and alarming ways.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B072C7R3HC
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco (June 26, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 26, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3348 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 861 ratings

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Helen Thomson

Helen Thomson

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
861 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Cathy
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024
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Well-written and provocative. Highly recommend.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating successor to other collections of case studies
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2018
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While the author cites Oliver Sacks as a primary influence, I was reminded more strongly of VS Ramachandran (what I remember, anyway, I read the book in 2001). The prose isn't as lyrical, which isn't a wholly bad thing. Thomson blends case studies with a direct look at the underlying neuroscience, slightly simplified for the benefit of people outside the field. It's been some time since I was in it myself, and I was totally comfortable with the language she used. If anything, I would've liked more technical depth, but that's my standard complaint for any pop sci book.

At any rate, because of things like ethics, naturally occurring disorders are one of the main ways through which we specifically understand human brain function, so it's always worth perusing case studies. I didn't find this to be personal to the point of salaciousness or technical to the point of being like a textbook, so it's a decent in-between.
33 people found this helpful
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Aran Joseph Canes
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Look at the Great Work of Nature that is the Brain
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2018
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Unthinkable is the rare work which can combine reading pleasure with genuine insight. It has its faults, or at least shortcomings which result from the genre, but it still worth spending an evening reading the book cover to cover.

Helen Thomson is a journalist with a degree in neuroscience. As such she chooses to revive the conceit of Oliver Sacks by describing the life of people who have unusual brains which either give them abilities or disabilities compared to most of humanity. Unlike Sacks, Thomson chooses to describe these people mostly in an outpatient setting—to allow the reader to see them as persons and not as mental patients or as spectacles for a circus.

We thus encounter a man who remembers every detail of his life, a man who sees color auras around people and a doctor who literally feels the pain of his patients. All make for fascinating case studies on their own. But Thomas takes the cases further by summarizing what neuroscientists know about the origin of these conditions.

There is a theme in the work that these people are only extreme cases of capabilities of all human beings. As such, Thomson tends to shun the idea that these people have identified mental illnesses and instead view them as simply differently abled individuals. I have no training in psychology but tend to think there is something useful in labeling what is a healthy human mind and what are clearly aberrations.

I also couldn’t help but think that many of the chapters read like the extended articles frequently appearing these days in periodicals or the internet. I would have preferred more substance and less anecdote but individual readers’ tastes may differ.

Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learned something about how the brain works as well. Strongly recommend this book to non-experts in neuroscience who want a work with a captivating style which also teaches some basic facts about the marvelous work of nature that is the human brain.
113 people found this helpful
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The Butcher
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read yet technical at times so you can't rush this one.
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2019
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Gave it a three as it could get caught in some psycho tech at times. The cover led me to believe it might be a bit lighter, but the subjects were interesting and explanations informative. I do think t h st it m so y have been pared down somewhat as some of the character's stories did run on more than I thought necessary. All in all it was a good use of a few days reading!
One person found this helpful
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Dennis Hebert
5.0 out of 5 stars Helen Thomson presents an easy to understand explanation of the strange ways our brains function.
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2021
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After a long search for why the world suddenly flips, I finally found major clues in this book that our brains are truly amazing. Developmental Topographic Disorientation (DTD) as described in 'Being Permanently Lost' opened many doors for me to discover that this condition affects many others as well. The author has a down to earth style that is easy to read. The 9 stories are truly unique, but the author does an excellent job of describing to readers how they can experience their world. The complexity of how our brains function is presented in a technical manner that is easy to understand, and I enjoyed her approach as a 'romantic science' interpretation of our brains.
In the world of DTD, their are other unusual effects such as Visual Reorientation Illusion (VRI's) that are well documented and doing VRI flips is another interesting story. Readers will relate to these stories on some minor level because everyone gets lost, or had a unique experience of how our brains see the world.
Medical professionals should read this book to understand that they need to 'think out of the box' when it comes to our brains.
One person found this helpful
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Sand Dune
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read, somewhat short
Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2019
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The fact that the author interviews people who have very strange conditions of the mind & brain, makes their view of the world real and understandable and causes us to think about what it means to be human, what it means to be normal and what it means to think. I felt that when she limited her investigation to "very strange cases" she left out a lot of more common conditions that cause mind&brain to be very different from "normal". I felt that she could have included many more cases, including more common conditions such as aspergers, autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, alzheimers…. all of which are conditions of the mind which cause an unusual view of reality.
5 people found this helpful
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Broncos_Girl_44
5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating read about different brain disorders and the physiology behind them
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2019
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"Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains" is a fascinating read about different brain disorders and the physiology behind them. The mix of science and personal stories is *exactly* what journalism is supposed to be. The author put incredible effort put into finding people who experience these brain differences. Their stories were so much better than what they would have been in the case files. My husband has no sense of direction and an incredible memory; one of the case studies in the book has the same condition but much, much worse. Turns out, it's not that rare. The book explains why it happens -- and, like facial blindness -- it's not because my husband isn't paying attention! I highly recommend this book. I read this on Kindle.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Bertha Alicia Alcocer
5.0 out of 5 stars A book worth reading
Reviewed in Mexico on July 11, 2022
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In this book, Helen Thomson guide us in a wonderful trip, to look closely at the limits of human perception, memory, and consciusness and the "mistakes" our brains may do in the process of giving us information to understand the world and ourselves. It is interesting, clear, very human and it really make you think,
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BriQ
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in Canada on January 31, 2020
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An entertaining look at what goes on inside our brains. From bizarre cases highlighting the extremes of mental abilities and disabilities comes new insights into more average brains. A number of mental tests are included in the book so everyone can see the limits of their own mental prowess. The author keeps the book moving along at a nice pace and includes just enough details to keep our thoughtful attention. A fun page turner.
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Jezabel Jones
3.0 out of 5 stars A little too chatty
Reviewed in France on January 21, 2019
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I loved O. Sacks' books. This is similar but to my taste, less profound...
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A
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing read
Reviewed in India on June 17, 2019
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Unthinkable is one of my favourite books. You must give it a read if you're interested in how our brains work. Really eye opening and written beautifully without using too many confusing medical terms.
2 people found this helpful
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Vicuña
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly astonishing book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2018
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Without a doubt, this is one of the most persuasive and interesting non fiction titles I've ever read. And that's in some 60 years of voracious reading.

Unthinkable is Helen Thomson's insight into the human brain. She's uniquely positioned to give such an account; a neuroscientist and journalist/writer. Her academic background gives gravitas to the science behind the case studies. But this is a book for the lay reader and her journalistic background means she understands how to make a complex subject accessible to non academic readers, like myself.

The opening pages explain her interest in the human brain, with an overview of medical understanding as to how it 'works'. But that understanding is far from complete. Our perception of the world and reality is entirely individual. We take so much for granted and what I found truly fascinating is the differences in the people presented in these case studies. In many ways, they're entirely ordinary; but their brains are exceptional and extraordinary. People who can remember minute details about every day of their life, with immediate recall. Or who suddenly become gifted, if frenetic artists. I've read and enjoyed a few books by the late Oliver Sacks. In comparison, Unthinkable really focuses on the person, rather than the clinical detail. I loved the fact that the man with recall of almost every day of his life had forgotten the location of the hotel in which he was meeting the author. There's a real human touch to every one of the stories.

Helen Thomson is able to explain potentially complex material in an easy to assimilate way. I particularly enjoyed the tricks and techniques she explains to help improve retention of facts and how easy it is to create false memory. It's filled with thought provoking material and certainly demonstrates the transient nature of memory and challenges our perception of reality.

A rewarding and spellbinding read which I'll return to. My thanks to John Murray, publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.
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