Jonah Lehrer
Jonah Lehrer is an editor at large for Seed Magazine. His first book, Proust Was A Neuroscientist, will be published by Houghton-Mifflin in 2007.
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Posts by this author
I've never eaten Kobe beef from Japan, and now I never will. Authentic Kobe beef is essentially veal that isn't put out of its misery. Barry Estabrook, in the new Gourmet, investigates the real life of these very expensive cows (ten ounces of Kobe beef can set you back about $175):
Traditional…
I like this just-so story. Here's Natalie Angier:
Art, she [Ellen Dissanayake] and others have proposed, did not arise to spotlight the few, but rather to summon the many to come join the parade -- a proposal not surprisingly shared by our hora teacher, Steven Brown of Simon Fraser University.…
From Brad DeLong:
If inherited genetically-based IQ were the source of the extra edge that the children of the rich get in our society, than we would expect a parent with 4 times average lifetime full-time earnings--say $200,000 a year--to have a kid with a lifetime average income of $51,500…
I'm quickly learning that these webmagazines really don't like my book. This review, however, is actually rather thoughtful. Daniel Engber of Slate begins by pointing out that neuroscientists are constantly quoting Proust:
My career as a grad student in neuroscience was filled with these obligatory…
Life is getting tough for the running backs of the NFL. First comes the news that becoming a star rusher doesn't require a Heisman Trophy or even a high-profile start in NCAA Division I-A:
The debate has simmered for a decade, at least since the Denver Broncos began making a habit of turning unsung…
And it comes with recipes, too! Here's Billy Collins:
As soon as the elderly waiter
placed before me the fish I had ordered,
it began to stare up at me
with its one flat, iridescent eye.
I feel sorry for you, it seemed to say,
eating alone in this awful restaurant
bathed in such unkindly light
and…
Paul Davies dares to utter the f-word in the context of science:
The problem with this neat separation into "non-overlapping magisteria," as Stephen Jay Gould described science and religion, is that science has its own faith-based belief system. All science proceeds on the assumption that nature is…
One of my favorite parts of this whole book publication process has been getting to meet the people behind the voices on NPR. I spend so much time tuned to my local public radio station that I feel this intimate conversational bond with the anchors and reporters on the air. So it was a special…
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My own holiday meal was the subject of a simple food experiment. I made two versions of the same dish: brussels sprout gratin with chestnuts, bacon and Comte. (Yes, it's as delicious as it sounds, even if you don't like baby cabbages.) One version was…
I've been trying really hard not to get excited about I'm Not There, in case it turned out to be a self-indulgent disaster. But early reviews suggest that it's actually rather compelling. That's great news, because I already love the soundtrack. In no particular order, my favorite tracks include:…
Earlier this week, the National Endowment for the Arts came out with a disturbing report:
Americans -- particularly young Americans -- appear to be reading less for fun, and as that happens, their reading test scores are declining. At the same time, performance in other academic disciplines like…
Ouch. I got my first nasty review today. (For some nice reviews, check out the NY Times, LA Times, NY Post, Amazon, etc.) In Salon, Jonathan Keats takes issue with the basic premise of the book, which is that meaningful connections can be drawn between science and art:
Lehrer's book is worth…
The statistics are troubling:
Almost half of all cigarettes sold in the United States (44 percent) are consumed by people with mental illness. This is because so many people who have mental illnesses smoke (50 to 80 percent, compared with less than 20 percent of the general population) and because…
In response to my call for science critics, a position analogous to a music critic or art critic except that they review the latest science papers, a commenter wrote the following:
"Why don't we have science critics?"
We do. It's called peer review.
My response is that peer review is necessary but…
Daniel Engber should become a full time science critic.* Over at Slate, he eviscerates the latest sloppy fMRI study of the political brain, which was published in the Times on Sunday:
To liken these neurological pundits to snake-oil salesmen would be far too generous. Their imaging study has not…
It's nice to be back home. I had a really wonderful time on the book tour, but it's nice to return to my boring routine. I'd like to thank everyone who came out to hear me talk. To be honest, I expected to be speaking to empty rooms. After all, why would anyone want to listen to me? So I was…
Sorry about the radio silence - it's been a hectic few days on tour. But I've had a really great time talking about science and art with everybody. If you're a citizen of Seattle, I'll be at Town Hall tonight...
In other news, I thought it's worth linking to the latest study on ADHD, which imaged…
It's good to have Gladwell back. I've missed his writing these last few months. (To learn about his next book, check out Kottke.) His article this week was on the (pseudo)science that is criminal profiling:
In the case of Derrick Todd Lee, the Baton Rouge serial killer, the F.B.I. profile described…
Here's an embarassing story. I'm browsing a bookstore in San Francisco, killing a little time before a radio interview, and I can't help but wander over to the table with Proust Was A Neuroscientist on it. I'm actually paging through Exit Ghost, trying to decide if I really need more Roth on the…
The new epicurean trend has arrived: hydrocolloids:
Despite its imposing name, a hydrocolloid is a simple thing. A colloid is a suspension of particles within some substance. A hydrocolloid is a suspension of particles in water where the particles are molecules that bind to water and to one another…
In case you're interested, I should be on the Brian Lehrer show (no relation) on WNYC tomorrow morning (approximately 10:30ish) talking about (what else?) Proust and neuroscience. I'll also be signing books at the Barnes and Noble at 82nd and Broadway tomorrow evening at 7 PM.
If I were a philosopher-king, the first thing I'd do is make Michael Pollan Secretary of Agriculture. Sometimes, he makes so much sense it actually hurts. In a Times op-ed yesterday, he assailed the latest version of the Farm Bill making their way through Congress. Although the bill contains…
More housekeeping/self-promotion here, but there was plenty of book news this weekend. First, the NY Times ran a nice review of my book written by D.T. Max. (If you haven't read The Family That Couldn't Sleep, you're really missing out on a great science book.) Then the NY Post ran a very kind…
If you want to learn about umami, glutamate, veal stock and Auguste Escoffier, check out this story about Chapter 3 of my book on Morning Edition. It was a special thrill getting to do this with Robert Krulwich, who has long been one of my favorite science reporters.
Here's W.H. Auden in The Dyer's Hand generalizing about our senses:
"The ear tends to be lazy, craves the familiar and is shocked by the unexpected; the eye, on the other hand, tends to be impatient, craves the novel and is bored by repetition."
Is Auden right? I think he nailed our acoustic cortex…
The rules of the wine tasting were simple. Twenty five of the best wines under twelve dollars were nominated by independent wine stores in the Boston area. The Globe then assembled a panel of wine professionals to select their top picks in the red and white category. All of the wines were tasted…
For those who might be interested, I thought I'd post my book tour dates, since the tour officially kicks off today. Hope to see you there!
November 1, 7 PM, Gibson's Bookstore, Concord, NH
November 7, 7 PM, Barnes & Noble, 82nd Street and Broadway, NYC
November 8, 7:30 PM, Kepler's Books,…
The latest issue of Science has a special section devoted to decision-making. Alan Sanfey, best known for his influential study of the Ultimatum Game, has written a thorough review (available for free) about recent progress in the field. The takeaway lesson is that the experimental methods of…
Our eighth graders might not understand basic scientific concepts, but America is still a beacon for the "stars" of science, at least according to a new analysis by two social scientists at UCLA:
America has 62 percent of the world's stars as residents, primarily because of its research…
Over at Mind Hacks, Vaughan has generously allowed me to answer a few of his excellent questions. Check it out.
Q: You seem to mostly focus on past artists but jokingly mentioned in a recent interview that maybe your next book will be called 'Kanye West was a neuroscientist'. Are there…