Most of us have little idea about how we come to understand who we are. Using neuroscience, psychology and philosophy as investigative tools, Bruce Hood presents us with a compelling narrative about the dynamic, ever-changing, material energy beings we all are.

1. The Enchanted Loom
Teasing sturdy threads from
neuroscience masterworks

2. Teasing 10
threads from
Bruce
Hood’s …
é

3. Thread 1:
One of the surprising discoveries in recent
years is that the majority of neurons are
found in the
cerebellum.
Only about
20% of the
brain’s
neurons are
found in the
cortex.
(pg. 13)

4. Thread 2:
The big trouble with free will is that it just
feels so real. We all think that our thoughts
happen in
advance of
what we do.
It turns out
that this is
completely
wrong.
(pg. 127)

5. Thread 3:
We all have two versions of the self – the
experiencing self
and the remem-
bered self. We
have about
600,000
three-second
moments of an
experiencing
self per month.
(pg. 172)

6. Thread 4:
Because we are
so susceptible to
priming cues,
group pressure,
stereotyping and
cultural cuing,
a true, unyield-
ing ego-self
cannot be
sustained.
(pg. 218)

7. Thread 5:
We like stories
that are about
journeys
and conflicts,
with goodies
and baddies.
The same is
true for our
own personal
stories.
(pg. 235)

8. Thread 6:
The problem with self-narratives is that we
are the ones writing the story, which means
we are open to
all kinds of dis-
tortions where
we repress, deny,
distort and ignore
negative aspects
of our lives.
(pg. 235)

9. Thread 7:
Most of us think we are funnier, smarter,
better-looking and kinder than the average
person, which is
statistically
impossible.
Some of us
have to be
below
average.
(pg. 236)

10. Thread 8:
Because of how
the brain and the
eyes work
together, we are
effectively blind
for an average
of two hours
every waking
day.
(pg. 295)

11. Thread 9:
Research has
demonstrated
a most horrify-
ing reality: we
can believe
with all our
heart things
that are not
necessarily
true.
(pg. 81)

12. Thread 10:
The brain hallucinates the experience of
“you” by stimulating its own neural
circuits to create that impression. It may
be an illusion, but it is real as far as the
brain is concerned.
(pg. 294)

13. Image Credits:
Title Page: http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/23193-personality-traits-brain-scans
Slide 3 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/cerebellum-517159230
Slide 12 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/My-Sins-109853970
Slide 2 - http://iai.tv/home/speaker/bruce-hood
Slide 6 - http://lightworkers.org/wisdom/deepak-chopra/191537/your-brain-universe-part-1
Slide 5 - http://bit.ly/1O3V8Ru
Slide 11 - http://franklycurious.com/LMNucleus/?itemid=8306
Slide 10 - http://www.deviantart.com/art/Blind-313520557
Slide 14 - http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/23193-personality-traits-brain-scans
Slide 9 - http://bit.ly/1LrE227
Slide 8 - http://bit.ly/1Rwy4kv
Slide 7 - http://thebarking.com/2012/03/a-mere-category-cannot-capture-a-cad/
Slide 4 - http://bit.ly/1JSYOWl

14. Mark Brady, PhD
TheEnchantedLoom@gmail.com
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