The Mind and Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz and Sharon Begley

 Neuroplasticity implies that the brain can change. It was thought that was not possible as an adult, but the author has worked with OCD patients who have showed it is possible. He gives other examples. A girl, through rigorous practice became an excellent pianist, suddenly found her fingers not working. She went to many doctors until one found the problem that her fingers were making only one imprint on the brain instead of individual imprints for each finger. Her rapid playing trained the brain to respond to the fingers as a group. She was able to retrain the brain be playing slowly.

Another example involved dyslexia where sufferers find difficulty reading. What was found was that it was a matter of the sound being too fast for some to recognized. In the sound 'baa' the 'b' is too fast for some and all they hear is the '..aa'. They retrained by slowing down the sound to make the 'b' sound longer and gradually speeding it up as the client handled it so that eventually normal processing was possible.

Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, reflects that a tone has taken over more of the neighboring regions so patients should attend to and discriminate acoustic stimuli that are near the frequency of the tinnitus tone to drive the cortical reorganization of the non-tinnitus frequencies into the representation of the tinnitus tone.

Chapter 9, Free Will and Free Won't discusses the impact of volition. The author's OCD patients willfully select alternative actions. William James had come close to formulating a persuasive, scientifically based theory of how intention reifies intention. The author calls mental force the mechanism that allows volition to be physically efficacious. He proposes that metal force is a physical force generated by mental effort. Directed mental effort causes measurable changed in brain function. And mental effort is not reducible to brain action. The "free won't" version of volition refers to the minds veto power over brain generated urges. For James will derives not from the freedom to initiate thoughts, but to focus on and select some while stifling or blocking others

Eye opening possibilities have been shown.

This is Your Brain on Parasites: How tiny creatures manipulate our behavior and shape society by Kathleen McAuliffe

 Parasites are masters of mind control. One parasite convinces mice to be friendly to cats and of course they get eaten, putting the parasites where they want to be, inside of a cat. These same parasites can affect humans who get infected by changing cat litter or playing in an infected sandbox, for example. Infected humans take more risks making them inferior drivers for example.

Studies have shown that in geographic regions more susceptible to parasites, people have more authoritarian governments and associate in smaller groups which favor known individuals. Prejudice increases due to fear of the unknown health of those not part of the known group.

This is an eye-opening read. Very interesting.

The Parasitic Mind: How Infections Are Killing Common Sense by Gad Saad

 The author states "I am a parasitologist of the human mind, seeking to inoculate people against a class of destructive ideas that destroy our capacity to reason." The book contains many examples of destructive ideas that really happened. It's a sad commentary.

The Revolutionary Genius of Plants by Stefano Mancuso

 The subtitle is A New Understanding Of Plant Intelligence and Behavior. Plants contrast with animals in that animal functions are concentrated in specialized organs while those of plants are spread through the entire body. "Plants .. modular, diffused construction is the epitome of modernity: a cooperative, shared structure without any command centers, able to flawlessly resist repeated catastrophic without losing functionality and adapt very quickly to huge environmental changes." Animals use movement as a primary strategy to avoid danger but a plant can be thought of as a colony of modular parts. The author shows that widespread participation in making decisions is the system that evolution rewards most.

Overshoot by William Catton Jr.

 Overshoot is growth beyond an area's carrying capacity leading to die-off. Catton explains that America, with its vast open spaces, saved Europe from overcrowding, but now everywhere is full. Starting with the industrial revolution we starting drawing down irreplaceable resources putting us on a path to collapse and massive deaths. He wrote this in 1980 and since then the problem has gotten a lot worse.

Poor Charlie's Almanack by Charles Munger

 Munger provides quite a bit of wisdom in this collection of talks. One really has to be smart to have great success and one has to know ALL the relevant factors. For example if you're a trick or two short you should know all the six or so standard methos, long suit establishment, finesses, throw-in plays, crossrulls, squeezes, and various ways of misleading the defense into making errors. Talk 7 shows why the accounting for stock options can lead to inflated estimates of company revenue.

The Other Brain by R. Douglas Fields

The neurons, which use electricity to communicate have been, until recently, the main focus of brain research. But only 15% of the cells in the brain are neurons. In 1990 researchers observed that the glia communicate chemically and are not just housekeeping cells. The author delineates the role of glia in helpful functions, diseases such as ALS and Parkinson's, and mental illnesses. It make the structure of the brain even more mind-boggling. 

Dark Matter of the Mind: The Culturally Articulated Unconscious by Daniel L. Everett

 This book is somewhat difficult to read but has valuable insights. Dark matter is what individuals build up through developing culture starting even in the womb but definitely at an early age. He presents a new theory of how culture, language, and the unconscious work together. "It is about how our unconscious is structured and infused with meaning by our individual experiences and social living."  He worked in the Amazon region and found tremendous cultural differences that caused him to change the direction of his life.