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Your Brain Is a Time Machine – The Neuroscience and Physics of Time Paperback – Illustrated, 18 May 2018

by Dean Buonomano (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 475 ratings
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"Time" is the most common noun in the English language yet philosophers and scientists don’t agree about what time actually is or how to define it. Perhaps this is because the brain tells, represents and perceives time in multiple ways.

Dean Buonomano investigates the relationship between the brain and time, looking at what time is, why it seems to speed up or slow down and whether our sense that time flows is an illusion. Buonomano presents his theory of how the brain tells time, and illuminates such concepts as free will, consciousness, space-time and relativity from the perspective of a neuroscientist. Drawing on physics, evolutionary biology and philosophy, he reveals that the brain’s ultimate purpose may be to predict the future–and thus that your brain is a time machine.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0393355608
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0393355604
  3. Edition
    Illustrated
  4. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  5. Publication date
    18 May 2018
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    13.97 x 2.29 x 21.08 cm
  8. Print length
    304 pages
  9. See all details
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Review

[Buonomano] lays out the latest, best theories about how we understand time, illuminating a fundamental aspect of being human.--Thomas MacMillan "New York"

Beautifully written, eloquently reasoned.... With lucidity and flair--not to mention an appealing avoidance of the reductionism and exaggeration to which many pop-neuroscientists are prone--Mr. Buonomano takes us off and running on an edifying scientific journey.--Carol Tavris "Wall Street Journal"

Buonomano lays out a wealth of complex concepts in an entertaining, digestible way.... [This] book will make you question your own perceptions and marvel at the fact that your brain is probably 'the best time machine you will ever own.'--Diana Kwon "Scientific American"

Buonomano's ambition is inspiring and his writing is rich.... [Your Brain Is a Time Machine] hits the ambitious target of being both thorough and accessible.--Georgina Edwards "Chemistry World"

Dean Buonomano has a light touch and a sure hand in addressing complex scientific issues. Your Brain Is a Time Machine is filled with vivid examples of how time weaves its web in the physical world and in our brains. Even though the brain is a crude timekeeper compared to an atomic clock, its projection of cumulative experience into models of the future is a profound human capability. Buonomano is equally adept in describing the thermodynamic arrow of time and the basis of temporal reasoning in neuron circuits. Intriguingly, he argues that our conscious construct of time may shape physical theories of time. The book is a pleasure for anyone interested in the deepest questions about how the brain and the universe work.--Chris Impey, astronomer and author, University of Arizona

Full of delicious details.... Reading Buonomano's book, it's hard not to marvel at how time and timekeeping pervade our existence.--Anil Ananthaswamy "New Scientist"

The beauty of this book is Buonomano's seamless leap from the fields of biology and psychology into the world of physics. Never appearing out of his depth, he grapples with the subject's most infuriating question: what is time?--Jonathan Blott "Lancet Neurology"

Why does time seem to flow from moment to moment? It's a mystery because physics tells a different story: time simply is, a passive label on different parts of the universe. Dean Buonomano cooks a rich stew of ideas, from philosophy to neuroscience, to help understand this question, and thereby paint a clearer picture of our place in the physical world.--Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself

About the Author

Dean Buonomano is a professor of neurobiology and psychology at UCLA and a leading theorist on the neuroscience of time. His previous book, Brain Bugs: How the Brain’s Flaws Shape Our Lives, was a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Illustrated edition (18 May 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393355608
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393355604
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 2.29 x 21.08 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 475 ratings

About the author

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Dean Buonomano

Dean Buonomano

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Dean Buonomano (@DeanBuono) is a neuroscientist at UCLA, and a leading researcher on the neuroscience of time. His first book, Brain Bugs: How the Brain’s Flaws Shape Our Lives, was a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Buonomano has been interviewed about his research on timing and neural computation for Newsweek, Discover Magazine, Scientific American, Los Angeles Times, The Scientist, and The New Yorker.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
475 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and a nice foray into the brain science aspect. They describe it as incredible and enjoyable.

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5 customers mention ‘Readability’5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book incredible, packed with interesting information, and fascinating.

"I am 80% through this, and have really enjoyed it...." Read more

"Incredible book, packed with so much interesting information. I enjoyed it so much that when I got the end I went back to page one and started again...." Read more

"3 stars. It is Worth reading but it gets quite often dispersive...." Read more

"Very Interesting...." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Interest’4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting. They say it provides insights into research on various ways the brain expresses and judges time.

"...by the lack of definition of time, so this was a nice foray into the brain science aspect of it." Read more

"Interesting insights into research on various ways the brain expressed and judges time at various scales...." Read more

"Incredible book, packed with so much interesting information. I enjoyed it so much that when I got the end I went back to page one and started again...." Read more

"Nah, just didn't work for me. I found it mildly interesting but it suffers from being too minutely detailed in the functions of the brain at a..." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Marian NANIAS
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 November 2024
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OK
One person found this helpful
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Chris Haines
5.0 out of 5 stars Its a heavy but fascinating read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2023
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I am 80% through this, and have really enjoyed it. I like physics, and am fascinated by the lack of definition of time, so this was a nice foray into the brain science aspect of it.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Good on neuroscience, weak on philosophy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 August 2019
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Interesting insights into research on various ways the brain expressed and judges time at various scales.

The philosophy part is almost wholey concerned with whether eternalism is true, expressed as the view that we live in a 4 dimensional block universe where all times are equally 'real' and the 'now' we inhabit is no more special than the 'where' we happen to be.

This is seen to be highly counter intuitive for some reason and in contradiction to the subjective sense of time as a flow of events. It actually isn't, anymore than describing the trajectory of a ball on a graph is in contradiction with the ball moving. The graph *shows* the movement of the ball and a block universe contains the flow of events on a time axis, just as a presentist description does. This confusion is repeated many times; time is often described as flowing when it can't - it *is* the flow of events. Conversely the block universe is drained as 'frozen'. Frozen relative to what time dimension?

The real distinction between the views is what exactly about different times are 'real'. This is a tedious discussion that requires careful definition of the various opposing claims, to which the book does not attempt.

Nevertheless, interesting for the neuroscience review.
8 people found this helpful
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Ramon
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2020
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Incredible book, packed with so much interesting information. I enjoyed it so much that when I got the end I went back to page one and started again. A definite "must read" for anyone into the science of time.
2 people found this helpful
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Shaun
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2017
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I'm a web developer with multiple sclerosis and this book has utterly revolutionised how I view data storage structures, CBT and my own illness. Cannot recommend highly enough.
16 people found this helpful
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Chris X
5.0 out of 5 stars Very pleased
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2021
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Couldn't have enjoyed it more
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paul lumsden
3.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 August 2018
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Nah, just didn't work for me. I found it mildly interesting but it suffers from being too minutely detailed in the functions of the brain at a cellular level while being scant in exploring the cosmological aspects of time.
But then, if the theory of eternalism is correct this review was already determined.
8 people found this helpful
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silvano
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but dispersive.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 January 2020
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3 stars. It is Worth reading but it gets quite often dispersive. It looks like the author wanted to add extra length to the text by inserting unnecessary adjectives and sentences.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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oscar.manzo.c
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente libro
Reviewed in Mexico on 10 February 2022
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Gran libro, cambia en gran manera la conceptualización del paso del tiempo.
Te anima a indagar más en el tema.
Lo volveré a leer.
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X
5.0 out of 5 stars Curioso
Reviewed in Spain on 27 March 2024
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Explica de forma amena conceptos complejos, acercando la física a las neurociencias. Abarca temas que en una formación normal de neuropsicología/neurología ni se nombran, como lo puede ser la "sensación" del paso del tiempo o la "pérdida" de la noción del tiempo que ocurre en algunas patologías.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Blow your mind
Reviewed in Canada on 8 July 2019
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Great book. Well written
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Marc
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating exploration of the brain and time
Reviewed in the United States on 18 March 2019
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How we perceive time and what is time anyway? The author explores in detail both issues in a very comprehensive book. However, despite the author's best efforts to make the subject approachable, it still feels overly technical at times. Regardless, he manages to explain a very complex topic in as clear a way as possible. But the brain, what a mess!
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stavros
5.0 out of 5 stars Un livre unique
Reviewed in France on 11 June 2019
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J'ai longtemts cherché pour un tel livre. Il present les dernier recherche sur le domain des neuroscience.
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