Wonderful. Illuminating. Full of insight, beauty and-humor."--David Eagleman, author of Incognito and Sum

The Self Illusion is about the science of self-the truth behind the illusion that we all share, that we exist as individuals inside our bodies and are in control of our own thoughts and behaviours. Recent developments in neuroscience tell us that we consist of a multitude of unconscious mechanisms interpreting the world, yet we are largely under the influence of those around us. We are not the individuals we think we are. The truth-that our self is a narrative our brain creates-may startle those of us who fervently believe that we are in full control of who we are and what we do.

Bruce Hood, a world-renowned expert on the brain, reaches deep into our evolutionary past to find out what makes us tick. He reveals fascinating original research about child development and ultimately takes us inside our own heads to explain how and why we act the way we do, even in the new frontier of Twitter and Facebook.The Self Illusion is a highly accessible, often entertaining and ultimately provocative book about the nature of you, yourself and I.

BRUCE HOOD is currently a professor of developmental psychology in society at the University of Bristol. He has been a research fellow at Cambridge University and University College London, a visiting scientist at MIT and a faculty professor at Harvard. He is the author of several books, including The Science of Superstition: How the Developing Brain Creates Supernatural Beliefs. He was also the 2011 Royal Institution Christmas Lecturer—the most prestigious appointment for the public engagement of science in the U.K.—for which he wrote and presented three lectures on the brain, broadcast on the BBC to an audience of over three million viewers.

WEB: brucemhood.wordpress.com
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“Excellent.” — Wired

“Fascinating, timely and important . . . Hood’s presentation of the science behind our supersense is crystal clear and utterly engaging.” — New Scientist

“Wonderful. Illuminating. Full of insight, beauty and humor.” — David Eagleman, author of Incognito and Sum

“Startling and engrossing.” — Robin Ince, author of Bad Book Club