Tag: science

Understanding the Brain: Insights from Dr. Schwartz’s Book

April 13, 2025

Neurosurgeon Dr. Theodore Schwartz argues in his 2024 book, Gray Matters, that your brain defines you. He contends that “soul” and “mind” are English language constructs without scientific foundation.


Millions of neurons, the brain’s nerve cells, transmit messages that store a person’s memories, knowledge, habits, and sensory details. These clusters of neurons form different lobes or regions of the brain, each responsible for specific functions such as vision, hearing, language comprehension, and pain perception.


I’m fascinated by how neurosurgeons chart brain functions using electrodes and electrical pulses in individual lobes. For example, stimulating one lobe with an electrode can cause leg movement or relieve a cramp. By repeating this procedure, neurosurgeons create a detailed brain map, akin to a world atlas, showing areas connected to sensory and other stimuli.


Personal decisions and actions are shaped by neurons storing one’s identity, history, and knowledge. People can broaden these factors by learning, traveling, and having new experiences.


This thought process is reminiscent of artificial intelligence (AI). AI can solve problems and generate responses based on information stored in its memory, derived from sources like the Internet. Our decision-making processes mirror AI’s use of available data, the data we have stored by neurons in our brains.


Dr. Schwartz raises a thought-provoking point: Are our decisions truly free, given the information constraints within our brains, limited by what is stored in the neurons in one’s brain? Decisions are often shaped by information from sources such as car salespeople or tour guides. Their insights, combined with our resources and aspirations stored in neurons in our brains, lead us to our conclusion. This prompts the question of whether our decisions are truly free or predetermined.

Dr. Schwartz concludes with a chapter on “brain-computer interfaces” (BCI). This emerging field allows electrodes to connect with the brain, and future technologies may enable wireless connections to the brain. Surgeons implant electrodes in the brain to treat Parkinson’s disease; these electrodes stimulate motor function neurons to improve movement control. While BCI holds promise for enhancing intelligence and physical performance, its early development raises complex ethical questions relative to changing human behavior. Employing BCI in this manner is rather disturbing.

However, Gray Matters encompasses significantly more than just describing brain mapping and discussing free will and BCI. Dr. Schwarz also describes the history of neurosurgery and training neurosurgeons in easy-to-read language, sharing anecdotes about well-known individuals who have undergone neurosurgery resulting from shootings and sports accidents, including JFK and President Biden. He also examines the crucial choices neurosurgeons face in emergencies, choices with potentially severe outcomes.


Neurosurgeons are interesting because they can perform long surgeries without breaks, which requires excellent physical stamina. The author portrays brain surgery as “the ultimate in mindful meditation,” where surgeons ignore all bodily needs, even the urge to use the restroom, until the operation is finished.

Despite its length of five hundred pages on a complex subject, the book targets the general reader. The illustrations show the brain’s parts and neurosurgical instruments. Learning that early practitioners used drills and saws to open skulls for brain access is fascinating. Today, however, computerized equipment has become the standard. I found the book extremely interesting because of what its content portends for our future as individuals. Neurosurgeons will be able to change personality by influencing brain functions. Would these changes be initiated by the individuals themselves, or could some authorities mandate them? These are troublesome questions that need a response.


Why The Martian Might Not Impress Everyone: A Reviewer’s Insight

February 12, 2025

The book enjoyed great popularity, and I may be in the minority when it comes to criticizing it. It was initially published as a series of blog posts, released one chapter at a time in 2011 before a publisher printed it as a book in 2014. It remained on the bestseller list for several weeks and has been translated into multiple languages. A 2015 film adaptation starring Matt Damon garnered significant success as well.

The author was a computer programmer interested in space travel before writing this book.

I reflected on my reaction to the book and concluded that while I enjoyed the plot, I found the detailed science somewhat tedious. Additionally, the stereotypical portrayal of NASA’s internal bureaucratic competition and the selection of a diverse Mars probe crew detracted from the narrative; for instance, having an Indian PhD as the chief scientist and a female team leader felt forced. The protagonist’s humor came across as artificial and more suited to a college setting, and the prose was somewhat clunky.

After landing the Ares probe on Mars in 2035, a sandstorm forced the team to leave quickly, leaving one team member behind, who they thought to be dead. However, he survives in the “hab,” the tent the team set up to stay for a week. The surviving astronaut, Mark Watney, uses his scientific ingenuity to make the “hab” a livable environment for a year and a half. The book details how Mark maintains the right balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide and grows potatoes to survive until he can travel to the site of the next probe to land on Mars.

Science fiction is not my favorite genre; I prefer more realistic books grounded on Earth. As a result, I found Mark Watney’s first-person, in-depth descriptions of the science he applied to survive to be tedious and overwhelming toward the end.

While the descriptions of life on Mars from the relatable Mark and his light-hearted humor were enjoyable, they lessened the impact of the hardships he experienced for me. For instance, I did not truly feel how cold and uninhabitable Mars is. And Mark seems quite comfortable reading books at night and sleeping in his cot. I did not think he genuinely starved or ever felt cold. Notably, he also never got sick, perhaps because there are no bacteria on Mars. In other words, if there was any personal pain, physical or psychological, Mark’s narrative did not convey it effectively.

Mark faced multiple life-threatening situations but relied on his scientific knowledge to survive. He once risked burning down the tent by setting a fire inside to produce water. Despite these risks, he always succeeded in surviving. Because of this, halfway through the book, I felt that the author diminished the sense of danger that an average person on Earth would likely face in similar circumstances.

Mark is not introspective but a positive individual who focuses on problem-solving. He never expresses self-doubt, which is disappointing, as it could have added a more human dimension to his experiences of perseverance and loneliness. Perhaps astronauts are chosen for their adaptability, reminiscent of the character MacGyver from the popular TV show in 1985.

Later in the book, we encounter the NASA team overseeing the Mars probe. Their conversations seem mundane, often revolving around budget concerns and disagreements about technology on how to rescue Mark. The portrayal of bureaucratic processes feels clichéd, and the dialogues with Mark feel forced: interacting with someone millions of miles away in an informal manner feels artificial.

I appreciated the book’s compelling plot and the buildup of events toward the end. I found myself reading quickly, primarily through the scientific details. The author conducted meticulous research on the scientific aspects, which I understood for the most part. However, I don’t think all the scientific explanations are necessary unless you’re deeply interested in science. If you’re an engineer or a scientist, this book is definitely for you. However, if you want to understand why we go to Mars or whether human settlements are possible there, you won’t find those answers in this book.