Impressive about our inner life

Our inner life, or our ability to form mental images of our surroundings and possible future, is the subject of David Bäckström’s book ‘Imagination’. The approach is impressive – views change between philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology. Preclinical neuroscience is interspersed with functional imaging, results of animal experiments with clinical neuropsychological observations. The book is short, compact, and mostly well written. You drift away and marvel at how strange we can imagine things.

I like the parts about the private nature of the human brain best. Backstrom describes how windows for brain network reorganization during development and brain size differ between species and how the spurs and connections of neurons—the neural network—are particularly extensive in humans. All of this seems to give us a capacity for imagination beyond that of animals. The presentation here is compelling and the reading is easy. Also interesting are the parts about universal aesthetics and the reality-testing of our fantasies and expectations. I learn that most of us, at the group level and especially men, tend to have a positively skewed view of the future. Backstrom thinks it’s an evolutionary advantage.

Some flaws are present. In some sections it is difficult (even for a neurologist) to follow, the technical terms are popular and the text is almost as compact as a scientific review article. The need to read parts of the book slowly is not in itself a defect. The author also sometimes takes up too much space in the text and tells what it was like when he met illustrative patients or about his own travels, reading experiences and reflections. It’s not unusual in the genre and way to tackle the first problem, but for me some of these sections broke the fun popular science reading experience.

However, the overall impression is very impressive. It is clear that Backstrom shines in the brain as he is and self-help editing shines with its absence. The scope of the book is large, and the effort must be significant. The result, in general, is successful.