Eagleman is a neuroscientist and has written a book that is a little scary. Did you know there really is a disorder known as "alien hand syndrome" where one hand is seemingly not controlled by conscious thought and will do things that a person does not want done? One example in the book is the alien hand feeding the person cookies even though the person doesn't want cookies so the "in control" hand has to struggle and try to force the alien hand down? Seems like that scenario would probably just the opposite if I had alien hand syndrome...when have I not wanted a cookie? But seriously, there are many scary conditions and disorders discussed in this book and it makes me wonder how anything is under control for anyone. Beyond the biological explanations, the big questions come up like "What is free will?" and "What makes us who we are?" There is more to learn about the brain and how it functions and slowly science is coming up with answers but there is a long way to go before we can answer important questions.
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