The Mystery of the Five Senses
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Summary
Dizziness, synesthesia, visual and auditory hallucinations, complete loss of pain sensation, parosmia, aphantasia… Within these sensory disorders—some familiar, some rarely seen—lie the neural mechanisms of everyday sensation.
As a leading neurologist, the author draws on the baffling cases he has encountered and heard of throughout his career to reveal the mechanisms of every aspect of human sensation and the wondrous, interconnected world they constitute. Here there is not only the music of Manchester, the food and coffee of the Middle East, and the deliciousness and hidden dangers of Fiji's coral trout—here dwells every one of us, and here too is each of our inadvertent personal creations.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers curious about neuroscience and cognitive mechanisms who like learning through cases
- Students in medicine, psychology, and neurology as supplementary reading
- Those who enjoy medical humanities narratives and want to understand the real experiences of people with sensory disorders
- Writers and creative professionals seeking new angles on observing the world through perceptual anomalies
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting a systematic neuroanatomy textbook or a complete knowledge framework
- Those who only want light stories and have low tolerance for medical detail and case descriptions
- Professional medical workers seeking clinical guidelines or specific treatment recommendations
Reading tips
- Read in sections by chapter; after each case, guess the mechanism yourself before reading the author's explanation—it leaves a deeper impression.
- When encountering concepts like synesthesia or aphantasia, jot down comparisons with your own everyday perception to help grasp abstract mechanisms.
- Pair it with basic neuroscience popular-science reading to fill in the anatomical and physiological background the book does not elaborate on.
- For sensory disorders discussed in the cases, try restating them in one sentence to others afterward to test whether you truly understand.
About the publisher
Beijing Daily Press takes world history, historical reading and foreign literary translations as important publishing directions, alongside science fiction and prose. Its catalogue includes Edward Gibbon's unabridged The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gu Cheng's Southern Ming History and his works on Ming history, reflecting a balance between general and dynastic history; in literature there are Fu Lei's translations of Balzac and of world classics, as well as science fiction and prose such as The Universe Omnipotent Detective Agency, A Canticle for Leibowitz and The Peregrine, with authors ranging from Gibbon, Gu Cheng and Balzac to Fu Lei, Romain Rolland and Douglas Adams. Building on current affairs, history and culture, Beijing-flavoured culture and children's books, the press combines classic translation with original historical writing, emphasising complete editions and translation quality. Public information is limited, so other details are omitted.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 前言
- 第一章 无痛非英雄
- 第二章 脑内省识僵尸面
- 第三章 细嗅玫瑰，但觉恶臭
- 第四章 脑内歌曲大联唱
- 第五章 盲视国度
- 第六章 咖啡与豆蔻
- 第七章 自带天旋地转效果
- 第八章 滚烫的泪
- 第九章 想象的枯竭与泛滥
- 后记 关于真相的真相
- 致谢
- 术语解释
- 进阶阅读
- 译名对照表
FAQ
Does this book require a neuroscience background to understand?
Are the cases in the book real or fictional?
What practical help can readers gain after finishing?
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About the author
Guy Leschziner is a British neurologist and a consultant at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London. Alongside his clinical work, he has long written popular science about the brain and the senses. His books The Nocturnal Brain and Seven Senses of the Human Body both fall under health and popular science, focusing not on abstract neuroscience theory but on topics closely tied to everyday life, such as sleep and the senses. Drawing on his clinical experience, he turns complex neural mechanisms into accessible narratives, helping readers understand how their bodies work and the difficulties that can arise when the nervous system goes wrong. Public information about him is limited, and details of his life, education and awards remain unclear; what can be confirmed is his clinical post in London and the two popular science works mentioned above.
Gao Tianyu is a Chinese translator and author whose work spans several fields. Public information about him is limited, and little is recorded about his life. Judging from the seventeen titles in the library, his translations and writings range across narrative nonfiction, popular science, medicine, science fiction, and world history. His representative translations include the cardiac surgeon's memoir Open Heart, the investigative report The Truth About Generic Drugs, The Thief Who Stole the Mind on Alzheimer's disease, and Neuro Logic, which explores human behavior and the workings of the brain; he has also translated A Knife's Edge Life, Catastrophe, and The Distant Earth Song. In his choice of material he favors works that combine professional depth with readable storytelling, and he is skilled at rendering specialized subjects such as medicine, neuroscience, and public health into fluent Chinese, helping readers understand science through narrative. His translations have thus gained a following among readers of popular science and narrative nonfiction.
