Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives Of Eccentric Scientists And Madmen by Clifford A. Pickover (PDF)

Description

Never has the term mad scientist been more fascinatingly explored than in internationally recognized popular science author Clifford Pickover’s richly researched wild ride through the bizarre lives of eccentric geniuses. A few highlights:”The Pigeon Man from Manhattan” Legendary inventor Nikola Tesla had abnormally long thumbs, a peculiar love of pigeons, and a horror of women’s pearls.”The Worm Man from Devonshire” Forefather of modern electric-circuit design Oliver Heaviside furnished his home with granite blocks and sometimes consumed only milk for days (as did Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison).”The Rabbit-Eater from Lichfield” Renowned scholar Samuel Johnson had so many tics and quirks that some mistook him for an idiot. In fact, his behavior matches modern definitions of obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette’s syndrome.Pickover also addresses many provocative topics: the link between genius and madness, the role the brain plays in alien abduction and religious experiences, UFOs, cryonics — even the whereabouts of Einstein’s brain!

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Bucky Fuller though big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes both.” –Wired”Filled with 200 years of eccentric genius. This is lively and immensely enjoyable scientific history.” –Publishers Weekly”Pickover’s originality has found itself the perfect topic.” –Ian Stewart, Scientific American) About the Author Clifford A. Pickover is the lead writer for the brain-boggler column in Discover magazine and the author of numerous acclaimed science books. He has been featured on PBS, the Discovery Channel, and CNN. A research staff member at IBM’s T.J. Watson Research Center, Dr. Pickover is a prolific inventor who holds numerous patents. He lives in Yorktown Heights, New York.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I liked this book. It makes sense to delve into the minds of individuals who’ve made considerable contributions to society to find out “how they tick.” While this book does little to get to the core of the subjects with each chapter, in Pickover’s defense, he’s not a psychologist; merely a social observer with a few more resources than the average reader.That’s pretty much my short impression of this book.However, I thought I’d point out something that struck me as odd. When I came across the first chapter about Nikola Tesla, Pickover briefly mentions that Tesla had created a music notation system. I wanted to know more about it so I decided to contact Mr. Pickover about it and he didn’t seem to have much more information on this subject. I asked him what his resources were on this statement and he replied that he got it from a scholar who was an ‘authority’ on Tesla. He gave me his name and address and suggested I contact him on it. I did, and this individual said he wasn’t aware of Tesla’s involvement of music at all. Hmm… I then tried to contact Pickover again on this matter, only to get no response this time. I then contacted the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade; a place that houses almost all of his major documents. The manager of the museum, Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Marin’i’, replied that he knows nothing of Tesla’s involvement of musical notation either. What an odd thing to happen. If it’s in his book, you’d think Pickover would have an explanation of this statement. If it’s simply not true, why would he make that up?This might not have bearing on your decision to purchase this book, but I thought I’d bring this to people’s attention as a rather odd footnote for your reference. I still found the book a good read, true or not.

⭐I bought this book years ago and then gave it to someone who I thought would get a lot out of it. I decided I wanted another copy for my library. I do love books by Clifford Pickover in general. But I also got a lot out of this book in particular because it describes the genius and the world-level contributions made by people who suffered from mental illness. It’s important to know that the world is a better place because of some mentally ill geniuses who have graced this planet. It’s a reminder that we should do more to reduce the suffering of those with mental illness, so that they can also live to their creative potential.

⭐This was a book I had high expectations for, and it didn’t meet them. After coming off of reading several books on creativity in artists and manic-depression (bipolar disorder), reading about John Nash, and Oliver Sack’s interesting boyhood…I was very intrigued by the thought of reading about strange scientists. I’d met so many that almost fit that category just at my university, who were obsessive about their science (especially the ‘fly’ guys! and the computer/artificial intelligence/robot geeks), that in reading this book I recognized more of this behavior than I thought existed originally. The book has great information, but I was extremely disappointed over the organization of the book. It’s like someone did all this research on individuals and the things that intrigued him about intelligence, then just pasted in the chapters with no thought to how the book should be organized.Most other books give an explanation or definition of the conditions he is talking about…kind of a guideline of what to look for first before dealing with individuals. Or they look at specific disorders and bring up individuals who went overboard in these areas. When you start reading the book, you think “Oh…this is individual chapters about men with scientific genius (no women included…why?), and then the author tells you in the middle of his chapters that he will explain more about particular problems/disorders in Chapter so-and-so. It’s like he doesn’t have enough confidence you will read to the end, so he kind of puts a carrot in front of the audience. Not smart to treat your potential audience as maybe being less than intelligent!The setup of the chapters were annoying. The author would give “The Straight Dope”–info on what these men accomplished, and then a section on “Strange Brains”, the idiosyncracies and eccentricities of their lives. I guess I should have been more prepared for this by the rather odd choice for the frontpiece of the book. Though I was not expecting a textbook, I did think it was a serious topic. Yet, it seems to be written for mass consumption along the lines of a celebrity tell-all that you would find in some hokey magazine.Most of these men were geniuses who magnified their callings in this world to the point of hurting themselves emotionally and socially. They couldn’t help it because they lived in times where their disorder was not treatable as a physical disorder of the brain. If it were treatable, the question always arises…would their genius be altered because their obsession could be controlled? This is the current bioethical question on medicating even for things such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD) to make children come into the norms of society and the control of teachers.I really questioned the addition of the Unabomber in comparison to the other entries. The rest did magnificent things, and their compulsions hurt themselves, but rarely others. Kaczynski on the other hand never achieved anything useable, and created things leading to havoc and death. Regardless of his supposed ‘braininess’, the Unabomber leaves the area of obsession-compulsions, and enters serious mental illness with his persecution complex and his psychotic behavior. A very large difference between him and the others in this book…and not one I would want my students to read about in classrooms.The rest of the chapters are haphazardly put together on IQ and other aspects of intelligence, information gleaned from web browsing and apparently, chat rooms on psychiatry….

⭐A most interesting look at the interworkings of some of the most brilliant brains to hit earth. Incredible fixations, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders, and down right crazy behaviors of genius’ past. The way it is written is addictive….you’ll find you can not put it down. You will be so amazed, you will find yourself practically forcing it on your friends. This is the second time I have bought this book, as I gave it to so many friends, I lost track of it, yet found I needed to have a copy for myself. Many things you just won’t believe….but they’re all true. Amazing !

⭐Damn interesting book. It is filled with detailed history and funny anecdotes about our most cherished famous inventors. After reading about Tesla and his fellow peers, I do not think I would want to be as intelligent as these guys. Come on guys, would you like to run around and be known as the “weirdo” who lives down the block? Makes for interesting reading and it is a fascinating journey into the minds of the world’s most famous geniuses. It is almost like taking a trip into a mad, mad, mad world. The minds of these guys are just out this world. Highly recommended reading.

⭐I always like Clifford Pickover, and this is surely a gem from him.

⭐Very interesting. Does just what the title suggests and gives a good account of a more personal view of some very eccentric scientist.

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