A couple of weeks ago I was browsing the bookstore at San Francisco International Airport (a suprisingly good bookstore, by the way) and discovered a really neat book. It's about how our brains work, and how our sense of self, or "the mind" is created; a fascinating study of both biology and philosophy. Here's part of the blurb from the back cover:

"How does the three pounds of electric sponge stowed in the top of your head allow you to experience enchantment in front of an evening landscape, and them make you remember the shopping, say "Damn!" and head off to the supermarket?"

The name of the book is Introducing Mind and Brain and I found that it is part of series, published in the UK, that tackles heady subjects by combining authoritative text with delightful, and intelligent, graphic design. It's a case study in the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" and the sort of book that's fun to show to others, and of course to enjoy yourself. I really dug this one, and now I'm trying to decide which of the many topics I'll try next: quantum physics, marxism, time, ethics, Foucault, or one of the others. (See the link for a list of more titles.)