NEW BOOK BY DALE PURVES & R. BEAU LOTTO

"Although the ideas and evidence about the genesis of what we see in the First Edition were appreciated in some quarters, the reception in others was distinctly cool. Given the opinion of some critics that the wholly empirical concept of vision we proposed was either unbelievable or incomprehensible, we felt duty bound to try again. Our objective was, and remains, to present a different and seemingly inevitable framework for understanding perception and its underlying neural mechanisms.…We hope this new edition will encourage more readers to consider this concept of vision and its implications for interpreting, modeling, and ultimately understanding the structure and function of the human visual system."

Download Flyer for New Edition (PDF)

NEW BOOK BY DALE PURVES- “Brains: How They Seem to Work” Pearson/Financial Times Press, 2010.
Available at Amazon!

Some Comments

"Dale Purves' Brains is my favorite sort of reading—an engaging and intelligent scientific autobiography full of vivid personal and historical accounts; the story not only of a life but of an intellectual pursuit. Purves has a unique voice, lively, outspoken, and very human—and his love of science comes through on every page."

--Oliver Sacks

"The 'Brains' in Dale Purves' book are both the focus of his research and the intellectual giants with whom he mixed in his remarkable career. At one level Brains is a charming autobiography; at another a vivid personal account of 50 years in the evolution of neuroscience. But it also lays down a challenge to the mainstream view that simple, sequential analysis of nerve cells and their responses can explain the apparently impossible task of seeing the world as it really is on the basis of the infinitely ambiguous retinal image. Brains is a delight—for its insights into both the scientists and the science of the brain."

--Colin Blakemore, Oxford University

"Dale Purves has been a leading figure in brain science for 40 years: He has made numerous discoveries, founded departments, and written major textbooks. In Brains, he tells the story of his scientific journey and intertwines it in an elegant and accessible way with two others: the uneven progress of the field over the past half century and the new view of brain function to which the field's shortcomings have led him. Some neuroscientists are likely to disagree with Purves' heretical theories, but none can afford to ignore them."

--Josh Sanes, Harvard University

"Brains is much more than a book about brains. It is a journey that takes the reader through the modern history of neurobiology, a personal account that illuminates both what we know about brains and the mysteries that remain in understanding how brains work."

--Terry Sejnowski, Salk Institute

"This is a lucid, easy-to-read summary that is fascinating reading for anyone interested in what we know and do not know about how brains work. Purves brings together a unique expertise and priceless personal observations about several subfields of brain research and the scientists who have shaped our present understanding of it over the past eventful fifty years."

--Pasko Rakic, Yale University School of Medicine

""Brains" is an engaging tour of human neuroscience from one of its most distinguished and opinionated practitioners. Dale Purves is a lively and informative guide to the field, having been at the scene of some of its great discoveries and having made many important discoveries himself."

--Steven Pinker, Harvard University

"A rare account of both the modern history of key discoveries in brain research by someone who was there and responsible for many of them and also a heartfelt account of the joy of it all. Dale Purves has given us an inside view of a life in science and explains with clarity what it all means."

--Michael S. Gazzaniga, University of California, Santa Barbara,

""Brains" is a delightful book that weaves together Dale Purves' personal neuroscience history with the history and current status of the field. I enjoyed it start to finish.

--Joseph LeDoux, New York University

This book is many things. It's the memoir of an immensely likeable human (who I only previously knew as a distant giant in my field). It's people with strong personalities that give lie to the notion that science is an affectless process. But most of all, it is a clear, accessible, affectionate biography of neuroscience. This is a terrific book.

--Robert Sapolsky, Stanford University

"Both highly entertaining and educational. A masterpiece."

--Bert Sakmann, Max Planck Institute of Medical Research

"For thousands of years humans have asked if we perceive the world accurately through our senses. From Plato onwards, we've wondered how our own cognition has influenced the messages we receive from our sense organs. Are we perceiving what is really out there? Because seeing is so important to our species, efforts to understand how perceptions are generated have most often focused on vision. This film explores the challenges of explaining visual perception. Using current information from neuroscience imaging techniques and lab based research, the film describes the profound technical and philosophical challenges scientists face in attempting to explain perception. The production includes overviews of the brain structures utilized to process sensory input and their neural connections to other brain regions, with an emphasis on visual perception. The essential role of cognition in interpreting sensory input is well demonstrated with intriguing visuals including optical illusions from the Purves lab at Duke University".
The DVD was released in September, 2008. For more information, visit Davidson Films.

“Vision is not what you think it is, and Dale Purves has done an unparalleled job in drawing careful attention to the way that we actually see the world. In this film he combines beautiful animations with memorable examples and to bring the issues fully to life.”
David M. Eagleman, PhD. Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine

"This clear and accessible film will provide an excellent resource for both students and teachers of vision. The discrepancy between the image in the eye and what we actually perceive is demonstrated using a variety of compelling visual illusions that will both bewilder and amaze. A logical explanation for this discrepancy is then provided in a thought-provoking theory on how we make sense out of sensory information. An informative and stimulating introduction into the mysteries of sensory perception."
Timothy Andrews, PhD. Department of Psychology, University of York

"Dr. Dale Purves explains why—to offer a neuroscience twist on an old saw —believing is seeing. But the truth is that our eyes (in conjunction with the brain) deceive us, as anyone knows who has ever puzzled over one of those famous brain teasers, such as trying to determine which of two lines are “longer” (an illusion corrected by the application of a simple ruler). In the entertainment world, magicians and set designers have long capitalized on these so-called optical illusions in which perspective affects what we think we’re seeing, while more practical applications in the real world include supermarkets that spend serious money for lighting systems that make vegetables and meat appear fresher. Purves addresses the physiological aspect of how our visual perception differs from the physical reality of the world, and why we still function remarkably well despite these sensory discrepancies. Beginning with a look at how the eye captures light, as well as how the eye’s “rods” and “cones” work, Purves explains the science behind the ways that the brain compensates for (or makes sense of) what we perceive (for example, how we judge the relative sizes of objects, or even colors). Combining live-action footage and animation in numerous examples, along with cogent scientific explanation of various perceptual phenomena, this is recommended."
From Video Librarian