His previous books, The Idiot Brain and The Happy Brain, were international bestsellers published in over twenty-five countries. We often see emotions portrayed as the irrational counterpart to clear thinking, as if it were merely a weakness, perhaps even an unfortunate evolutionary relic that renders us helpless in the face of ruthless and conscious AI (maybe I’ve watched too much Scifi).

Much like Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt, Burnett links humorous and touching personal stories with scientific knowhow . Burnett sought to comprehend the fundamentals of emotions, commencing with the most basic query: what is an emotion?

I am still determining the target audience for this book because it seems like he is the only one meant to read it. Dr Dean Burnett is a PhD Neuroscientists, experienced tutor and lecturer, regular blogger/contributor for the Guardian and other mainstream publications, and now international bestselling author following his debut book The Idiot Brain ('Idiot Brain' in the US). Neuroscientist Dean Burnett's father died of Covid early in the UK pandemic, an event which, unsurprisingly, affected his son deeply. I loved the sense of him feeling what he feels, doing what he does, whilst being very much himself and walking around it all trying to make sense of it as a curious observer. Dean Burnett has appeared on NPR's Fresh Air, CBC's The Current, Ireland's NewsTalk and countless platforms and publications in the UK.

He has woven his experience of grieving into his trademark readable and entertaining scientific writing. It's not unusual for readers to say they have waited a long time for an author's book and that it was worth the wait. It tackled the idea of emotions and cognition as being separate entities until, of course, we realize they are inextricably linked and dependent on each other. A fascinating exploration of our emotions and how they enhance all of our lives (and why it doesn't always feel that way). Soms gebruikte hij bijvoorbeeld allerlei namen van verschillende gebieden in de hersenen, wat naar mijn idee vaak overbodig was en dus niet perse nodig.In this way irrational fears can grow, because there is social recognition and approval (which our brains equate with evidence) for any idea from within the respective internet communities.