From mosquitoes to the Marvel Universe, baseball to baby-holding, Ingram''s topics are diverse. He also makes startling connections. In some pieces, he relates anecdotes from the history of science and demonstrates their relevance to contemporary scientific debates. In others, he explores the science behind many of our proverbial expressions, common sayings such as ''time flies when you''re having fun'' and ''it''s a small world after all.'' In still others, he highlights intriguing links between the worlds of art and science.

As in his hugely popular The Science of Everyday Life, Ingram makes the science of our lives accessible and fascinating.

If the brain is the theatre, consciousness is the play. But who or what controls what we watch and how we watch it? In Theatre of the Mind Jay Ingram, whose past scientific investigations include the properties of honey on toast and the complexities of the barmaid''s brain, tackles one of the most controversial of subjects: consciousness. Scientists have long tried to map our brains and understand how it is that we think and are self-aware, but what do we really know? Any discussion of the brain raises more questions than answers, and Ingram illuminates some of the most perplexing ones: What happens in our minds when we''re driving and we suddenly realize that we don''t remember the last few miles of highway? How do we remember images, sounds, and aromas from our past so vividly, and why do we often recreate them so differently in our dreams? Ingram''s latest book is a mind-bending experience, a cerebral, stylish ride through the history, philosophy, and science of the brain and the search for the discovery of the self.

From mosquitoes to the Marvel Universe, baseball to baby-holding, Ingram''s topics are diverse. He also makes startling connections. In some pieces, he relates anecdotes from the history of science and demonstrates their relevance to contemporary scientific debates. In others, he explores the science behind many of our proverbial expressions, common sayings such as ''time flies when you''re having fun'' and ''it''s a small world after all.'' In still others, he highlights intriguing links between the worlds of art and science.

As in his hugely popular The Science of Everyday Life, Ingram makes the science of our lives accessible and fascinating.

If the brain is the theatre, consciousness is the play. But who or what controls what we watch and how we watch it? In Theatre of the Mind Jay Ingram, whose past scientific investigations include the properties of honey on toast and the complexities of the barmaid''s brain, tackles one of the most controversial of subjects: consciousness. Scientists have long tried to map our brains and understand how it is that we think and are self-aware, but what do we really know? Any discussion of the brain raises more questions than answers, and Ingram illuminates some of the most perplexing ones: What happens in our minds when we''re driving and we suddenly realize that we don''t remember the last few miles of highway? How do we remember images, sounds, and aromas from our past so vividly, and why do we often recreate them so differently in our dreams? Ingram''s latest book is a mind-bending experience, a cerebral, stylish ride through the history, philosophy, and science of the brain and the search for the discovery of the self.