From the Inside Flap
Complex and crucially important, the senses collect the massive amount of information we need to navigate daily life, and serve as a filter between our inner selves and the larger world. But the science of how the senses work has been little understood—until now. New research is rapidly uncovering fascinating insights into how the brain processes sensory information. It’s not simply a matter of the brain controlling the senses; the senses actually stimulate brain development. For example, the brain’s sound-processing centers mature properly only when sound impulses trigger them to do so—which is why cochlear implants are best used before the age of three.
Brain Sense reveals this and a wealth of findings on how the brain and senses interact, as it examines each of the five major senses: touch, smell, taste, vision, and hearing. With eloquent writing and gripping stories, the author deploys a rare gift for explaining complex scientific ideas in a way that is clear and comprehensible. She introduces the scientists at the forefront of “brain sense” studies—neurologists, brain mappers, biochemists, physicians, cognitive psychologists, and others—as well as real-life people who are contributing to the research and benefiting from its practical applications, such as haptic devices to assist people who have lost limbs or rehabilitative software for those who have suffered impairments to their motion vision. You’ll find new research that explains:
• Why placebos work by changing the way the brain processes pain
• How humans respond to pheromones in the same manner as other animals
• How taste is highly influenced by expectations of taste
• Why color significantly aids the ability to remember an object
• How the capacity for language is already at work in newborn babies
• What happens in the brain to produce sensory experiences such as déjà vu and phantom limb pain
• And much more
Expansive and enlightening, Brain Sense shows us that the brain is both flexible and variable, and the reality that we construct based on inputs gathered from the senses differs from person to person. It sheds a much-needed light on the elusive workings of the extraordinary human brain.
Faith Hickman Brynie is a science and health writer who has written four previous books on the brain, including 101 Questions Your Brain Has Asked About Itself But Couldn’t Answer …Until Now, which won a Best of the Year award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She lives in Bigfork, Montana.
From the Back Cover
How many successful businesses provide the kind of unforgettable client experience that keeps customers coming back time after time and year after year? John DiJulius has built his award-winning business around a customer service approach that has earned comparisons to Disney, Nordstrom, and other legendary customer experience pioneers. In Secret Service he reveals how to develop behind-the-scenes systems that will enable your business to * develop a great corporate culture that shows in the dedication and passion of your front-line people * “go deeper” with your existing customers * turn complaints into positive experiences * make each customer feel welcome, comfortable, important, and understood.
DiJulius will teach you all the techniques that have catapulted his business to the top, making him one of the most sought-after service experts in America!
“Either you can decide to compete on price alone and pray you can maintain a cost structure to generate a profit, or you can provide magical moments that create value for your guests. . . . Throughout Secret Service, DiJulius demonstrates how to transform bland customer service standards into memorable customer experiences.”— from the foreword by Bill Capodagli and Lynn Jackson, coauthors of The Disney Way and Every Business Is Show Business
“If you or your staff read only one book, make it this one! Secret Service contains a wealth of insights on how to grow your business and build great relationships with your customers, whatever the nature and size of your business.”
—Michael Blitz, President, Center for Small Business Success
“John DiJulius is a secret-agent man with a thousand small ideas that together create one great experience. He understands that paying attention to how one delivers each service component is the first big step in staging a more compelling experience for each customer. Owners and managers of any business—big or small—would be wise to read his book.”—James H. Gilmore, coauthor of The Experience Economy
“Brilliantly written by someone who practices what he teaches.”—Horst M. Rechelbacher, Founder, Aveda Corporation
John R. DiJulius III is the president of John Robert’s Hair Studio & Spa, one of the top salons in the United States, and the winner of the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. John is also president of Minding Your Business, a consulting firm specializing in customer service and marketing. He lives in Aurora, Ohio, with his wife Stacy and their sons Johnni IV, Cal, and Bo.
About the Author
Faith Brynie is a science and health writer, who has written four previous books on the brain including The Physical Brain and Perception and 101 Questions Your Brain Has Asked About Itself But Couldn’t Answer…Until Now, which won a “Best of the Year” award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Wow! eBook
