Overview

Inside our heads we carry around an infinite and endlessly unfolding map of the world. Navigation is one of the most ancient neural abilities we have—older than language. In Dark and Magical Places, Christopher Kemp embarks on a journey to discover the remarkable extent of what our minds can do. Fueled by his own spatial shortcomings, Kemp describes the brain regions that orient us in space and the specialized neurons that do it. Place cells. Grid cells. He examines how the brain plans routes, recognizes landmarks, and makes sure we leave a room through a door instead of trying to leave through a painting. From the secrets of supernavigators like the indigenous hunters of the Bolivian rainforest to the confusing environments inhabited by people with place blindness, Kemp charts the myriad ways in which we find our way and explains the cutting-edge neuroscience behind them. How did Neanderthals navigate? Why do even seasoned hikers stray from the trail? What spatial skills do we inherit from our parents? How can smartphones and our reliance on GPS devices impact our brains? In engaging, engrossing language, Kemp unravels the mysteries of navigating and links the brain’s complex functions to the effects that diseases like Alzheimer’s, types of amnesia, and traumatic brain injuries have on our perception of the world around us. A book for anyone who has ever felt compelled to venture off the beaten path, Dark and Magical Places is a stirring reminder of the beauty in losing yourself to your surroundings. And the beauty in understanding how our brains can guide us home.

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9781324005384

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Reviews

Chris Kemp may not be able to find his way out of a stairwell, but he has quickly and with no false turns made his way to the top of my list of favorite science writers. For all his navigational shortcomings, Kemp is an expert guide to the most complex landscape of all: the human brain. He's a natural storyteller, a deft explainer, and a terrific and funny writer. -- Mary Roach, author of Gulp

Chris Kemp may not be able to find his way out of a stairwell, but he has quickly and with no false turns made his way to the top of my list of favorite science writers. For all his navigational shortcomings, Kemp is an expert guide to the most complex landscape of all: the human brain. He's a natural storyteller, a deft explainer, and a terrific and funny writer. -- Mary Roach, author of Gulp Christopher Kemp's brilliant and beguiling new book reveals that behind the curtain of the seemingly quotidian act of traversing space lies an array of intricate neuroscientific magic tricks, temporal feats of strength, hiccups, and elusive mysteries that only the human brain can contain.... Like the brain itself, Kemp's wild writing quakes and sparks, uncovering the lyric lurking in the neuroscientific, the hilarious in the incantatory. -- Matthew Gavin Frank, author of Flight of the Diamond Smugglers Christopher Kemp's captivating exploration of the brain's hippocampus and its seemingly magical powers will alter the way you see and move through the world. As both scientist and scribe, Kemp brings his gifts of curiosity and intelligence to bear on the topic of navigation and shows us that there is no shame in being lost. On the contrary, Kemp demonstrates that to be continuously and authentically in search of our place on earth is a wondrous thing. -- M. R. O'Connor, author of Wayfinding As a person who often finds myself lost in cities and forests alike, I was thrilled to discover this book, a dazzling-at times dizzying-exploration of brains and places, how they trouble one another and how they a give one another meaning. -- Robert Moor, bestselling author of On Trails A fascinating and sneakily amusing book.... Christopher Kemp is an elegant and quick-witted writer who, feeling perpetually and hopelessly lost himself, is perfectly qualified to lead us through some of the most complicated and discombobulating corners of human cognition. -- John Mooallem, author of This is Chance!

Author Information

Christopher Kemp is a molecular biologist specializing in neurodegenerative diseases at Michigan State University. He lives with his family in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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