Essays about the brain, or possibly talks written down. Some were better than others, but most were interesting.

I found this book kind of exhilarating, to realize how well developed our understanding of the brain and mind has become. Not every essay is equally interesting, but overall, a great collection. (Note that these essays may well already be available on the edge.org website, but I was happy to have them in book form.)

Loved it. Concise and thought provoking essays and interviews by some of the more interesting and creative players in the neuroscience, philosophy and psych scene (e.g. Pinker, Haidt and Lakoff, LeDoux, Dehaen). Some of the essays were better than others, but over all, great stuff. I think of Brockman's books (and edge.org) as a sampler platter. You get to try a little something from a bunch of really cool thinkers and see if any of them capture your attention enough to investigate their work in more depth. My "must read" list grew by about six books based on what I read in The Mind, for instance; I'm going to read Dehaen's Number Sense and Lakoff's Philosophy Of The Flesh next because both of their essays were so dang good. I think I might grab another Brockman book too (probably Culture). My only apprehension in picking up another edge.org compilation is the inevitable overwhelm you feel afterwords, trying to figure out what rad book you want to read next. Quality problem right? BTW does Brockman have a cool gig or what? He's like the Hugh Hefner of nerds.