Brain science is upending traditional notions of brain performance. The brain was thought of as a machine that accepts inputs and produces a variety of outputs.

Modern brain science has proved that this traditional viewpoint is not just simplistic, but actually misrepresents the brain’s performance in a fundamental way. The insight is now that the brain continuously modifies itself and adapts for the tasks at hand.

We just completed a book titled Magic, Error, and Terror: How Models in Our Brain Succeed and Fail. It interprets the new insight into the brain using the language of models. They reside at both the conscious and subconscious level. The book consists of three distinct parts.

Part I examines a number of cases where conscious thought modifies subconscious models. Part II looks at conscious models that are claimed to be correct, but in reality inflict considerable damage. Part III examines how models can be used to decided complicated philosophical questions, including the age-old question “Do we have free will?”

As you can see, the book covers a kaleidoscope of cases that, we hope, will prompt the reader to explore on their own how models in the brain impact our lives.