Robin Ince's top 10 books about the human condition

From Douglas Adams to Oliver Sacks, the standup comedian reveals some of the writers that have helped him try to work out what makes us tickMost of my standup shows, whether about the behaviour of the bonobo ape or my addiction to celebrity narrowboat TV shows, are really me trying to work out what it is to be human and trying to see how wrong I am getting it.In middle age, I ’ve been trying to evaluate the knowledge accumulated from shouting at strangers for money over the last three decades. Where does anxiety come from? What is the key to creativity? How can we deal with grief? How do we overcome impostor syndrome? I’ve interviewed other comedians and artists, suc h as Lenny Henry, Alan Moore, Jo Brand, Tim Minchin and Ricky Gervais. I’ve been through an MRI scanner to see what my brain does when I’m being funny. And I’ve spoken with psychiatrists, psychologists and neuroscientists to find out what they believe makes us tick.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Books Oliver Sacks Culture Health, mind and body books Physics Richard Feynman Comics and graphic novels Alison Bechdel Kurt Vonnegut Douglas Adams Source Type: news