A Trick Of The Mind

How does your brain decide what it’s seeing, from the physical world to other people? For decades, scientists have tried to understand how our brains work, not realising that the answer lies much closer to home than it seems.

The latest research in neuroscience and psychology suggests that the brain is doing the same thing that the scientists are: using past experiences to build theories of how the world works, and using these models to predict and make sense of it. Through this process, your brain constructs the reality that you live in.

In this book Daniel Yon takes the research one step further, uncovering how your brain colours your perception of the world, the judgements you make about other people and the beliefs you form about yourself. With transformative applications for how we engage with other communities and approach mental illness, A Trick of The Mind will revolutionise the way you think.

Review

A fascinating insight into how your brain conjures up its picture of the surrounding world, models the inner mental states of others, and understands itself. This book will profoundly change the way you consider your own mind -- Lewis Dartnell, bestselling author of THE KNOWLEDGE, ORIGINS and BEING HUMAN

Your brain, and with it, your mind is isolated inside your skull. And yet we are not lonely. We experience ourselves moving freely through a world of things, people, and ideas. In this delightful book Daniel Yon reveals how our brain makes this possible. His paints the brain as a scientist using the crude data from our sense to make models of the world. Yon’s story is firmly based on complex empirical studies, many conducted by him and his colleagues. He guides the reader through them all with wit and clarity. You will not a find a more up-to-date or more compelling account of how a mind emerges from the brain -- Chris Frith – Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology at University College London

A dazzling exploration of the “skull-bound scientist” in your head ― juggling expectations, sensations, and past experiences to make sense of the world. Blending lucid, lively science with wit and wonderlust, Yon takes readers on a journey through baseball coaches, medieval mystics, Jimi Hendrix, and Borges’ Infinite Library, all while probing the power of uncertainty and the perils of overconfidence. The science hooks you, the storytelling keeps you, and the humour makes it unforgettable. -- Cecilia Heyes, Professor of Psychology, All Souls College, University of Oxford

Are you seeing the world as it truly is? A Trick of the Mind shatters the illusion of objective reality, revealing how our brains actively construct our perceptions, often shaping them in surprising and misleading ways. With captivating storytelling and cutting-edge science, neuroscientist Daniel Yon explores the power and the perils of the brain's internal models, offering a provocative look at the hidden forces shaping our thoughts, beliefs, and even our sanity. Prepare to question everything you thought you knew -- Daniel Z. Lieberman, author of THE MOLECULE OF MORE

Immensely readable ... Yon makes an excellent guide, both as a scientist working at the leading edge of this field and as a writer of great clarity ― The Guardian

About the Author

Daniel Yon is an experimental psychologist, cognitive neuroscientist and director of The Uncertainty Lab at Birkbeck, University of London. He received his PhD in 2018, took up his first academic post in 2019 and joined the faculty at Birkbeck in 2021 - where he is now Associate Professor (Reader) in Cognitive Neuroscience. In 2023 he was made a Visiting Fellow of the Paris Institute for Advanced Study and in 2024 he was awarded the Experimental Psychology Society’s EPS Prize for distinguished, independent and original contributions to experimental psychology. He lives in London with his wife, Rosa.