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Dark and Magical Places

The Neuroscience of How We Navigate

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Dark and Magical Places

By: Christopher Kemp
Narrated by: Neil Gardner
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About this listen

Within 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 even than language - and in Dark and Magical Places, Christopher Kemp embarks on a journey to discover the remarkable extent of what our minds can do.

From the secrets of supernavigators to the strange, dreamlike environments inhabited by people with 'place blindness', he will explore the myriad ways in which we find our way. Kemp explains the cutting-edge neuroscience that is transforming our understanding of it - and tries to answer why, for a species with a highly sophisticated internal navigation system that evolved over millions of years, do humans get lost so often?

©2022 Christopher Kemp (P)2022 Profile Books Ltd Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Psychology Psychology & Mental Health

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Critic reviews

"A natural storyteller." (Mary Roach)

"Brilliant and beguiling." (Matthew Gavin Frank)

"Captivating...will alter the way you see and move through the world." (M. R. O'Connor)
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I mean, I enjoyed the book without doubt, but parts were long and slow and perhaps a little too heavy on the biology side.
However, it really opened my eyes to the reasons behind the vast difference between my and my wife’s navigation ability. Amazing!

Very interesting indeed - but had to chew through parts

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After pretty much every chapter, I had to start a conversation based on something I’d just read: sometimes it was based on the fascinating stories the author has collected to illustrate the point; sometimes it was the ingenious research described that was designed to unlock the secrets of how our brains work; other times it was just to marvel at the ingenuity of our brains and the brains of the creatures we share this planet with.
I have to confess that at times I got slightly confused about which brain region did what but this isn’t a text book, there is no test. I’m glad the book didn’t try and simplify it all to broad concepts—there will be many who will devour the neuroanatomy—and am comfortable with fact my brain decided it didn’t need to retain all that information. This detail didn’t in any way get in the way of a riveting tale.

Fascinating read, very thought-provoking

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