- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (April 13 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1554683939
- ISBN-13: 978-1554683932
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 522 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #149,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Quill & Quire
A homing pigeon released hundreds of miles away from its roost can somehow find its way home. Take the average Canadian city dweller and put him or her in the middle of a dense forest, and there’s a very good chance that the unfortunate soul won’t make it out. This disparity is one of the questions that Colin Ellard explores in his wide-ranging book Where Am I? Ellard, an experimental psychologist at the University of Waterloo, touches on practically every aspect of how living things find their way around. The first half of the book, which is rooted in hard science, examines the physiological basis for acts of navigation. Just how did animals (and humans) evolve the biological tools necessary to find food, shelter, and each other? How do we form the mental maps that help us get to that coffee shop for that mid-afternoon appointment? The crux of Ellard’s argument about human navigation centres on our ability to imagine distant spaces, even ones that we’ve never visited before. This trait, he argues, is one of the things that make humans unique. The second half of the book tackles the many psychological, social, and existential questions that surround issues of space. How do we design workplaces that foster creativity and happier employees? Can cities be built with pedestrians in mind? Does our disconnection from natural environments threaten our very humanity? These questions give the book’s second half a more philosophical, and less scientific, bent. This isn’t a criticism. The fact that Ellard is able to entertain us with an explanation of the cold, hard science of navigation, then to follow that up with an artfully constructed exploration of how our relationship to spaces plays a huge part in making us human, is a rare feat.
Review
"Fascinating. . . . An absorbing read." --The Globe and Mail
"Funny and captivating." --National Post
"Delightfully lucid. . . . ellard has a knack for distilling obscure scientific theories into practical wisdom." --The New York Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"Funny and captivating." --National Post
"Delightfully lucid. . . . ellard has a knack for distilling obscure scientific theories into practical wisdom." --The New York Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Light on the science,
By
This review is from: Where Am I (Hardcover)
I had high hopes of this book when it was loaned to me by a friend, but in the end I came way disappointed. The subtitle "Why We Can Find Our Way to the Moon But Get Lost in the Mall" suggested a book on the psychology of navigation. Part I delivered on this topic, but did not contain nearly the depth I was expecting. I hoped that depth might be found in Part II, but Part II is on a completely different topic: the arrangement of human spaces in daily life. It delivers more of a philosophy of space than any real substance.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phenomenal Read,
By
This review is from: Where Am I (Hardcover)
How a book is written can be every bit as important as the topic itself. Even the most interesting subject can be made tiresome by poor craft, but in Colin Ellard's work we find the collision of an intriguing topic with superior writing. The tone of this book is perfect for its intended audience, neither underestimating the reader, nor filling the page with technical jargon. This is not a simple topic by any means, but Ellard tackles it with clarity and grace, and makes it accessible and interesting through the use of clever and engaging anecdotes. This book is absolutely a must read, and I can only hope there is more to come.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
popularization of science at its best,
By Maynard (Halifax, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Where Am I?: Why We Can Find Our Way To The Moon But Get Lost In The Mall (Paperback)
Colin Ellard has written a delightful book that persuasively stakes a claim for the primacy of space in human cognition. The first half covers some of the scientific research into the psychology of space and is well informed by Ellard's solid working knowledge of neuroscience, cognitive science, ethology, animal behavior, and evolutionary psychology, as well as by his first-hand knowledge of a number of specialty areas within each of these fields. The book's second half takes up questions about interacting with our spatial environment that are of considerable practical significance. For example, what happens to us as we become disconnected from our natural world? What makes for psychologically satisfying living and office spaces? Why do some city green spaces work, but others do not? Might social networks that we establish on the Internet (e.g., on Facebook) facilitate greater interaction with the real spatial environment? How about the increasing availability on the Internet of virtual reality? You may disagree with some of Ellard's views on these issues. For example, I believe he's overly optimistic if not completely delusional that navigating in cyberspace via virtual reality, Google Earth, and the like will get us back out there exploring and playing in the real world. But I can guarantee that you will never be bored. And too you will likely learn all sorts of things that you may never before have heard of, in my case, isovists, Second Life, proxemics, sound sculpturing, calm technology, to mention just a few. Accessibility poses no problem. The writing is engaging, often humorous, and pitched at the right level for the layperson. In short, this book is an instance of popularization of science at its very best.
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