2021/07/25

Daniel Levitin - Wikipedia

Daniel Levitin - Wikipedia

Daniel Levitin

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Daniel J. Levitin
Daniel J. Levitin (cropped).jpg
Levitin in 2015
BornDecember 27, 1957 (age 63)
San Francisco
NationalityAmerican, Canadian
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Berklee College of Music
Stanford University (B.A., 1992)
University of Oregon (MSc, 1993; PhD, 1996).
Known forLevitin effect, This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, A Field Guide to Lies, Successful Aging (published as The Changing Mind in the U.K.)
Spouse(s)Heather Bortfeld
AwardsSee "Awards" section
Scientific career
FieldsMusic cognition, cognitive neuroscience of music, cognitive psychology
Institutions
Academic advisorsRoger Shepard, Michael Posner, Douglas Hintzman, John R. Pierce, Stephen Palmer
Notable studentsRegina Nuzzo, Susan Rogers
Websitedaniellevitin.com http://www.levitinlab.com

Daniel Joseph Levitin, FRSC (born December 27, 1957) is an American-Canadian cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, writer, musician, and record producer.[1] He is the author of four New York Times best-selling books.

Levitin is James McGill Professor Emeritus of psychology and behavioral neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at The Minerva Schools at KGI; and a Distinguished Faculty Fellow at the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley. From 2000 to 2017, he was Director of the Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill.[2] He is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Grammys, a consultant to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, a fellow of the Psychonomic Society, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC). He has appeared frequently as a guest commentator on NPR and CBC. He has published scientific articles on absolute pitch, music cognition, neuroanatomy and directional statistics.[3][4]

His five books have all been international bestsellers: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession (2006),[5][6][7] The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature (2008), The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload (2014), A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age (2016) and Successful Aging (2020).

Levitin also worked as a music consultant, producer and sound designer on albums by Blue Öyster Cult, Chris Isaak, and Joe Satriani among others;[8] produced punk bands including MDC and The Afflicted; and served as a consultant on albums by artists including Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Brook;[9][10] and as a recording engineer for Santana, Jonathan Richman, O.J. Ekemode and the Nigerian Allstars, and The Grateful Dead.[11] Records and CDs to which he has contributed have sold in excess of 30 million copies.[10][12]

Biography and education[edit source]

Born in San Francisco,[13] the son of Lloyd Levitin, a businessman and professor, and Sonia Levitin, a novelist. Levitin was raised in Daly City, Moraga, and Palos Verdes, California.[14] He graduated after his junior year at Palos Verdes High School and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied applied mathematics; he enrolled at the Berklee College of Music before dropping out of college to join a succession of bands, work as a record producer, and help found a record label, 415 Records. He returned to school in his thirties, studying cognitive psychology/cognitive science first at Stanford University where he received a BA degree in 1992 (with honors and highest university distinction) and then to the University of Oregon where he received an MSc degree in 1993 and a PhD degree in 1996. He completed post-doctoral fellowships at Paul Allen's Silicon Valley think-tank Interval Research, at the Stanford University Medical School, and at the University of California, Berkeley.[14] His early influences include Susan Carey, Merrill Garrett, and Molly Potter and his scientific mentors include Roger Shepard, Karl H. Pribram, Michael Posner, Douglas Hintzman,[15] John R. Pierce,[16] and Stephen Palmer.[17] He has been a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, and Oregon Health Sciences University.

As a cognitive neuroscientist specializing in music perception and cognition, he is credited for fundamentally changing the way that scientists think about auditory memory, showing through the Levitin Effect, that long-term memory preserves many of the details of musical experience that previous theorists regarded as lost during the encoding process.[18][19][20][21] He is also known for drawing attention to the role of cerebellum in music listening, including tracking the beat and distinguishing familiar from unfamiliar music.[19]

Outside of his academic pursuits, Levitin has worked on and off as a stand-up comedian and joke writer, performing at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco with Robin Williams in 1984, and at comedy clubs in California;[22] he placed second in the National Lampoon stand-up comedy competition regionals in San Francisco in 1989, and has contributed jokes to Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall, as well as the nationally syndicated comic strip Bizarro, some of which were included in the 2006 compilation Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro (Andrews McMeel).[23][24]

Music[edit source]

Levitin began playing piano at age 4, and took up clarinet at age 8, and bass clarinet and saxophone at age 12.[25] He played saxophone (tenor and baritone) in high school, and at age 17 performed on baritone with the big band backing up Mel Tormé at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.[26] Levitin took up guitar at age 20, and has been a member of a number of bands, including The Alsea River Band (lead guitar), The Mortals (bass), Judy Garland (bass), The Shingles (lead guitar), Slings & Arrows (bass), JD Buhl (bass and guitar). He also played on recording sessions for Blue Öyster Cult, True West and the soundtrack to Repo Man.

He continues to perform regularly and has appeared on saxophone with Sting, Ben Sidran, and Bobby McFerrin, on guitar with Rosanne Cash, Blue Öyster Cult, Rodney Crowell, Michael Brook, Gary Lucas, Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Peter Case, Peter Himmelman, Lenny Kaye, Jessie Farrell, and David Byrne; and on vocals with Renée Fleming, Neil Young and Rosanne Cash.[27][28] In the fall of 2017 he toured the West Coast with singer-songwriter Tom Brosseau.

He began writing songs at age 17. His songwriting has been praised by a number of top songwriters including Diane Warren, and Joni Mitchell, who said, "Dan is really good at what he does, and creates rich images with his words and music."[29]

He released his first album of original songs, Turnaround, in January 2020 with a performance with his own band at the Rockwood Music Hall in New York City, followed by seven shows with Victor Wooten's Bass Extremes band in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Phoenix, and a performance of one of the album's songs "Just A Memory" with Renée Fleming, Victor Wooten and Hardy Hemphill sponsored by John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[30]

Music producing and engineering[edit source]

Daniel Levitin
Levitin.jpg
Background information
Birth nameDaniel Joseph Levitin
BornDecember 27, 1957 (age 63)
OriginSan Francisco
GenresRock, new wave, punk, jazz, folk rock, country
Occupation(s)Producer, Engineer, Musician
InstrumentsTenor saxophone, guitar, bass, vocals
Years active1980 to present
Labels415 Records, Columbia Records, Sony Music, Warner Bros. Records, Infrasonic Records, TwinTone Records
Associated actsBlue Öyster Cult, The Afflicted, Santana, The Grateful Dead, Chris Isaak, Steely Dan, Joe Satriani, The Mortals, The Alsea River Band, MDC, Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, Neil Young, Renée Fleming

In the late 1970s, Levitin consulted for M&K Sound as an expert listener assisting in the design of the first commercial satellite and subwoofer loudspeaker systems, an early version of which was used by Steely Dan for mixing their album Pretzel Logic (1974). Following that, he worked at A Broun Sound in San Rafael, California, reconing speakers for The Grateful Dead, for whom he later worked as a consulting record producer. Levitin was one of the golden ears used in the first Dolby AC audio compression tests, a precursor to MP3 audio compression.[14] From 1984 to 1988, he worked as Director and then Vice President of A&R for 415 Records in San Francisco, becoming President of the label in 1989 before the label was sold to Sony Music.[31][citation needed] Notable achievements during that time included producing the punk classic Here Come the Cops by The Afflicted (named among the Top 10 records of 1985 by GQ magazine); engineering records by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, Santana, and the Grateful Dead; and producing tracks for Blue Öyster Cult, the soundtrack to Repo Man (1984), and others.[32] Two highlights of his tenure in A&R were discovering the band The Big Race (which later became the well-known soundtrack band Pray for Rain), and having the chance to, but not signing M.C. Hammer.[33]

After 415 was sold, he formed his own production and business consulting company, with a list of clients including AT&T, several venture capital firms, and every major record label.[34] As a consultant for Warner Bros. Records he planned the marketing campaigns for such albums as Eric Clapton's Unplugged (1992) and k.d. lang's Ingénue (1992). He was a music consultant on feature films such as Good Will Hunting (1997) and The Crow: City of Angels (1996), and served as a compilation consultant to Stevie Wonder's Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection (1996), and to As Time Goes By (2003) and Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration (1995; updated and released as a DVD in 2003) by The Carpenters. Levitin returned to the studio in 2002, producing three albums for Quebec blues musician Dale Boyle: String Slinger Blues (2002), A Dog Day for the Purists (2004), and In My Rearview Mirror: A Story From A Small Gaspé Town (2005), the latter two of which won the annual Lys Blues Award for best Blues album.[35] He helped Joni Mitchell with the production of her three most recent albums, Shine, Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced, and Starbucks' Artist's Choice: Joni Mitchell.

In 1998, Levitin helped to found MoodLogic.com (and its sister companies, Emotioneering.com and jaboom.com), the first Internet music recommendation company, sold in 2006 to Allmusic group. He has also consulted for the United States Navy on underwater sound source separation, for Philips Electronics, and AT&T.[36] He served as an occasional script consultant to The Mentalist from 2007 to 2009.

Writing career[edit source]

Levitin began writing articles in 1988 for music industry magazines Billboard, Grammy, EQ, Mix, Music Connection, and Electronic Musician, and was named contributing writer to Billboard′s Reviews section from 1992 to 1997. He has also contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New Yorker,[37] and The Atlantic.[38]

Levitin is the author of This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, (Dutton/Penguin 2006; Plume/Penguin 2007) which spent more than 12 months on the New York Times[39] and the Globe and Mail bestseller lists. In that book, he shares observations related to all sorts of music listeners, telling for instance that, today, teenagers listen to more music in one month than their peers living during the 1700s during their entire existence. The book was nominated for two awards (The Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Outstanding Science & Technology Writing and the Quill Award for the Best Debut Author of 2006), named one of the top books of the year by Canada's The Globe and Mail and by The Independent and The Guardian,[40] and has been translated into 16 languages.

The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature (Dutton/Penguin 2008) debuted on the Canadian and the New York Times bestseller lists,[41] and was named by the Boston Herald and by Seed Magazine as one of the best books of 2008; it was also nominated for the World Technology Awards.

The Organized Mind was published by Dutton/Penguin Random House in 2014,[42] debuting at #2 on the New York Times Bestseller List[43] and reaching #1 on the Canadian best-seller lists.[44]

A Field Guide to Lies was published by Dutton/Penguin Random House in 2016, and released in paperback in March 2017 under the revised title Weaponized Lies. It appeared on numerous best-seller lists in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.,[45][46] and is the most acclaimed of Levitin's four books, receiving the National Business Book Award,[47] the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction, the Axiom Business Book Award, and was a finalist for the Donner Prize.

Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives was published by Dutton/Penguin Random House in January 2020 and debuted at #10 on the New York Times bestseller list[48] in its first week of release, and at #2 on the Canadian bestseller list, and stayed on the Canadian bestseller lists for more than six months. It was named an Apple Books book-of-the-month and Next Big Idea Club selection. It was published by Penguin Life in the U.K. as The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well, where it debuted at #5 on the Sunday Times Bestseller List.;[49] it was named by the Sunday Times as one of the best books of 2020[50]

In popular culture[edit source]

In The Listener TV series, actor Colm Feore says his performance of the character Ray is based on Daniel Levitin.[51]

Levitin consulted on the legal strategy used by Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin to defend copyright infringement claim against his song Stairway To Heaven.[52][53]

Media appearances[edit source]

From September 2006 to April 2007 he served as a weekly commentator on the CBC Radio One show Freestyle.

Two documentary films were based on This Is Your Brain on Music: The Music Instinct (2009, PBS), which Levitin co-hosted with Bobby McFerrin, and The Musical Brain (2009, CTV/National Geographic Television) which he co-hosted with Sting. He appeared in Artifact, a 2012 documentary directed by Jared Leto. His television and film appearances have reached more than 50 million viewers worldwide.[54]

Levitin had a cameo appearance in The Big Bang Theory at the invitation of the producers, in Season 8, Episode 5, "The Focus Attenuation," during the opening scene, sitting at a table in the Caltech cafeteria over Sheldon's right shoulder.

In January 2015 he was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week programme, alongside cognitive scientist Margaret Boden.[55]

In 2019–2020 he was a script consultant and on-air guest for Season 8 of National Geographic's Brain Games.

In 2020, he appeared in Stewart Copeland's Adventures in Music series on BBC 4,[56] discussing the evolutionary basis of music and the neuroscience of music.

Awards[edit source]

Selected publications[edit source]

Books[edit source]

Scientific articles (selected)[edit source]

Discography[edit source]

  • J.D. Buhl, Remind Me. Driving Records/CD Baby, 2015. (Producer and Engineer).
  • Diane Nalini, Songs of Sweet Fire. 2006. (Mixing Engineer, Production Consultant).
  • Dale Boyle, In My Rearview Mirror: A Story From A Small Gaspé Town. 2005. (Production Consultant)
  • Dale Boyle and the Barburners, A Dog Day for the Purists. 2004. (Producer).
  • Dale Boyle and the Barburners, String Slinger Blues. 2002. (Producer).
  • The Carpenters. As Time Goes By. A&M Records/Universal, 2000. (Consultant on song selection, liner notes writer.)
  • Various Artists. Original motion picture soundtrack, Good Will Hunting. Hollywood/Miramax Records, 1998. (A&R Consultant. )
  • Stevie Wonder discographyStevie Wonder. Stevie Wonder Song Review: A Greatest Hits Collection. Motown, 1996. (Consultant on song selection. Liner notes writer.)
  • Steely Dan, Gold, Decade, Gaucho, Aja, The Royal Scam, Katy Lied, Pretzel Logic, Countdown to Ecstasy, Can't Buy A Thrill, MCA, 1992. (Consultant on CD Remastering.)
  • kd lang, Ingénue, Reprise, 1992. (Consultant.)
  • Eric Clapton, Unplugged, Reprise, 1992. (Consultant.)
  • Chris Isaak, Heart Shaped World, Warner Brothers, 1989. (Engineering (Asst), Sound Design (Soundscape)).
  • Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, Rockin' and Romance, Twin/Tone (U.S), Sire (U.K.), 1986. (Engineer).
  • The Furies, Fun Around The World, Infrasonic, 1986
  • Rhythm Riot, Rhythm Riot, EP, Infrasonic, 1987*True West, Drifters, Passport/JEM Records, 1985. (Co-Producer).
  • The Big Race, "Happy Animals," from the Soundtrack of the Paramount Film Repo Man, 1985. (Producer, Engineer)
  • The Afflicted, Good News About Mental Health, Infrasonic, 1984. (Producer)
  • International P.E.A.C.E. Benefit Compilation, R Radical Records, 1984 (Producer of tracks by The Afflicted and MDC), reissued 1997 New Red Archives/Lumberjack Mordam Music Group

Filmography[edit source]

Film
YearFilmRoleNotes
1984Repo ManSelf, musician
1997Close To You: Remembering the CarpentersSelf, Consultant to the producersPBS
1998The Carpenters: Harmony and HeartbreakConsultant to the ProducersA&E Biography
2009The Music InstinctSelf, writer, consultantPBS Nova
The Musical BrainSelf, Writer; ConsultantCTV/National Geographic
2012ArtifactSelf
What Makes a MasterpieceSelfBBC 4

References[edit source]

  1. ^ "Executive Turntable". Billboard. January 2000.
  2. ^ Laboratory for Music Perception, Cognition and Expertise, daniellevitin.com
  3. ^ Parncutt, R.; Levitin, D.J. (2001). "Absolute Pitch". In S. Sadie (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. New York: St. Martins Press. pp. 37–39.
  4. ^ Levitin, D. J.; Rogers. S.E. (December 2005). "Absolute pitch: Perception, coding, and controversies" (PDF). Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 9 (1): 26–33. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2004.11.007. PMID 15639438. S2CID 15346652.
  5. ^ "Oliver Sacks meets Jerry Garcia in 'This Is Your Brain on Music' by rocker-turned-neuroscientist Daniel Levitin'". Publishers Weekly. June 5, 2006.
  6. ^ "Books: Bestsellers: Top selling fiction and non-fiction titles (week of September 21". Maclean's. September 21, 2006.
  7. ^ "CHARTS Bestsellers (week ending Nov 05, 2006)". The Book Standard. November 5, 2006.
  8. ^ "Flying in a Blue Dream credits". Allmusic. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  9. ^ James Sullivan (August 20, 2006). "He's Rocking the World of Neuroscience". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  10. ^ Jump up to:a b Ann McIlroy (March 12, 2001). "Dr. Rock 'n' Roll". The Globe and Mail.
  11. ^ Susan Dominus (March 18, 2007). "Rockin' Boffin". London Daily Telegraph, Seven Magazine.
  12. ^ "La musique pour maître à penser". Découvrir. November–December 2002.
  13. ^ "Levitin, Daniel J. 1957–". Contemporary Authors, 2005, at encyclopedia.com. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  14. ^ Jump up to:a b c "Levitin, Daniel J.". Marquis Who's Who in America. New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who LLC. 2002.
  15. ^ Gordon, Michael (April 8, 2019). "The Canons of Dr. Daniel Levitin". Journey2Psychology. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  16. ^ Levitin, Daniel J. (2020). Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives. New York: Dutton/Penguin Random House.
  17. ^ "Stephen E. Palmer". PsychTree. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  18. ^ D. J. Levitin (1992). "Absolute memory for musical pitch: Evidence from the production of learned melodies". Perception & Psychophysics. 56 (4): 414–423. doi:10.3758/bf03206733. PMID 7984397.
  19. ^ Jump up to:a b D. Huron (2006). "Exploring How Music Works Its Wonders". Cerebrum.
  20. ^ "Common expressions: Levitin". Webster's Online Dictionary. Webster's. February 18, 2011. Archived from the originalon July 24, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
  21. ^ James Martin (Summer 2004). "A Mind For Music". McGill News. pp. 1–2.
  22. ^ Sussman, Deborah (August 21, 2014). "Daniel Levitin on Why Being Organized Is More Important Than Ever Before". Phoenix New Times.
  23. ^ Stein, Joel (February 11, 2016). "Study Shows Music Brings My Family Closer Together". Time.
  24. ^ "Levitin, Daniel J. 1957-". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  25. ^ Levitin, Daniel (2006). This Is Your Brain on Music. New York, Toronto, London: Dutton/Penguin Random House. ISBN 9780452288522.
  26. ^ "Jazz Legend Mel Tormé to play Santa Monica Civic". Palos Verdes Peninsula News. May 5, 1974.
  27. ^ "Daniel Levitin to present at New Yorker conference". Mcgill.ca. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  28. ^ retrieved August 31, 2014
  29. ^ Spoken at McCabe's, Santa Monica, Sept. 8, 2017, after Levitin & Brosseau show there.
  30. ^ "Daniel Levitin, ft. Renée Fleming, Victor Wooten, & Hardy Hemphill - "Just a Memory" - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  31. ^ 415 Records
  32. ^ "Allmusic:Artist:Daniel Levitin". Retrieved September 14, 2006.
  33. ^ "This Is Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin On Music | Soundcheck | New Sounds". newsounds. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  34. ^ Retrieved August 31, 2014
  35. ^ Retrieved August 31, 2014
  36. ^ Retrieved August 31, 2014
  37. ^ "A Neuroscientist's Diary of a Concussion". Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  38. ^ "Amnesia and the Self That Remains When Memory Is Lost". Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  39. ^ Feuer, Alan. "New York Times". Retrieved November 15, 2007.
  40. ^ "Pick of the paperbacks 2008". The Guardian. London. December 21, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  41. ^ "Vancouver Sun". Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
  42. ^ "Deals: Week of February 4, 2013".
  43. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/ retrieved August 31, 2014.
  44. ^ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/bestsellers/bestsellers-hardcover-non-fiction-may-25-2013/article4226576/ retrieved August 31, 2014.
  45. ^ "Bestsellers". The Star. September 16, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  46. ^ "Hudson Booksellers Announces the Best Books of 2016". Prweb.com. October 31, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  47. ^ Robertson, Becky (April 27, 2017). "Award-winning book A Field Guide to Lies receives a new title post-Trump". Quill and Quire. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  48. ^ "Best Sellers". The New York Times. January 18, 2020.
  49. ^ "Best Sellers". The Sunday Times. March 8, 2020.
  50. ^ "Best Books of 2020". The Sunday Times. June 6, 2020.
  51. ^ Gayle MacDonald (June 3, 2008). "Listening for the Listener". Globe and Mail.
  52. ^ Robert Levine (June 9, 2016). "Inside the 'Stairway to Heaven' Lawsuit: Everything You Need to Know". Billboard.
  53. ^ M. Skidmore v. James Patrick Page, et al, United States Reports 16-56287 (United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit March 12, 2018) (""The panel found that…the two songs were not substantially similar under the extrinsic test.").
  54. ^ "Nielsen Television Ratings". Retrieved April 10, 2010.[permanent dead link]
  55. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, Organising the Mind". BBC. January 26, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  56. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000db8k. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  57. ^ Thompson, Clive (December 31, 2006). "Music of the Hemispheres". New York Times: Section 2 Arts & Leisure, Page 1.

External links[edit source]

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Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives : Levitin, Daniel J.: Amazon.com.au: Books

Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives : Levitin, Daniel J.: Amazon.com.au: Books


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Hardcover
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Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Publishing Group (7 January 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1524744182
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1524744182
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.85 x 4.29 x 23.62 cm


The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well Paperback – 7 January 2020 (different book???)

by Daniel Levitin (Author)
Product details
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Life; 1st edition (7 January 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0241379393
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0241379394
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.3 x 2.9 x 23.4 cm

The best-selling neuroscientist and author of The Organized Mind explains what happens to our brains from womb to tomb.

We have long been encouraged to think of old age as synonymous with deterioration. Yet, recent studies show that our decision-making skills improve as we age and our happiness levels peak in our eighties. What really happens to our brains as we get older?

More of us are living into our eighties than ever before. In The Changing Mind, neuroscientist, psychologist and internationally-bestselling author Daniel Levitin invites us to dramatically shift our understanding of growing older, demonstrating its many cognitive benefits. He draws on cutting-edge research to challenge common and flawed beliefs, including assumptions around memory loss and the focus on lifespan instead of 'healthspan'.

Levitin reveals the evolving power of the human brain from infancy to late adulthood. Distilling the findings from over 4000 papers, he explains the importance of personality traits, lifestyle, memory and community on ageing, offering actionable tips that we can all start now, at any age.

Featuring compelling insights from individuals who have thrived far beyond the conventional age of retirement, this book offers realistic guidelines and practical cognitive enhancing tricks for everyone to follow during every decade of their life. This is a radical exploration of what we all can learn from those who age joyously.


Author of the iconic bestsellers This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind, Daniel Levitin turns his keen insights to what happens in our brains as we age, why we should think about health span, not life span, and, based on a rigorous analysis of neuroscientific evidence, what you can do to make the most of your seventies, eighties, and nineties today no matter how old you are now.
 
Successful Aging uses research from developmental neuroscience and the psychology of individual differences to show that sixty-plus years is a unique developmental stage that, like infancy or adolescence, has its own demands and distinct advantages. Levitin looks at the science behind what we all can learn from those who age joyously, as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people's wisdom and experience. Throughout his exploration of what aging really means, Levitin reveals resilience strategies and practical, cognitive enhancing tricks everyone should do as they age.
 
The book is packed with accessible and discussable takeaways, providing great material for reading groups and media coverage.
 
Successful Aging inspires a powerful new approach to how readers think about our final decades, and it will revolutionize the way we plan for old age as individuals, family members, and citizens within a society where the average life expectancy continues to rise.


From other countries
JEK
4.0 out of 5 stars This book reinforces many of the habits that my wife and I have adopted since retirement
Reviewed in Canada on 17 February 2020

 
I like the elements that agree with the steps we have taken. Of course it is not a recipe and can make no guarantees. Many of us lack skills or energy that the author seems to take for granted. Will I take up all the activities -- probably not, but I do appreciate that life-long learning is a good approach. My wife has a lot more expertise on socio-medical aspects of neurology as well as experience in gerontology and she recommends it as well. Our parents would have benefitted from this advice to live longer and happier lives -- but they were too stubborn to ever change. And that is the downfall of a book like this. Don't read it without an open mind.
5 people found this helpful

 
Jehad Abu-Ulbeh
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read
Reviewed in Canada on 28 May 2021
Verified Purchase
Loads of info, some I didn't understand. Great reference book that I hope to go to once in awhile. Some pages I had to skip as it was too scientific for me. The book lifted my spirits as it gave me hope, but felt the reality of aging that scared me. I highly recommend this book.
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Lynne
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book
Reviewed in Canada on 19 May 2020
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It was an interesting book. Very detailed research to back up any assertions. Sometimes too much detail to wade through. In the end, the list of ways to successfully age is a good, do-able list.
3 people found this helpful
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Andreas74
5.0 out of 5 stars a splendid psychology book
Reviewed in Germany on 12 December 2020
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It is about aging, but the whole psychology is in that book. if you're expecting something short, you should read something else. if you don't mind being introduced in all parts of psychology, the book is great.
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Tom Beakbane
5.0 out of 5 stars Sensitive elegant writing about an important matter
Reviewed in Canada on 11 December 2020
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Unfortunately I am at an age where this book is important to read... a few decades age.
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Johanne Cournoyer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting book about aging.
Reviewed in Canada on 13 May 2020
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Love this book. Was delivered really fast.
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JOSE VICENTE
5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting un pragmatic
Reviewed in Germany on 11 October 2020
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If you are interested in you and you aging the book is a must :)
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Mathias
5.0 out of 5 stars longivity
Reviewed in Germany on 1 February 2021
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has been giving the tools i need to watch my healthy aging
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Robert G Yokoyama
5.0 out of 5 stars I learned a lot of tips about how to age successfully.
Reviewed in the United States on 18 January 2020
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I want to age successfully, and that is why I read this book. I can increase the neuroplasticity in my brain by learning some new things. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change and adapt over time, I can increase neuroplasticity by learning to speak a new language. I grew up speaking Chinese, but I am hopeful that I can expand my vocabulary by taking lessons. I can also increase the neuroplasticity in my brain by performing in a theater. Learning how to memorize lines and movements can make the neural connections in my brain strong. I am proud of the fact that I have been working for over twenty years, and I am glad that the author says meaningful work is critical to longevity too. I will continue working, but I have been involved in pedestrian safety for people in wheelchair like myself. This secondary job sharpens my spatial, writing and speaking skills. This also increases the neuroplasticity in my brain and keeps me young.

I learned that high blood pressure can lead to hearing loss because the hair cells in my ear can stiffen. This piece of news is a wake up call for me because my blood pressure is slightly elevated. I will strive to keep walking and exercising to keep my blood pressure in check though. I learned that exercise can improve my memory and creativity, so I have more incentive to exercise now.

I like the information about friends in this book. Having a social network of friends improve my mood and keep my brain healthy. I have friends, but I don't see them that often. I am hopeful that I can make new friends to listen to music with and hang out with in person.

I struggle to get a quality night of sleep, but I will follow Levitin's advice and make my room as dark as possible. The author also advises writing in journal to relax, so I will try this. I will strive to get out more to visit park and beaches. This activity will sharpen my senses and keep me young. This is such an insightful book.
129 people found this helpful
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LVZee
3.0 out of 5 stars Buried Nuggets in a Verbal Dumpheap-Might Make You Think
Reviewed in the United States on 19 March 2020
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Like most authors of this type of advisory books, he tends to find studies that support what he does in his personal life. For example:
• He recommends early, big breakfasts, when there is many studies find the opposite
• He doesn’t approve of naps, especially siesta style 90 minutes after lunch
• He doesn’t rate vegetarian diets or active supplementation with vitamins or other nutrients very highly, but favors hormone treatments.
• He doesn’t think brain training sites (Lumosity or BrainHQ) accomplish much

One interesting concept that all these authors miss is that many, perhaps most studies can be debunked because controls weren’t properly chosen, there were problems with statistical methodology and self-interest in reaching certain conclusions or results. This absolutely does not mean that results are wrong, only that they haven’t been definitively proved.

He also merges readily available things one can do (like following the Mediterranean Diet, meditation, exercising or learning a new skill) with technologies that aren’t easily available, and some that are closer to science fiction than reality (brain implants to increase memory or intelligence.)

I am also puzzled why certain obvious questions aren’t asked by either the authors or the researchers. Looking at sleep: They recommend sleeping in a cool room, presumably with pajamas and a heavy quilt, but don’t discuss sleeping nude with little or no cover in a warm room. They don’t study regular nappers who sleep 6 hours (4 cycles) at night and 1.5 hours (1 cycle) in the afternoon vs. 7.5 hours at night and no nap. I frequently read that blue light before sleep is bad and room should be ‘totally dark.’ Didn’t humans evolve sleeping with some ambient like from the moon and stars, even before fire became common?

However, buried in the book are nuggets of very useful recommendations or information that isn’t common in the popular literature. For example, he recommends an additional ‘dementia proxy,’ which is very different than the standard health proxies that are commonly recommended.
51 people found this helpful
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Ethyl
1.0 out of 5 stars Don’t waste your money!
Reviewed in the United States on 16 January 2020
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This book is beyond stupid and definitely NOT worth $16.50!
Another example of why it is important to read a sample before buying the book!
55 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic, solid, practical, intelligent book on aging.
Reviewed in the United States on 26 February 2020
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As a 66 year old "retired" lawyer and CEO, I struggled in ways I never imagined when I "retired" at sixty. I have read multiple books on aging and am thoughtful and intrigued to try to find a way to live the rest of my life healthily, meaningfully, and happily. This book is the real deal. Smart author that I never read before. Book is based on science and data (400 footnotes!), but this guy writes smoothly and thoughtfully. The book is 400 solid pages but it is so well written that it is easy to read a bit at a time. I did not want it to end. This book is awesome.
48 people found this helpful
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PositiveMojo
1.0 out of 5 stars Long winded
Reviewed in the United States on 24 February 2020
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I wish the author would have gotten to the point. I expected to learn about things I could proactively do with regard to “successful aging”, the title of the book. Instead, the author goes into a deep dive and lecture on the different aspects of the brain and memory. A good editor should have kept the narrative on topic.
40 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Over rated
Reviewed in the United States on 17 February 2020
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Very disappointing,the content on the title subject is minimal;far too much fluff,had he kept to point,the 400 pages could be condensed to 40 pages;also nothing new here,and you have to plow through so much to get to the important points.
42 people found this helpful
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Lance B. Hillsinger
5.0 out of 5 stars Much better than then first book
Reviewed in the United States on 9 October 2020
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Successful Aging by neuroscientist Daniel Levitin is much better than his first book, Your Brain on Music. This reviewer gave Your Brain on Music a modest three-star rating. Successful Aging deserves five stars.

While the two books are superficially similar, Successful Aging draws on the latest research. Your Brain on Music came out in 2006. Successful Aging is also simply better written than Your Brain on Music.
Citing numerous scientific articles across multiple disciplines, Levitin expounds on simple concepts, like diet, exercise, genetic factors, etc., which can affect the quality of life as one ages. However, there is no “dumbing down” of concepts. In many places, Successful Aging reads like a good college textbook.

Levitin does offer practical advice on how to age well, but this advice is grounded in the latest scientific research. Moreover, Levitin also offers hope that one can lead a meaningful and productive life, even as one’s body is in the last laps of life. While Levitin offers hope, he is also pragmatic about the physical and emotional impact of aging, particularly for those suffering from Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.
5 people found this helpful
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Valerie Goodman
5.0 out of 5 stars Your Brain On Age
Reviewed in the United States on 23 August 2020
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Wonderful book loaded with health information younger eyes should read. I found answers why and how my husband and my own thinking are changing as we approach our sixth decade. The science, anatomical, chemical and time changes accumulated in life is explained with an energy to age with courage, love and laughter. Will keep for future reference!
5 people found this helpful
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Anthony L. Poselenzny
1.0 out of 5 stars A poorly researched book
Reviewed in the United States on 21 March 2020
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There is so much information available today regarding good health and longevity with regard to the appropriate diet that this author has completely missed. Most of his book is full of stories and personal experiences with references to science but with no actual hard science behind it. It’s a waste of time.
5 people found this helpful
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Karrie
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
Reviewed in the United States on 22 January 2020
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Very informative well written.
8 people found this helpful
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FrankP
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book from Levitin
Reviewed in the United States on 1 April 2020
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Daniel Levitin is a neuroscientist that has written several books on how the brain works. The books are highly educational and are written in an easy-to-read style with occasional humor thrown in. This most recent book discusses how the brain changes as we mature and grow older, and what we can do to extend a healthy lifespan so we don't spend our last years living with debilitating illnesses. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
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Keith G. Bernard
3.0 out of 5 stars Serious flaws
Reviewed in the United States on 16 May 2020
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Way too much self-serving name-dropping and aimless wandering. There was some useful information but much of it was repeated more than once. Desperately needed some serious editing. Was it edited at all?
4 people found this helpful
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Stephen V. Connolly
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on 10 February 2020
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Chipping away at this book a few pages at a time. Discovering lots of good information.
5 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Aging happens
Reviewed in the United States on 30 January 2021
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An excellent book about the scientific aspects of aging and how to live well understanding the aspects of getting older. A book club talk with different generations provided insight as we as elders were able to share our wisdom. I learned a lot about what I am living.
One person found this helpful
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Kayomack
3.0 out of 5 stars Turgid, Slogans?
Reviewed in the United States on 27 June 2020
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I'm still plowing through Successful Aging, and the writing does not fill me with confidence, too academic, a blend of theories and facts from different medical specialties, makes me wonder if Daniel Levitin is mainly interested in making bucks from the increasing ranks of the elderly.
One person found this helpful
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Veric
3.0 out of 5 stars Get the cliff notes?
Reviewed in the United States on 5 May 2021
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I understand perfectly why there's now a summary version of this book by another author. I skip LARGE sections of successful aging. If one has read about recent developments in human health, one will sometimes skip two thirds of a chapter in order to tease out the applications to aging.
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this one
5.0 out of 5 stars Very readable.
Reviewed in the United States on 7 April 2020
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Very readable. I first ordered on kindle but decided on wanted a hard copy for reference and highlighting so I will both. I will use it to enhance my knowledge working with older people and better understanding myself as well.
One person found this helpful
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marla fowler
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME
Reviewed in the United States on 23 June 2020
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So much information... Excellently presented. Good guidelines to follow as our age creeps up there. I recommend this for any age.
One person found this helpful
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Dr. Harvey P. Simon
1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on 1 April 2020
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Doesn’t really give you any real life experience. Only scientific facts. STATISTICS EH
3 people found this helpful
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Daphne Simpkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource for People Interested in Aging Concerns
Reviewed in the United States on 19 February 2021
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I bought this book on Kindle and then bought it again in paperback so I could underline it the second time I read it. The book is worth your time and helps you to think about aging concerns.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars What to expect!
Reviewed in the United States on 7 June 2020
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I found this book very interesting and educational.Alot I didn't know about ageing and a lot I didn't want to except!But had heard for years.Reading this made some of it easier to deal with.
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bluemookey
2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected.
Reviewed in the United States on 15 July 2020
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This book reads like a self help book, not hard science. There are a million books like it out there, no new information.
2 people found this helpful
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================
Popular Answered Questions
Is this the same content as is provided in "The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well"? Has the name just been changed for some countries? It seems odd that two such similar books by the same author are being released at the same time.
1 Like · Like  One Year Ago  Add Your Answer

Deedi Brown (DeediReads) Yes, from the other editions listed above it appears to be the same book.
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LISTS WITH THIS BOOK
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Science Published in Year: 2020
123 books — 39 voters
Immortality, Inc. by Chip WalterYou're Not Listening by Kate   MurphyFriendship by Lydia DenworthTightrope by Nicholas D. KristofSuccessful Aging by Daniel J. Levitin
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 Average rating3.87  ·  Rating details ·  1,830 ratings  ·  322 reviews

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Scott Wozniak
Jan 28, 2020Scott Wozniak rated it it was amazing
This is the best book on aging I've read yet. It covers everything from the social and emotional issues of aging to the neuroscience and even diet and supplements. The author does a great job giving you real science in a way that doesn't feel overcomplicated.

Some of this confirmed things I've read before:
-Your friendships matter tremendously and you have to keep investing in relationships or they will naturally fade as you and your friends age.
-When designing your final chapters of life, think about the people you want to be with more than the places you want to be/things you want to do.
-Don't retire from meaningful work. You can slow down or do a different activity, but to stop doing things that matter is to invite decline and despair.
-Much of the physical decline we say is aging is really just decades of being out of shape. Stay active and push yourself. You might be surprised at what you can do (and how many aches and pains go away when you're back in shape.)
-Sleep is the most important health factor--and it's harder to sleep well when you're old. That doesn't mean give up. It means get more diligent to protect your sleep quality and quantity.

And there were some things that busted a lot of the myths I've read:
-We still don't don't what diets are best. Nutrition is so hard to pin down (hard to isolate it from other factors and it's so different person to person). So most of the supplements we are told to take have no scientific evidence to support them. This includes popular things like Omega 3 fatty acids (we need them, but so far taking pills doesn't actually show any improvements in our blood stream) and popular diets who remove whole categories of food (from vegetarian to Atkins). The key is variety of food types (except processed/fried foods, of course) and limits on the quantity.
-We still don't know how to avoid Alzheimer's and dementia.
-All the studies of communities of people who live 100+ are massively scientifically flawed. They've been discussed and dismissed by all the scientists in the field. They're anecdotal stories by non-scientists. There are just too few people and the variables are so complex that there's no real patterns that hold up under scrutiny. So beware of them.
-Your genes account for only 7% of your longevity (except for those cases when you have a congenital disease, such as a faulty heart valve). It's mostly how you live.

A few bonus ideas:
-We focus a lot on the diseases that keep us from dying (cancer, heart attack, etc.). But we don't put much attention or effort on the diseases that ruin our life enjoyment (diabetes, back injury, etc.). Don't just try not to do. Plan for a life that allows for pain-free mobility.
-Purpose trumps all else. Have a plan for how you can keep learning and make a difference in the world. (less)
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Clif Hostetler
Feb 08, 2020Clif Hostetler rated it liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: health-and-selfhelp
This book combines knowledge from (1) developmental neuroscience and (2) individual differences (personality) psychology to help the reader understand the aging brain and the choices that can be made to maximize the chances of living long, happy, and productive lives. In the book's Introduction the author, Daniel J Levitin, claims that no other book intended for a popular audience has been written that covers the intersection of these two scientific fields.

The book is divided into three parts, (1) The Continually Developing Brain, (2) The Choices We Make, and (3) The New Longevity. Part One focuses on the ability of both the brain and personality to experience change, both good and bad. Part Two explores the ways the choices made made by individuals can influence health. Part Three explores new drugs and technology that have potential for prolonging health span portion of the life span.

This is a long book that seems to go on forever. There are overlapping subjects in the three parts so some material is referenced more than once. It’s written in a conversational tone with occasion mention of curious serendipitous phenomena, which are probably not appreciated by academic readers because I suspect they’re not all verified facts.

Aging has its down side—brain cell atrophy, DNA sequence damage, compromised cellular repair functions, and neurochemical and hormonal changes. But it’s not all bad. Among the chemical changes in the aging brain are a tendency toward understanding, forgiveness, tolerance, and acceptance. As indicated in the following excerpt, the older years are often experienced as the happiest.
When older people look back on their lives and are asked to pinpoint the age at which they were happiest, what do you suppose they say? Maybe age eight, when they had few cares? Maybe their teenage years because of all the activity and the discovery of sex? Maybe their college years, or the first years of starting a family? Wrong. The age that comes up most often as the happiest time of one’s life is eighty-two! The goal of this book is to help raise that number by ten or twenty years. Science says it can be done. And I’m with science.
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Lou
Feb 28, 2020Lou rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
There are many books on the market that aim to document how to grow old in a healthy and life-affirming manner, however, this is one of the few written and comprehensively researched by a respected expert in the clinical area of neuroscience. The facts and statistics mentioned throughout are proven and so can be relied upon as methods to implement to try to ensure you live a long and happy life. The Changing Mind is a thought-provoking and eye-opening account of what happens to our brain during the ageing process and it turns on its head some of the misconceptions we all appear to have been told about how deterioration, as we age, is inevitable when this is quite far from the reality of the situation. Dr Levitin hits you with inspiring and optimistic information and I feel there are so, so many people who would gain new knowledge and reinvigoration from what they read between these pages, just as I did.

I know one of the most prominent brain diseases of our time, Alzheimer's, is one of the biggest fears many people face when ruminating on cognition and how to keep the memories we have so beautifully collected alive, therefore I am pleased there are plenty of tips to keep the mind sharp and everything intact in this book. That being said, we all roll the dice on such matters and at the end of the day you may be lucky or you may not. Levitin charts the brains development from birth right through to elder years and unlike other nonfiction titles of this nature, I found this both eminently readable and absolutely fascinating. The case studies used to illustrate points made throughout the book were all interesting and if I’m honest I could’ve read another couple of hundred pages.

If you are looking for an easy, non-challenging read then this probably isn’t it but if you genuinely want to learn more about ageing and what we can do to age well this is a must-read. Many thanks to Penguin Life for an ARC. (less)
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Natalie Fincher
Oct 22, 2019Natalie Fincher rated it really liked it
Shelves: stopped-reading
I'm too dumb for this. (less)
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혜정
Jan 06, 2020혜정 marked it as to-read
Iam seventy one years old woman. But I'd like to read new novels and listen to good music so that
I want to live by my self. When I have retired from professor five years ago I had depressed losted my punctual work. In my country many people thought as an unavailable person from retired their work. I have a complaint these conception. So I start to study regular lesson at open college and I always want to know how do I live my more older age.
I hope to meet and practice my life through Successful aging. I'm going to decide to read this book. Thank you (less)
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Julius Adams
Jan 13, 2020Julius Adams rated it it was ok
A lot of science to get to the same results people have known for a long time. Cicero said it all in his treatise in OLD AGE, summarized below. Same findings, just without the science. So what is new here? Don’t waste your money....

Below is a link to an excellent summary written by Dr. John Messerly on his web site, where you can read his entire commentary concerning Ciceros treatise. Thank you to him, it proves this book is not new or necessary in its philosophical thinking.

https://reasonandmeaning.com/2017/08/...

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Taylor Ahlstrom
Feb 19, 2020Taylor Ahlstrom rated it really liked it
Daniel Levitin’s Successful Aging is a relatable and expertly written guide to the scientific, social, and emotional process of aging, buoyed by the latest research into what we can do to increase not just our lifespan, but our healthspan—those years when we are still living healthy, active lives, not plagued by chronic pain and disease or tubed up in a hospital bed. As a neurologist, the book is heavily scientific, but Levitin does a commendable job of making complicated neural behaviors make sense to the layman. In addition to the science, the book is filled with stories of people he knows and those he interviewed who have stayed active, sharp, and remained in their careers well into their nineties.

His point with these anecdotes is that we need to rethink aging and the elderly along with what we believe is possible after retirement. There is an undeniable stigma against the elderly in America that they are mostly useless and therefore oft forgotten. As to retirement, Levitin thinks we should get rid of it altogether. One of the main causes of cognitive decline in the elderly is not exercising those thinking muscles enough. As work also gives our lives meaning, there has been an increase in those who “unretire,” or rejoin the workforce after retirement. In addition to providing that meaning, work also keeps us active and social. Loneliness and inactivity are two significant causes of cognitive decline in the elderly. Loneliness is so serious a risk that Britain recently appointed a Minister of Loneliness just to address this problem in their increasingly-aged population.

Much of the book—in between all the science—is written from the personal perspective of Levitin, who is now sixty-two years old and is perhaps just beginning to feel many of the effects of aging that his book dives into in some detail. Whether it’s just forgetting why he walked into the kitchen, or that bum knee that will never be the same again, the reader feels a personal connection to the author and his work. Also, as a professional musician, many of his stories relate to music and his performance, which adds an extra touch of personality to a book written by a neuroscientist that had the potential to be both dry and overly technical. Luckily, his book is neither of those things.
One aspect of the book which deserves significant praise is the rigor with which Levitin investigates every possible claim or cure for aging. He informs the reader not only why certain medications work, but why others don’t, and is candid when modern medicine “simply doesn’t know why”—which is often the case when it comes to aging. The book contains over seventy-five pages of notes and resources, and the author claims to have reviewed around four thousand peer-reviewed papers to complete it. When a dietary or health claim mentions a paper or study with a low number of participants or one that was not peer-reviewed, he is quick to point that out.

While some may find the science in the book unnecessarily technical or overbearing, many may find it a helpful backdrop to understand the why behind the advice. Sure, there isn’t a lot of groundbreaking advice here when everyone knows they should eat more vegetables and get better sleep. But understanding how social interaction keeps our brains functioning at a higher level and why a walk in the woods does far more benefit than a walk on a treadmill may help more Americans embrace the suggestions he offers. He doesn’t shame or discount the medicinal benefits of many modern treatments, but he also notes their side effects and shortcomings, and it seems after every potential medication he mentions, the holistic answer is rather the better answer. You may be able to take a pill to feel happier, or you could talk to a friend and work on your coping mechanisms. The brain is an incredibly adaptable organ, and the more we train it, the more it can do for us.

While we may have figured out how certain drugs work in certain ways in the brain, there is still a lot we don’t know. At one point he refers to this as “looking for your keys under the streetlamp because it has the most light.” We are forced to experiment with the things we know the most about, because the other stuff just doesn’t make any sense yet. For every drug you put in your body, there are dozens or hundreds of interactions with every other system in your body, and each of those interactions are different for each and every person. Because of this, we can’t ever say one pill can cure this or that, but only that more people felt better than didn’t. In fact, for a treatment to gain FDA approval, it has to perform only 10 points better than a placebo—which is no treatment at all!

Ultimately, the point is that our bodies are miraculous things, and the only treatments we have found that work for everyone are the simplest ones: more love, more companionship, more meaning in life, more exercise—both mental and physical—and of course, eating more plants. These give you the best chance for extending your healthy years on earth. And most of the other medication that’s out there might help manage some of the aches and pains that inevitably come along the way.
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Roxanne
Dec 20, 2019Roxanne rated it it was amazing
I thought this was a heavy book about how to age well. It is pretty scientific but it has good information.
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Ruth Kamau
Feb 04, 2020Ruth Kamau rated it liked it
This book is long, filled with technical terms, and in the end... it does nothing to fulfill the promise given by the title.

It goes on and on about roles of hormones, what doesn’t work, experiments gone wrong, and then provides the most cliche advise about how to be happy in old age.

Coulda just started with that and saved us the repetitive ways of explaining Alzheimer’s and dementia.

All in all, some may appreciate this.
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Terri
Feb 03, 2020Terri rated it liked it
This book sounded interesting but it was way too detailed for me to enjoy. Felt more like a textbook. I’d recommend cliff notes for this one.
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Donna
Feb 25, 2021Donna rated it really liked it
Shelves: health, non-fiction
This is Non Fiction Science mostly about brain health. The author was heavy on the medical jargon and lingo that I guess Neuroscientists use, but the author did his own audio narration and he did a great job relaying the info in a way that didn't make me feel like I was completely in the weeds. For that, I recommend the audio to anyone one who wants to give this book a shot.

When I finished this, there were no boxes to check off. No list to gird your loins with before heading off to the health food store. Instead he uses a lot of studies to illustrate his points on health span.

Now some of these studies are old and they have been used quite prolifically in other health & science books. But what I liked was that he often gave us both sides of the coin. I appreciated that the most. He also pointed fingers but it such a nice way. Also, while this book didn't change my life, it definitely gave me food for thought. So 4 stars for that and the fact that if the author ever wanted to dip into another occupational field, he could easily narrate books. (less)
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Johnny Andrade
Nov 22, 2020Johnny Andrade rated it it was amazing
I really enjoyed this book and it gave me lots of useful information and strategies to implement into my own life as I age. Three out of his four main cornerstones he writes about for successful aging I have read a lot about for many years and have already made them top priorities in my life.

Those three areas are diet, exercise and sleep. These three cornerstones to healthy living and aging are neglected by most people more than ever now. More and more people continue to become more obese, more sedentary and more sleep deprived than ever before. It’s common daily ritual now for hundreds of millions of humans to overeat several times per day, get absolutely no exercise and then stay up late into the night sitting on a sofa, watching television, eating junk.

Humans need daily rigorous exercise and to sweat profusely and increase heart rate with physical activities. You need omega 3 fatty acids from fatty fish, nuts, or seeds that are critical for developing and maintaining healthy brains and hearts. Sedentarism destroys your entire being, mind, body, mood, everything. Sleep deprivation is almost just as detrimental to every aspect of health and aging.

The fourth area for successful aging he writes about is one that I have always had trouble with, being autistic, which is maintaining a healthy and active social life and social relationships. Many studies have shown that loneliness and social deprivation is more deleterious to overall health and aging than being a lifetime smoker. There have been plenty of centenarians who were lifelong smokers. I’m not aware of any antisocial, loner autistic individuals who made it to 100 years old. The average life expectancy for autistics is 36-40 years old, which I am only a few years away from now.

Your mind and body quickly deteriorate without meaningful social interaction and interpersonal relationships, regardless of physical exercise and mental exercise. When my grandparents and mother eventually have to go and leave me behind, it will quickly become a very cold dark empty world for me until I am able to catch back up to them.

Autistic men do not fair well in the social world of humans. As is common With autistic men, pretty much all my lasting interpersonal relationships are the ones I was born into: family, grandparents, parents. We do not fair well at developing or maintaining any kind of interpersonal relationships for very long if at all. Which leads to our small circle of relationships, fixed since birth, to die off one by one around us until we are all alone and quickly deteriorate in social world we are blind to.

Many people can’t accept the depressive realist “black pills” like these and prefer positive illusions and just world fallacies where if you just simply follow the right feel good empty platitudes that everything can and will work out rosy, fair, justly and happily in the end. The truth is that much of our destinies, potentials and possibilities are predetermined by our genes (plus environment). I don’t delude myself with positive illusions. I’m preparing myself for the futile, Sisyphian battle ahead, which is aging with autism. Which will mean, eventually, attempting to navigate a social world I cannot see or understand, all alone.

It is truly horrific predicament to be an autistic adult man. To be an autistic human is to be a social animal that is socially disabled. It is akin to being a schooling fish that cannot swim. It is also not always a very visible disability as well. And having no intellectual disabilities and being socially handicap people often assume you are just lazy, rude, mean, unmotivated etc. Nobody will blame or ridicule the disabled individual in a wheelchair for not being able to use the stairs. But most people will blame, dislike, discriminate the autistic individual who can’t properly function socially. (less)
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Dave Mills
Feb 03, 2020Dave Mills rated it did not like it
True confession: I really didn't finish this book. In fact, I only made it to page 67. Wanna know why? Of course you don't, but I'll tell you nevertheless.
Skip 400 pages of shit, go to page 401 (hardcopy edition) and read "APPENDIX REJUVENATING YOUR BRAIN." That'll give you an idea of just how bad this book is.
Alas, in my "declining," addled old age, I tend to fall for books that might give me the magic elixir, the location of the fountain of youth, the Philosopher's Stone, potions, diets, chemicals, brain games, and other gimmicks that (the books usually claim) will increase my longevity and improve my downhill years. None of them will, of course.
They're all crap, really.
Here's a better idea: read Barbara Ehrenreich's "Natural Causes." She's a great writer, funny, clever, bright, witty. And her chapter 10, "Successful Aging,"of nineteen pages is infinitely better than the 400 pages of Levitin's junk.
Enjoy these last years. Carpe diem! (less)
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Kristin
Feb 28, 2020Kristin rated it did not like it
I only got 54 pages in and screw this book. Far too technical and I can’t stand the tangents made in the book that are irrelevant. No one cares about you learning to drive clutch in San Fran when you’re discussing procedural memory. Had some interesting points that makes me wish this book just kept the interesting stuff and therefore shortened into a 150 page book. As another reviewer said, just flip to page 401 and read the appendix.
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Julie
Aug 23, 2020Julie rated it it was ok
I felt like the book mostly dealt with research on drugs to reduce effects of aging. I wanted to hear more about what I can do personally. There was some of that, and those were the parts I enjoyed. What I found most interesting is the effect moderate or even slow walking can have on the cognitive processes of the brain. In other words, keep moving.
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Yumiko Hansen
Jun 07, 2021Yumiko Hansen rated it really liked it
4 stars

I read this book with a great enthusiasm. I have read multiple books on aging and am thoughtful and intrigued to try to find a way to live the rest of my life healthily, meaningfully, and happily. My main interest is “Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.“
Dr. Levitin offers practical advice on how to age well, he also offers hope that one can lead a meaningful and productive life, even as one’s body is in the last laps of life.
The book is entertaining, a quick read, and quite informative about numerous important topics related to looking at aging in a positive light.

—— “The only thing you know for sure is the present tense.
That nowness becomes so vivid to me now, that in a perverse sort of way, I’m almost serene, I can celebrate life. Below my window, for example, the blossom is out in full. It’s a plum tree. It looks like apple blossom, but it’s white. And instead of saying, “Oh, that’s a nice blossom,” looking at it through the window when I’m writing, it is the whitest, frothiest, blossomiest blossom that there ever could be.
Things are both more trivial than they ever were, and more important than they ever were, and the difference between the trivial and the important doesn’t seem to matter—but the nowness of everything is absolutely wondrous.
And if people could see that—there’s no way of telling you, you have to experience it—the glory of it, if you like, the comfort of it, the reassurance. . . . Not that I’m interested in reassuring people, you know. The fact is that if you see the present tense, boy, do you see it, and boy, can you celebrate it!”

... Yes, in the end, in the battle to hang on to life, nature always wins.
(less)
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Valerie
Aug 22, 2020Valerie rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Your Brain On Age

Wonderful book loaded with health information younger eyes should read. I found answers why and how my husband and my own thinking are changing as we approach our sixth decade. The science, anatomical, chemical and time changes accumulated in life is explained with an energy to age with courage, love and laughter. Will keep for future reference!
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The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well : Levitin, Daniel: Amazon.com.au: Books

The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well : Levitin, Daniel: Amazon.com.au: Books










The best-selling neuroscientist and author of The Organized Mind explains what happens to our brains from womb to tomb.


We have long been encouraged to think of old age as synonymous with deterioration. Yet, recent studies show that our decision-making skills improve as we age and our happiness levels peak in our eighties. What really happens to our brains as we get older?


More of us are living into our eighties than ever before. In The Changing Mind, neuroscientist, psychologist and internationally-bestselling author Daniel Levitin invites us to dramatically shift our understanding of growing older, demonstrating its many cognitive benefits. He draws on cutting-edge research to challenge common and flawed beliefs, including assumptions around memory loss and the focus on lifespan instead of 'healthspan'.


Levitin reveals the evolving power of the human brain from infancy to late adulthood. Distilling the findings from over 4000 papers, he explains the importance of personality traits, lifestyle, memory and community on ageing, offering actionable tips that we can all start now, at any age.


Featuring compelling insights from individuals who have thrived far beyond the conventional age of retirement, this book offers realistic guidelines and practical cognitive enhancing tricks for everyone to follow during every decade of their life. This is a radical exploration of what we all can learn from those who age joyously


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Review
The secrets of ageing well ... Daniel Levitin is a distinguished American neuroscientist and this is a serious, evidence-based guide to what really works and why ― Sunday Times

A fact-filled and optimistic guide to ageing well ... Levitin is an invaluable kind of scientist ... The Changing Mind is replete with curious facts ... Optimism is a life-preserver. His book bubbles with it. Levitin makes a strong case for the consolations if not the joys of age -- John Sutherland ― The Times

Optimistic in tone ... Levitin loves to tell stories ... he's a good companion ― Evening Standard

Comprehensive and fascinating insight into the evolving human brain. This book could change your life ― Professor Stephen Westaby, author of 'Fragile Lives'

None of us can afford to ignore Daniel Levitin's The Changing Mind ... The good news is that it's not all downhill: according to Levitin our decision-making skills and happiness levels actually increase in later life ― New Statesman

The idea that your mind has to decline with age is false - and there is plenty we can do to keep it sharp ― Telegraph

Neuroscientist Levitin delves into the multiple-trace theory of memory, the ageing microbiome, fats and the brain, the impacts of neural implants, and the joys of non-retirement. A clear-eyed, insightful overview of the neurophysiological healthspan ― Nature

Delivers welcome news about the ageing brain: it is happier, quicker and often much healthier than you may imagine ― New Scientist

Daniel Levitin's refreshing perspective on ageing will change your opinion on this unique phase of life and challenge the 'slowing down' stereotype. Using a scientific and thoroughly engaging approach, Levitin convinces us that with medical advances alongside positive lifestyle changes described in this book, we can all look forward to older age as a fulfilling and exciting chapter in our lives ― Dr Rupy Aujla, author of The Doctor’s Kitchen

This is a book that can make things feel a whole lot brighter ― Big Issue

If you're planning to age, read this book. Wise, sensitive, and insightful, Levitin shares the tools that allow you to optimize the process ― David Eagleman, author of 'The Brain'

A wise, insightful, and beautifully-written book on how we can navigate the waters of time. Helpful for readers at any age. ― Daniel Gilbert, author of 'Stumbling on Happiness'

Predictions are perilous, but here's one I can make with certainty: Tomorrow you and I will be older than we are today. That's why you, I, and everyone we know needs this remarkable book. With a scientist's rigour and a storyteller's flair, Daniel Levitin offers a fresh approach to growing older. He debunks the idea that ageing inevitably brings infirmity and unhappiness and instead offers a trove of practical, evidence-based guidance for living longer and better. The Changing Mind is an essential book for the rest of your life. ― Daniel H. Pink, author of 'When' and 'Drive'

A compelling primer on our amazingly dynamic brains and the steps we can all take to harness that potential ― Dr Rahul Jandial, author of 'Life Lessons from a Brain Surgeon'

An uplifting exploration of the brain, and how it does not age as we often fear ― Camilla Cavendish, author of 'Extra Time'
Book Description
The best-selling neuroscientist and author of The Organized Mind explains what happens to our brains from womb to tomb.
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Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and…
Daniel J. Levitin
4.5 out of 5 stars 486
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Top reviews from Australia


Joseph E. Feredoes
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential bookReviewed in Australia on 8 July 2020
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Very informative, easy to read despite the highly professional subject. This book gave me answers to many problems I couldn't understand. I recommend everybody over 40. Also, younger readers could learn a lot about problems caused by aging parents, grandparents. Tons of misconceptions cleared and explained. Although I am 74, my approach to fellow oldies has significantly changed.
Absolutely great book. Don 't miss it.


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Freya
5.0 out of 5 stars This is loads of information, and much to ponder & referenceReviewed in Australia on 5 November 2020
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I loved this interesting knowledge base and I find it heartening, encouraging & very informative as one ages !


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William Jordan
3.0 out of 5 stars A loose baggy monster, but an interesting oneReviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2020
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This book lack focus but certainly does not lack interest.

The lack of focus is perhaps indicated most clearly by the fact that the author refers to his book as being called 'successful ageing' in his Introduction, but his UK publishers have decided to call it 'the changing mind'. Some of it's about the mind (more of it than perhaps you need if your primary interest is ageing), some of it's about ageing and not really about the mind at all (leaving 'end of life' instructions and so on figures in the end pages of the book).

It's also quite hard to focus the 'take aways' from the book. From the early, mind-oriented, part, it would seem that conscientiousness is the key to a successful life and to successful ageing (the book starts with discussion about 'how would you measure personality starting from a blank sheet of paper'). From the later part, you might think, drawing the longitudinal Harvard study of men, that 'all you need is love', which seems a bit different. And then there are all the discussions of behaviours that might promote successful ageing, including diet (fasting seems a good idea - but it's not clear what form this should take; drugs that mimic fasting may also work - a first trial just getting underway), exercise (the author thinks integrate this into daily life - it will be better for the brain - than going to the gym; and a little is better than none - manageable and short-term stress is good for us); an then there's sleep (but this is really a refresher course on the book 'why do we sleep'). There are also a lot of personal anecdotes. And an occasional reference to genetics.

It may be possible to draw all this together. The author twice quotes Freud's statement about the importance being able to work and being to love. But perhaps the more relevant quotation would be the one says 'where was id, there shall ego be' - but which I mean that perhaps the more 'conscientious' we are, the more our conscious takes control of our lives rather than our unconscious, and the more we have a secure environment to grow up in, the most this fosters our sense of being in control of our lives. And this sense of control then leads people who have it, to be able to eat well, exercise well, keep their sleeping well regulated - and extend that sense of control of their lives into their old age by not retiring (another helpful tip - though the 'unretired' examples in the book are academics, professionals and musicians - which is not a very representative sample of humanity)

Anyway, I enjoyed reading the book (and trying to make it all cohere), and would recommend it to others. But I would say that the author could perhaps have done a bit more of the work for the reader...
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Mr. P. James
3.0 out of 5 stars A bit long-winded!Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 March 2020
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I bought this following an interesting review in a national newspaper saying that people are at their happiest at the age of 82, that you can improve your memory and remain active as you get older, and with the author being a neuroscientist it seemed that it might have some trustworthy information. It does indeed have some interesting information and pointers for self-improvement, but you have to bear with it to find them. It is not an easy ready, as it is from a scientific point of view, and the author never writes one sentence when he can write fifty! There is an awful lot of waffle and labouring the same point over and over. The 528 page book would have benefited from some pruning and it all could have been said in 250 pages or less. If I'd known this I would have had a notepad beside me when I began reading it and made notes of the salient points or jotted down relevant page numbers to refer back to Now there are some facts that I want to recall, but I really cannot plough through 528 pages again to find them. The same author has some other attractive titles, but I wouldn't buy another one of his books after this. It is a classic case of "less is more"!

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J. Baldwin
5.0 out of 5 stars Wise, authoritative and entertainingReviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 March 2020
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This is a terrific book which is packed with information and advice about mitigating the adverse effects of growing old. Professor Levitin's book is, however, much more than a collection of helpful tips for the elderly. In The Changing Mind, he challenges much of the conventional wisdom about ageing and discusses in detail its scientific basis, covering a great deal of the available neuroscience and psychological research. Although the science is inevitably complex and technical, Levitin's writing is a pleasure to read: it is consistently wise, authoritative and entertaining. There are even some good jokes in the book. Anyone who wants to live well in old age would benefit from reading it.

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John Sheldon
3.0 out of 5 stars An important book but I hesitate to recommend it ...Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 June 2020
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The subject matter is very important for those of us of a "certain age" and much of the research described in the book is very interesting. The key messages are stimulating but somehow I had expected more insights.

On the downside, the book lacks a clear purpose and structure. It meanders around and often sinks into excessive detail. I managed to read it to the end, but only just. With a better focus and a lot of pruning, it would have been a great book.

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Sean W
3.0 out of 5 stars Heavy on detailReviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 March 2020
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Not what I was expecting, which may well be my fault as having heard the author talk on the radio I assumed the main focus of the book was on retirement.

I found myself skimming many pages trying to find nuggets of advice etc on retirement. As the book is all about health the author can rightly say this matters to retirees. But, it is so very heavy on detail you will need to be
extremely keen on health issues to get the most from the book which I found to be targeted more at academics. I suppose I read at most 50 of the 476 pages.

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