A Trick Of The Mind

'With captivating storytelling and cutting-edge science, neuroscientist Daniel Yon explores the power and the perils of the brain's internal models, offering a provocative look at the hidden forces shaping our thoughts, beliefs, and even our sanity. Prepare to question everything you thought you knew' Daniel Z. Lieberman, author of The Molecule of More
'This book will profoundly change the way you consider your own mind' Lewis Dartnell, bestselling author of The Knowledge, Origins and Being Human
'You will not a find a more up-to-date or more compelling account of how a mind emerges from the brain' Chris Frith, Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology at University College London
'An engaging, informative, and genuinely entertaining guide to the many weird ways in which our brains create the world we live in' Dean Burnett, author of The Idiot Brain
How does your brain decide what it's seeing, from the physical world to other people? For decades, scientists have tried to understand how our brains work, not realising that the answer lies much closer to home than it seems.
The latest research in neuroscience and psychology suggests that the brain is doing the same thing that the scientists are: using past experiences to build theories of how the world works, and using these models to predict and make sense of it. Through this process, your brain constructs the reality that you live in.
In this book Daniel Yon takes the research one step further, uncovering how your brain colours your perception of the world, the judgements you make about other people and the beliefs you form about yourself. With transformative applications for how we engage with other communities and approach mental illness, A Trick of The Mind will revolutionise the way you think.

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