Mind Over Mind

Praise

“Fascinating.”
—New Scientist

“Mind Over Mind takes us deep into the human psychology of expectation through the worlds of wine tasting, penalty kicks, compulsive gambling, and police lineups. Berdik delivers an optimistic message with a convincing punch: understanding the power of imagination can challenge our assumptions about what it means to be human and liberate us from the tyranny of self-fulfilling prophecies.”
—Colin Ellard, author of You Are Here; director, Research Laboratory for Immersive Virtual Environments, University of Waterloo

“Mind Over Mind is a captivating read, a mix of great stories and compelling science that shows us how expectations can influence our success—for better and for worse. Berdik gives us the tools to change our own behavior and influence others.”
—Sian Beilock, author of Choke; professor of psychology, University of Chicago

“This is a delightful book: a mind-bending survey of what scientists are beginning to learn about the remarkable powers of the imagination. Fascinating, illuminating, and full of surprises, Mind Over Mind will forever change the way you think—about the way you think.”
—Toby Lester, author of Da Vinci’s Ghost and The Fourth Part of the World

“Chris Berdik’s vivid portrait of the placebo effect and related phenomena reveals that our brains are the clumsiest of time travelers, altering life in the present by anticipating outcomes in the future. So many books about the brain focus on what’s going on in other people’s heads. Mind Over Mind helps you see what’s going on in yours.”
—Michael Erard, author of Babel No More

“From the French court of King Louis XVI to today’s neuroscience labs, Mind Over Mind surveys the too often neglected and misunderstood power of our expectations—over our health, performance, and preferences. With wide-ranging examples from the worlds of sports, business, politics, and medicine, Chris Berdik has whipped up an engaging soufflé of a book brimming with quirky and surprising detail.”
—Seth Shulman, author of The Telephone Gambit