Beau Lotto, the world-renowned neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and two-time TED speaker, takes us on a tour of how we perceive the world, and how disrupting it leads us to create and innovate.

Perception is the foundation of human experience, but few of us understand why we see what we do, much less how. By revealing the startling truths about the brain and its perceptions, Beau Lotto shows that the next big innovation is not a new technology: it is a new way of seeing.

In his first major book, Lotto draws on over two decades of pioneering research to explain that our brain didn’t evolve to see the world accurately. It can’t! Visually stunning, with entertaining illustrations and optical illusions throughout, and with clear and comprehensive explanations of the science behind how our perceptions operate, Deviate will revolutionize the way you see yourself, others and the world.

With this new understanding of how the brain functions, Deviate is not just an illuminating account of the neuroscience of thought, behaviour, and creativity: it is a call to action, enlisting readers in their own journey of self-discovery.

Reviews

“Deviate is the practical, enlightening, and groundbreaking guide that will not only provide an illuminating account of the neuroscience of thought, behaviour, and creativity, it will ultimately motivate readers and thinkers everywhere to begin their own journey of self-discovery and reinvention.”–The Creativity Post

“Deviate is an entertaining read that raises fascinating questions about how we perceive the world. Aside from being an accomplished scientist, Lotto is a talented writer who uses illustrative examples and visual experiments to dazzle and to teach.”–The Washington Post

“Deviate by Beau Lotto promises to be a groundbreaking book that will be as entertaining as it is provocative. As human beings, we don’t live in the world directly: we perceive and conceive it through many filters. What we do perceive is refracted through our own interests, dispositions and cultures and by the context in which we experience it. Deviate analyses and illustrates these processes with the precision and vitality that is the hallmark of Beau Lotto’s work as a scientist and as a presenter. Among the libraries of quick fixes and formulaic programs, the need is growing too for well-grounded insights and tested strategies that reach to the roots of human understanding. Deviate is uniquely placed to meet this need. Given Beau Lotto’s unique expertise and popularity, it will have a wide and enthusiastic audience.”–Ken Robinson, former director of the Arts inSchools Project and author of The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

Beau Lotto is a professor of neuroscience, previously at University College London and now at the University of London, and a Visiting Scholar at New York University. His work focuses on the biological, computational and psychological mechanisms of perception. He has conducted and presented research on human and bumblebee perception and behaviour for more than twenty-five years, and his interest in education, business and the arts has led him into entrepreneurship and engaging the public with science.

In 2001, Beau founded the Lab of Misfits, a neuro-design studio that was resident for two years at London’s Science Museum and most recently at Viacom in New York. The lab’s experimental studio approach aims to deepen our understanding of human nature, advance personal and social well-being through research that places the public at the centre of the process of discovery, and create unique programmes of engagement that span the boundaries between people, disciplines and institutions. Originally from Seattle, with degrees from UC Berkeley and Edinburgh Medical School, he now lives in Oxford and New York.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hachette Books; Illustrated edition (25 April 2017)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316300195
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 9780316300193
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.19 x 2.54 x 23.5 cm