Shane O'Mara

A hymn to walking, the mechanical magic at the core of our humanity.

A New Scientific Exploration

In Praise of Walking

Besides being cruel and inhumane, torture does not work the way torturers assume it does. As Shane O’Mara’s account of the neuroscience of suffering reveals, extreme stress creates profound problems for memory, mood, and thinking, and sufferers predictably produce information that is deeply unreliable, or even counterproductive and dangerous.

The Neuroscience of Interrogation

Why Torture Doesn't Work

Camminare può cambiarci la vita

'Enjoyable' New Scientist 'Delightfully well-written, surprisingly reflective and humorous' Irish Times 'Thoughtful' Irish Independent From neurons to nations, Talking Heads is a stunning survey of the science of human connection and communication We are social animals and talking is part of what makes us human. But what purpose does conversation serve? In this revelatory tour of talking, neuroscientist Shane O'Mara explores why we communicate, what happens in our brains when we do it, and what it means for us as individuals, groups and societies. How do our thoughts, memories, and conversations change our brains? What does it mean that we spend most of our thinking lives in a five-minute bubble around the present moment? Why does our sense of self solidify with age, even as we grow more forgetful? In what ways do we imagine futures together? And how do our nations begin as conversations? Moving from the personal to the social and ultimately towards a radical new perspective on the defining phenomenon of our times, populist nationalism, this is the story of how conversation builds the worlds around us - and how, together, we can talk our way into a better tomorrow. 'Invaluable ... Fascinating' David Crystal, author of Let's Talk

The New Science of How Conversation Shapes Our Worlds

Talking Heads

El neurocientífico O’Mara celebra la milagrosa habilidad de nuestra especie. Este libro aborda los beneficios del paseo desde una perspectiva neurofisiológica. Y es que caminar a diario tiene efectos muy positivos sobre la mente y el cuerpo: contribuye al desarrollo de la capacidad cognitiva del cerebro, del sistema nervioso y los músculos, ayuda a regenerar los órganos, evita el envejecimiento cerebral, nos ayuda a pensar de manera más creativa y a eliminar el estrés. Este libro parte de rigurosos estudios científicos para lanzar una propuesta contra el sedentarismo de las sociedades occidentales y estudia las muchas ventajas físicas y mentales de algo tan sencillo como caminar.

Elogio del caminar

Behaviour change is hard, but O’Mara shows that by adopting strategies that are well-founded in the science of brain and behaviour individuals and organisations can adapt to the demands of the modern world. The brain matters in business. The problem is that our brains have many biases, heuristics and predilections that can distort behaviour and decision making. The good news is that we know more about how these work than ever before. O’Mara’s starting point is that, as our behaviour arises from the structure and function of our brains, careful examination of a series of brain–based (‘neurocognitive’) analyses of common aspects of human behaviour relevant to business and management practice reveals lessons that can be used at work. He begins by looking at neuroplasticity and how it is enables a shift from a restrictive ‘fixed mindset’ to an enabling ‘growth mindset’. He shows how this changing mindset approach – where the focus is on task and improvements based on effort – is scalable within organisations. Next, as the brain is a living organ like the heart and lungs, O’Mara shows how to keep it physically in the best possible shape before examining how we exercise control over our behaviour, build resilience and create positive brain states. He also considers the implications for business of our brains wiring for status and illustrates how research shows that it is possible to de-bias assumptions about gender and race – and the impact that this has on performance.

Shane O'Mara

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