You Are What You Hear: How Music and Territory Make Us Who We Are

by Harry Witchel

Overview

In this book, Witchel (Physiology, Brighton and Sussex Medical School) suggests that music is used by humans to establish and maintain social territory. Chapters deal with topics such as why music can make us feel good (or bad), whether listening to particular music can make us smarter, and whether music has the power to cure. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780875868066
Publisher:	Algora Publishing
Publication date:	01/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	228
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Award-winning scientist and television commentator Dr. Harry Witchel regularly appears on BBC Television, BBC Radio, and internationally on USA Discovery Channel, and radio stations throughout Europe. His writings have in appeared in national publications ranging from The Financial Times to the Times Higher Educational Supplement.

Dr. Witchel is a Senior Lecturer and The Discipline Leader in Physiology at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (UK). He received his PhD in Physiology-Anatomy from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Bachelor's degree in Physics from Columbia University in New York. His Psychobiology Consulting company's client list includes Nike, Honda, Nokia, Boehringer Ingelheim, as well as international investment consultancies and law firms.

In 2004 he received the national honor of being awarded The Charles Darwin Award Lecture by the British Science Association. His lectures on music and the mind have been presented at the Cambridge Summer Music Festival, the Cheltenham Festival of Science, the Institute of Education (London), the Functional Imaging Laboratories at University College London, the Royal College of Surgeons (Ireland), and the British Neuroscience Association.

Table of Contents

Preface and Warning	11
Chapter 1. Why do we listen to music?	16
Chapter 2. Why does music make sex better?	39
Chapter 3. Why do some people love Beethoven and others rap music?	60
Chapter 4. Is musical taste 100% nurture, or is there a role for nature?	96
Chapter 5. Why do aggressive young men blare out booming music from their cars?	126
Chapter 6. Why do we listen to sad music?	146
Chapter 7. Does violent music lead to violent behavior?	165
Chapter 8. Does listening to Mozart make you smarter or just happier?	176
Chapter 9. Does music make the brain grow larger?	186
Chapter 10. Can music surreptitiously influence what we decide to buy in shops?	208
Chapter 11. Can Music Cure?	226
Afterword: The Power of Music	249
Bibliography	257
Index Terms	280