PAIN AND PERCEPTION. A CLOSER LOOK AT WHY WE HURT

New release!

This book is not just for understanding pain and perception. It does more than just distil immensely complicated science into a delightfully fun and thought-provoking book. It facilitates a greater sense of empathy for those who experience pain or anyone who just cannot see/experience the world the way you do. This is a book for absolutely anyone and everyone.

What can illusions teach us about pain? Is what we see, hear, and feel as simple as it appears to be?

The modern science of perception has unearthed new ways to think about pain – as a multi-sensory and multi-factorial phenomenon. Leading pain researchers, Dan Harvie and Lorimer Moseley, walk us through this science by interacting with illusions that challenge our assumptions on how perception actually works. A visually stunning, fun and accessible read to help anyone better understand and respond to pain.

Here is what you can expect to learn:

What illusions tell us about our perceptions
Pain and perception are personal, but always real
Perception involves assumptions to fill gaps
Pain and perception depend on everything going on in and around you
With pain and perception, what you get is influenced by what you expect to get
Changing our perspective can change our perceptions

The (new) book we didn’t know we needed

I’ve just read Daniel Harvie and Lorimer Moseley’s new book, Pain and Perception: A closer look at why we hurt, and honestly, I’m really excited. I think it’s because the visual illusions they use make the book feel super tangible – they provide real-life examples for how your brain works (by showing how your perceptions can be played with). For so many of these illusions, I simply CANNOT see them ‘accurately’, even though I know I am perceiving them ‘inaccurately’. For other illusions, I seem to be able to switch between ‘accurate’ and ‘inaccurate’ perceptions of reality – crazy right? Dan and Lorimer succinctly explain how and why the brain does this. And what this means for pain.

Understanding perception through experiencing these illusions also facilitates empathy for others; it allows us to appreciate that perceptions are just as real when they are difficult to understand as when they are straightforward. I have never come across a book on pain that achieves this to such a high degree. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never experienced persistent pain, or perhaps even pain at all, this book provides a window into what pain might look like for others.

Coming from my research background, I see the links to the notions of Predictive Processing – a topic that’s deeply compelling and frankly, intimidating. It’s something I have yet to fully grasp. The cleverness of this book lies in its ability to teach these complicated concepts so simply and clearly – you don’t need to be a brain scientist to understand. Because of this, I am absolutely itching to send it to my nearest and dearest and say, “Hey! This is the stuff I’m into. How cool is science??” #NerdAlert (Here’s a couple of Predictive Processing blogs if you’re interested: 1 & 2)

Anyway… clearly, I’m a fan. Read on to hear from Dan Harvie about the book’s beginnings…


–Anna Vogelzang AEP ESSAM

Noigroup Research Assistant

Masters by Research Candidate