Popular Science Children's Review - Bulging Brain Experiments

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Review - Bulging Brain Experiments - Nick Arnold

There is something particularly appealing about the thought of do-it-yourself brain experiments (especially in a handy wipe-clean cover in case it gets splashed with excess grey matter). I am somehow reminded of the Perishers cartoon strip, in which the character Marlon could never decide if he wanted to be a brain surgeon, or a man who goes down the sewers in big rubber boots.

One of the 'Horrible Science Handbooks' series, rather than the usual read-through narrative, this is more a series of experiments with the odd quiz to keep you interested, though on the plus side it's in colour throughout. After a couple of rather feeble 'make a brain out of instant mash' and 'make a brain out of a swimming hat' items it settles down to a good mix of optical illusions, the Stroop effect (which oddly isn't described in the context of the left/right brain split) and ways to fool your senses.

There's nothing wrong with the content, but in the end it was just a touch disappointing. I know it can't really involve brain surgery, but there's too much up front that implies there will be more direct contact with the brain, and not enough when you get onto the experiments that really lives up to that early promise. Optical illusions and sensory confusion are great fun - but not when you've been promised buckets of blood. Of course, in a normal Horrible Science book, Nick Arnold can do the truly ghastly stuff, and this is happening in the surrounding story, involving the replacement of a boy's exploded brain - but perhaps this wasn't the ideal way of packaging experiments of this kind.

Only in paperback

Reviewed by Brian Clegg

* Our age range recommendation is an estimated guide, but individual readers outside the range could still enjoy the book!

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