Why do you lose arguments with people who know MUCH LESS than you?

Why can you recognize that woman, from that thing...but can't remember her name?

And why, after your last break-up, did you find yourself in the fetal position on the sofa for days, moving only to wipe the snot and tears haphazardly from your face? Here's why: the idiot brain.

For something supposedly so brilliant and evolutionarily advanced, the human brain is pretty messy, fallible and disorganized. For example, your memory is egotistical. No, really. Conspiracy theories and superstitions are the inevitable effects of a healthy brain. And alcohol can actually improve your memory.**

In The Idiot Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett tours our mysterious and mischievous grey (and white) matter. Along the way he explains the human brain's imperfections in all their glory and how these influence everything we say, do and experience. Expertly researched and entertainingly written, this audiobook is for anyone who has wondered why their brain appears to be sabotaging their life, and what on earth it is really up to.

**Editor's note: please listen to the book before testing this conclusion.

From the hugely popular Guardian science blogger, a surprising, funny and mind-bending examination of how and why the brain sabotages our behavior.