Free (DRM-free) Hjernen [Danish Academic Brain Workings Science Essay w/Audiobook]

[ATDrake]

Hjernen by neuroscience researcher Leif Østergaard is his Danish-language accessibly-written academic essay on the brain and research into how it works, in the Tænkepauser ("Reflections", beginning to become available in English translation on their webpage here) series of 60-page shorts designed to provide a 60-minute introduction to assorted cultural/intellectual ideas for laypersons, free courtesy of the Aarhus University Press in Denmark.

This is the current offering in their generous freebie program which gives the latest one away as a freebie until the next is ready for publication, although for a very limited time, you can still pick up the previous one for free if you missed it earlier: Tro.

Also, you can read an extensive English-language write-up on the author and his views on brain research over at his university profile page if you're interested in what he might have to say, but don't read Danish (or the Google Translate version just isn't up to snuff).

Currently free, probably just through the first week of February @ the Aarhus University Press (DRM-free ePub & Mobi available worldwide, scroll down and expand where it says "Om bogen" to download the MP3, or pick it up from the iTunes podcast which is rotated monthly)

And this has been the (late!) selected 3rd 2nd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

Bumped up in the queue, as it turns out the actual other two I was going to post for today got mentioned while I was still eating (I knew I shouldn't have stopped to do laundry and make a late dinner after I finally woke up again ), and I'm still feeling too exhausted right now to prep the other stuff which was going to go with this one, so I'm just going to go back to sleep. But I guess that's fewer threads for uninterested Gentle Readers to scroll through until Monday, so silver lining?

Incidentally, if there are any Danish or Norwegian (or just Denmark- or Norway-resident) fellow MR members who'd be willing to consider doing me a major favour in possibly reshipping some DVDs to Canada from a seller who doesn't send things overseas, please feel free to PM me if you think you might be interested.

Enjoy!

Beskrivelse på dansk (I must say, I rather like the use of Danish l33t 5p34k in the blurb)
Din hjerne er genial. Slev om vi bttyer om på bgotasvrene, kan den satidg fnide mnnieg i odrnee. Det er ikke egnang negot porelbm, hivs vi bytt9r h3lvd9l94 af b0g8t3v9r49 ud m9d t3l. Din, min - og ikke mindst den klump havregrød, der gemmer sig under den syv milimeter tykke kranieknogle på Leif Østergaard, hjerneforsker ved Aarhus Universitet - kan endda spå om fremtiden. For hjernen afventer ikke verdens gang, men forudsiger den. Faktisk har din allerede besluttet, om du vil læse bogen her eller ej. - Din hjerne er virkelig genial, men det vidste den jo godt.

[sadowski]

Ha, ha, nice blurb! The only thing I could not figure out is "l33t 5p34k". What language is that supposed to be?

/Jens

[ATDrake]

L33t 5p34k is a way of writing that early hackers and BBS users invented for coolness, according to Wikipedia, and now it's used by gamers and for ironic effect on the internet.

ETA: I think the portion in the blurb says something along the lines of "bytter halvdelen af bogstaverne ud med tal" ?

[artig]

For more than you'd ever want to know about Leet (1337, l33t, etc.) have a look at this Wikipedia article.

Funny how that lump of porridge makes sense of the exchanged or replaced letters in the words.

[sadowski]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

L33t 5p34k is a way of writing that early hackers and BBS users invented for coolness, according to Wikipedia, and now it's used by gamers and for ironic effect on the internet.

ETA: I think the portion in the blurb says something along the lines of "bytter halvdelen af bogstaverne ud med tal" ?

Selv om vi bytter om på bogstaverne, kan den stadig finde mening i ordene. Det er ikke engang noget problem, hvis vi bytter halvdelen af bogstaverne ud med tal.

[ATDrake]

Cool,

I was wondering if I'd unscrambled the first part correctly or not (only got "stadig" and "mening" wrong! ), and they seemed to be substituting some of the second part inconsistently, but I couldn't tell if that was them, or just me.

[sadowski]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Cool,

I was wondering if I'd unscrambled the first part correctly or not (only got "stadig" and "mening" wrong! ), and they seemed to be substituting some of the second part inconsistently, but I couldn't tell if that was them, or just me.

I know some Danish, that helps :-)

[ATDrake]

I know some Norwegian, and that doesn't help nearly as much as one would hope, due to spelling reforms since they split off politically and started changing the written language.

[murg]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Beskrivelse på dansk (I must say, I rather like the use of Danish l33t 5p34k in the blurb)
Din hjerne er genial. Slev om vi bttyer om på bgotasvrene, kan den satidg fnide mnnieg i odrnee. Det er ikke egnang negot porelbm, hivs vi bytt9r h3lvd9l94 af b0g8t3v9r49 ud m9d t3l. Din, min - og ikke mindst den klump havregrød, der gemmer sig under den syv milimeter tykke kranieknogle på Leif Østergaard, hjerneforsker ved Aarhus Universitet - kan endda spå om fremtiden. For hjernen afventer ikke verdens gang, men forudsiger den. Faktisk har din allerede besluttet, om du vil læse bogen her eller ej. - Din hjerne er virkelig genial, men det vidste den jo godt.

Here's Google Translate's version:

Περιγραφή των Δανών (Πρέπει να πω, μου αρέσει αρκετά η χρήση του δανέζικου l33t 5p34k στη διαφήμιση)
Ο εγκέφαλός σας είναι λαμπρή. Κουτάλα εμείς bttyer στο bgotasvrene, η satidg fnide mnnieg σε odrnee. Δεν egnang Negot porelbm όπου η αποκάλυψή τους θα bytt9r h3lvd9l94 της b0g8t3v9r49 έξω m9d T3L. Σας, μου - και αν μη τι άλλο το κομμάτι του πλιγούρι βρώμης, βρίσκεται κάτω από τα επτά χιλιοστά πάχος των οστών του κρανίου Leif Østergaard, του εγκεφάλου ερευνητής στο Πανεπιστήμιο του Άαρχους - μπορεί να προβλέψει ακόμη και το μέλλον. Για τον εγκέφαλο δεν αναμένει τον κόσμο μια φορά, αλλά αυτό προβλέπει. Στην πραγματικότητα, σας έχει ήδη αποφασίσει εάν θέλετε να διαβάσετε το βιβλίο εδώ ή όχι. - Ο εγκέφαλός σας είναι πραγματικά λαμπρή, αλλά το έκανε πολύ καλά.