Broca's Brain is the first essay, not counting the introduction, in the eponymously named book "Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science" published in 1979 and written by Carl Sagan. I think the book is, in part or in whole, made up of essays previously published elsewhere. But the version I'm writing about is the one found in this book.
Quotes:
This quote is in reference to a head preserved in a jar at a museum in France.
"These forgotten jars and their grisly contents had been collected, at least partly, in a humanistic spirit; and perhaps, in some era of future advance in brain studies, they would prove useful once again. I would be interested in knowing a little more about the red-mustachioed man who had been, in part, returned to France from New Caledonia."
"But I am not sure the scientists are entirely free of the motives of those New Guinea cannibals; are they not at least saying, “I live with these heads every day. They don’t bother me. Why should you be so squeamish?”?"
Synopsis:
The essay begins as a series of impressions and thoughts Sagan has about some old exhibits in the Musée de l’Homme in France. Some of the more noteworthy include heads preserved in jars, skulls and a bundle of femurs. This includes his thoughts on the motives of those who collected the artifacts and put them together into exhibits. Eventually he discovers a preserved brain and see it is marked as formerly belonging to Paul Broca. Here Sagan covers some of Broca's achievement's and writes about what he believes the best practices are to avoid abuse in scientific research.
Thoughts:
I first read this essay many, many moons ago when I was much younger and found the book in a used book sale at my local library. More recently I found it on sale for the Kindle and for nostalgia as much as anything bought it. The original got lost in a move years ago.
The part I found most interesting was the discussion of Broca's accomplishments and I wish more of the essay had been devoted to that. This is much the same reaction I had when I first read it. What is changed is my reaction to Sagan's handwringing over the supposed racism, sexism, and jingoism motivating those who put the exhibits together. When I was younger I found it merely annoying, now I find it tiresome, and more than a bit disingenuous.
Paul Broca was responsible for some great advances in our understanding of how the brain works, and I would've preferred more of that and less of, "People in the past had bad wrongthink opinions!"
