We are delighted to help Daniel Yon (Experimental Psychology, 2010) celebrate the publication of his first book!
Daniel Yon and A Trick of The Mind
How does your brain decide what it’s seeing, from the physical world to other people? For decades, scientists have tried to understand how our brains work, not realising that the answer lies much closer to home than it seems.
The latest research in neuroscience and psychology suggests that the brain is doing the same thing that the scientists are: using past experiences to build theories of how the world works, and using these models to predict and make sense of it. Through this process, your brain constructs the reality that you live in.
In his forthcoming book, Dr Daniel Yon takes the research one step further, uncovering how your brain colours your perception of the world, the judgements you make about other people and the beliefs you form about yourself. With transformative applications for how we engage with other communities and approach mental illness, A Trick of The Mind will revolutionise the way you think.
On Sunday 25th May, as part of Sundays at Somerville , Daniel will present this new way of thinking about the mind and brain, and discuss with the audience how the models in our heads control what we perceive and believe, and what it takes for the paradigms in our minds to shift.
About the author
Daniel Yon is an experimental psychologist, cognitive neuroscientist and director of The Uncertainty Lab at Birkbeck, University of London. He studied Experimental Psychology at Somerville 2010-2013, received his PhD in 2018, took up his first academic post in 2019 and joined the faculty at Birkbeck in 2021 – where he is now Associate Professor (Reader) in Cognitive Neuroscience. In 2023 he was made a Visiting Fellow of the Paris Institute for Advanced Study, and in 2024 elected as a Visiting Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. In the same year he was awarded the Experimental Psychology Society’s EPS Prize for distinguished, independent and original contributions to experimental psychology. His first book A Trick of The Mind: How The Brain Invents Your Reality will be published on 26th June 2025 by Penguin (and can be preordered now).
Praise for A Trick of The Mind
“A fascinating insight into how your brain conjures up its picture of the surrounding world, models the inner mental states of others, and understands itself. This book will profoundly change the way you consider your own mind” – Lewis Dartnell, bestselling author of The Knowledge, Origins and Being Human
“Your brain, and with it, your mind is isolated inside your skull. And yet we are not lonely. We experience ourselves moving freely through a world of things, people, and ideas. In this delightful book Daniel Yon reveals how our brain makes this possible. He paints the brain as a scientist using the crude data from our senses to make models of the world. Yon’s story is firmly based on complex empirical studies, many conducted by him and his colleagues. He guides the reader through them all with wit and clarity. You will not find a more up-to-date or more compelling account of how a mind emerges from the brain” – Prof Chris Frith, University College London.
“A Trick of the Mind is a dazzling exploration of the “skull-bound scientist” in your head—juggling expectations, sensations, and past experiences to make sense of the world. Blending lucid, lively science with wit and wonderlust, Yon takes readers on a journey through baseball coaches, medieval mystics, Jimi Hendrix, and Borges’ Infinite Library, all while probing the power of uncertainty and the perils of overconfidence. The science hooks you, the storytelling keeps you, and the humour makes it unforgettable” – Prof Cecilia Heyes, University of Oxford
“Are you seeing the world as it truly is? A Trick of the Mind shatters the illusion of objective reality, revealing how our brains actively construct our perceptions, often shaping them in surprising and misleading ways. With captivating storytelling and cutting-edge science, neuroscientist Daniel Yon explores the power and the perils of the brain’s internal models, offering a provocative look at the hidden forces shaping our thoughts, beliefs, and even our sanity. Prepare to question everything you thought you knew” – Daniel Z. Liberman, author of The Molecule of More🙂
Please do join us in person at 2pm on Sunday 25th May, in the Margaret Thatcher Centre, for Daniel’s talk followed by afternoon tea.
If you are not able to be with us in person, then please do register to join us online as this will be one of our hybrid talks. If you book for the Zoom link below, we will send that out to you shortly before the date of the event.