“We spend at least half of our lives off-task, our minds wandering into distant, imaginary worlds. We’re taught from a young age that this is a bad habit. But Corballis argues that mind wandering isn’t just important for creativity—it’s an essential part of what makes humans unique.”
 

Focus

“Touching on daydreaming, remembering and subconsciously planning for the future, Corballis suggests that the brain is designed for unfocused functionality. . . . Engaging.”
 

Publishers Weekly

"Book of the Week. . . . Conversational, sincere, and amusing. . . . Engaging."

Times Higher Education

“Although The Wandering Mind is a conversational essay, it doesn’t wander. Corballis distills to essentials. Memory, thinking about the future, reading other people, storytelling, dreams, hallucinations, and creativity each get a chapter.”

Weekly Standard

"Michael Corballis, the scientist, takes you by the hand and weaves through an avalanche of information from psychology, literature, history, and more to elucidate my favorite mental state--mind wandering. His high capacity for erudition, lucidity, and warmth have never shined more brightly."

Michael S. Gazzaniga

"The Wandering Mind is a pleasure to read--a lively book that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers."

Thomas Suddendorf, author of The Gap