PT introduces Culture Quotient (CQ), a review of the season's most psychologically astute, or obtuse, books, films, television programs and more. This is what is on our bookshelf. Learning

Neural Plasticity

Harvard University Press, $49.95

People typically think of the brain as a genetically fixed source of intelligence, aptitudes and personality. But increasingly, research has shown that the brain itself is molded by experience. Brain structures that are not used for one function are either put to work to meet other demands, or they atrophy and lie dormant. The part of the brain required for learning to read, for example, becomes incapable of processing written words in the illiterate adult. Peter Huttenlocher, M.D., professor of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Chicago, provides an illuminating review of recent developments in neural plasticity for those interested in how experience shapes the brain.

Flat Earth? Round Earth?

Prometheus Books, $12

While middle schooler Stan maintains that the earth is flat, his classmate Nathan tries to convince him it's a sphere. Nathan offers various arguments-the sun rises at different times at different longitudes; ships appear to sink as they reach the horizon-but Stan has an answer for everything. He doesn't budge, and Nathan learns a valuable lesson about scientific method: You may not be able to eliminate all doubt, but you can show that some answers fit the facts more elegantly than others. Writer and illustrator Theresa Martin provides a valuable lesson in scientific reasoning in this entertaining children's book.

Pathology

The Short And Tall Of It: The Marvel Of Our Existence Is Incredible

Word Wright International, $14.95

Donna Lancaster was born without her lower legs or knees, and as an adult reached a height of only 3 feet 10 inches. Yet with the help of supportive parents, she learned to walk, ride a bike, drive a car and fly an airplane. She also graduated from college, held a variety of jobs and married. As an adult, she used artificial legs that made her 5 feet 8 inches, but after 32 years of being tall, she decided to accept "what is." After reading this inspiring autobiography, most readers will come to think Lancaster is really 10 feet tall.

Fire Of The Five Hearts: A Memoir Of Treating Incest

Brunner-Routledge, $17.95

Holly Smith, M.Ed., has given us an intensely personal account of her life as a social worker who specializes in incest, which she describes as “the gravest and most destructive atrocity to be thrust on a child.” She leads us through her workday and describes the pain felt by the children and their loved ones. She also shows the difficulty in determining where guilt lies and what course of action is in the child's best interest. A disturbing virtual tour through the gutters of human experience, it may also comfort victims and their families and will provide budding social workers with a perspective they will not get from a textbook.

Awakening Of A Jehovah's Witness: Escape From The Watch Tower Society

Prometheus Books, $28

Who are those polite, well-scrubbed Jehovah's Witnesses who appear at our doors to hand out leaflets and offer to discuss the Bible? Diane Wilson, made vulnerable by a childhood of psychological abuse, succumbed to the group's charms and remained a member for 25 years. Wilson describes the indoctrination process, the hypocrisy and the gradual suppression of individuality. Much of what she describes might be said of any cult, and members of mainstream religions may come to see the dangers of fanaticism in their own faiths.

Parenting

Parenting A Struggling Reader

Broadway Books, $14

One of the most widely accepted myths in education is that learning to read is a natural process-like learning to walk-and occurs with little or no formal instruction. But according to Susan Hall (the mother of a dyslexic child) and Louisa Moats, Ed.D., both board members of the International Dyslexia Association, research tells another story: The majority of kids need explicit instruction in reading skills. The disconnect between myth and reality has resulted in an epidemic of poor readers. This book will help parents determine why children struggle and how to help.

Boyz Are Boys (And Girls Are Girls)

DoubleDogg Publishing, $24.95

Written by Ron Bryan, a scriptwriter and single parent of two boys, this "operations manual for boys and their parents" is based on personal experience. The book includes some comments of dubious veracity ("Boys are logic driven") and others that are politically incorrect ("Men and boys need to be strong.... Sensitivity...is best left to girls and women"). Yet despite these problems, some boys might benefit from reading this gritty, down-to-earth book.

Culture

Meditations For The Humanist: Ethics For A Secular Age

Oxford University Press, $25

A.C. Grayling, D.Phil., a fellow at St. Anne's College in Oxford, England, has given us a book of contemplations. A distinctive voice that falls somewhere between Mark Twain and Michel de Montaigne, Grayling offers short analyses on a wide range of topics related to the human condition. The search for happiness, he reminds us, "is one of the main sources of unhappiness." Of death, he writes, "Hopes for an afterlife are, in fact, a sad reflection on, and a condemnation of, the facts of this life." Though perhaps not always agreeable, Grayling's comments are always stimulating. Give this book to the more thoughtful heads on your Christmas list-but read it yourself, first.

The Rise Of The Creative Class And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community And Everyday Life

Basic Books, $26

The most influential workers of this millennium will also be "creative workers," argues Richard Florida, Ph.D., professor of regional economic development at Carnegie Mellon University. He defines creative workers as those "whose function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or new creative content." They include scientists, educators and artists, among others, and their existence has more than doubled since 1980. Already 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, the creative class will change our economy, values, lifestyles, education and geography, Florida says. If true, its rise will also be a major phenomenon in American society in this century.

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