Introduction -- Mind controls: how the brain regulates the body, and usually makes a mess of things -- The gift of memory (keep the receipt): the human memory system, and its strange features -- Fear: nothing to be scared of: the many ways in which the brain makes us constantly afraid -- Think you're clever, do you?: the baffling and complex science of intelligence -- Did you see this chapter coming?: the haphazard properties of the brain's observational systems -- Personality: a testing concept: the complex and confusing properties of personality -- Group hug!: how the brain is influenced by other people -- When the brain breaks down... mental health problems, and how they come about -- Afterword.