Proust Was A Neuroscientist

By Jonah Lehrer. Fascinating examples of how artists developed important concepts that scientists later confirmed. Whitman, Geo. Eliot, Escoffier, Proust, Cezanne, Stavinsky, Gertrude Stein, Virginia Woolf. My fav so far: the culinary genius Escoffier developed cooking methods and theories that foreshadowed the discovery of umani, the fifth taste described as "tastiness". A Japanese scientist trying to figure out why his wife's soups were so delicious discovered the role of glutamate (and also developed MSG, the flavorless enhancer of flavors). Other scientists finally found glutamate receptors on the tongue. Other examples are just as interesting. Lehrer knows his science but also does a wonderful job of describing the art of the 8 artists. Just 197 pages. Highly recommended.