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You can purchase the book and judge it for yourself.
Nature: November 13, 2019:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03458-8
"Scientific books on creativity abound. But this deeply researched study of imagination — ranging from everyday practicalities such as planning a shopping list, to dreams and hallucinations — is not one of them. Cognitive scientist Jim Davies, who heads a Science of Imagination Laboratory in Canada, researches how to get software to replicate the processes our brains use to create visual scenes in our minds. But, as Davies admits, in psychology the jury is still out on whether "mental imagery exists as its own separate representation"."
Kirkus: August 26, 2019https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jim-davies/imagination/
``When asked to imagine a brown cow, what takes place inside your head? This pleasantly winding survey offers some clues."
Per John Lennon, can we really imagine that there`s no heaven? Perhaps, writes Davies (Cognitive Science/Carleton Univ.; Riveted: The Science of Why Jokes Make Us Laugh, Movies Make Us Cry, and Religion Makes Us Feel One With the Universe, 2014), but given that imagination seems to be strongly tied to memory, it may be that we can't really know what we haven't experienced--or perhaps we can. Either way, it shouldn't keep us from trying: Imagination is, after all, a component of creativity and of problem-solving. As the author reveals, imagination is strongly linked as well to the related word ``imagery,'' which opens onto a universe of symbols with its own grammar, declarative and otherwise. Memory recall is a work of imagination ``because memories are reconstructed every time they are retrieved''--and therein lies the possibility of negative consequences, since reconstructed memories can be unhappy ones. Good or bad, Davies examines how thinking works, always in a complicated way, since, as he notes, ``there's a saying in neuroscience: if the brain can do things five different ways, it does all ten.'' His discussion covers such matters as hallucinations, which defy description, and imaginary friends: Some readers may take comfort in knowing that there's no requirement that one abandon them at an early age. ``When the child perceives that the parent starts to disapprove,'' writes Davies, ``the imaginary companions go dark: the children stop sharing information about companions, and only play with them when parents aren't around.'' At the close of his ever engaging book, Davies notes that the visual and spatial components of the brain and the contents it holds are often ``bewildering.''
A worthy companion to books by Oliver Sacks, Daniel Dennett, and other students of the always puzzling human mind."
``A smart and fascinating look at how humans build worlds inside their heads--and why it matters.'' Daniel Gilbert, Harvard University, author of Stumbling on Happiness.
``Jim Davies has written a highly readable book on the science,
usefulness, and power of imagination. It`s chock full of interesting
ideas, and will get you thinking --- and imagining." Elizabeth Loftus, University of California, Irvine, past president,
Association for Psychological Science
Publisher's Weekly, September 9, 2019. https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781643132037 Booklist, October 11, 2019. URL
"Davies (Riveted), a professor at Carleton University's Institute of
Cognitive Science, explains what imagination is and how it works in
this spirited overview of one of neuroscience's most
complex topics. The imagination is challenging to study, Davies
explains, because ``you can't always know (let alone
control) what people are or are not doing in their heads.'' To
acquaint readers with the field, he introduces various recent
concepts, such as ``threat simulation theory'' that
nightmares and other anxiety-inducing dreams allow the brain to
practice dealing with pressure. Provocatively, the theory holds that
dreams can involve, in addition to recent stresses, ``ancestral''
memories from the evolutionarily pivotal Pleistocene epoch. Explaining
that the imagination is dependent on the brain's systems
for perception and memory, Davies devotes a good deal of text to
laying out how both systems operate. He also suggests that simply
picturing oneself doing a physically demanding activity can improve
one's actual ability, as ``much of the mind can't tell the difference
between what's real and what's imagined''; for
the same reason, computer-generated simulations can also
help. Davies's knack for translating the abstract into the
tangible-- while also doing justice to the original
ideas--will make this scientific take on imagination
appealing to generalists and specialists alike. Agent: Don Fehr,
Trident Media Group. (Nov.)"
In a volume billed as “the first-ever book on the science of
imagination,” Davies takes a refreshing approach to a subject
typically addressed in association with childhood and daydreams. In a
discussion that ranges from visual imagery to hallucinations,
migraines, and memories, the author blends hard science (referencing
dozens of lectures and papers, all of which are listed in the
extensive endnotes) and cheeky pop-culture references. There are
shout-outs to the Beastie Boys, Michael Crichton, Elton John, and the
theremin, a mysterious no-touch electronic musical instrument, in the
midst of passages about memory palaces, lucid dreaming, and spatial
imagery. The sections are concise but thorough and provide readers
with thoughtful presentations on just how complex the concept of
imagination can be. This is serious brain science coupled with
familiar topics, like ear worms, and Davies does a first-rate job of
tying it all together with many a wink and nod along the way. Science
book clubs will find this title well worth their time, and it's a
certain winner for general readers.
— Colleen Mondor