bp's science: mirror neurons

I'm reading the Tale Tell Brain by V.S. Ramachandran and it is fascinating.  The brain is a miraculous and mysterious thing and this book does an excellent job at explaining some of those miraculous and mysterious things.  One of them is mirror neurons (brain nerve cells). Scientists have found that when a person watches another person say, for example, write in the sand the same neurons are activated in the person watching as if she is writing in the sand herself.  Another example, when Bob watches Sandy cry about losing a game of chess, Bob has activity in the same mirror neurons he would use if he were the one sad about losing a game of chess.  These mirror neurons help us empathize with others, learn to speak, and foresee (or guess) what people are going to do in response to an action - among other things.  Wow!  These mirror neurons have other implications which is what makes the book such a great read (that, and the writing is pretty good for a scientific book).