Casey's bookshelf: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab

Casey's bookshelf: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab en-US Wed, 29 Nov 2017 14:55:15 -0800 60 Casey's bookshelf: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century]]> 20821371 A short and entertaining book on the modern art of writing well by New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker

Why is so much writing so bad, and how can we make it better? Is the English language being corrupted by texting and social media? Do the kids today even care about good writing? Why should any of us care?

In The Sense of Style, the bestselling linguist and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker answers these questions and more. Rethinking the usage guide for the twenty-first century, Pinker doesn’t carp about the decline of language or recycle pet peeves from the rulebooks of a century ago. Instead, he applies insights from the sciences of language and mind to the challenge of crafting clear, coherent, and stylish prose.

In this short, cheerful, and eminently practical book, Pinker shows how writing depends on imagination, empathy, coherence, grammatical knowhow, and an ability to savor and reverse engineer the good prose of others. He replaces dogma about usage with reason and evidence, allowing writers and editors to apply the guidelines judiciously, rather than robotically, being mindful of what they are designed to accomplish.

Filled with examples of great and gruesome prose, Pinker shows us how the art of writing can be a form of pleasurable mastery and a fascinating intellectual topic in its own right.]]> 368 Steven Pinker 0670025852 Casey 3
Steven Pinker possesses a great mind and admirable writing ability. Ironically, his writing is at its worst when he tries to pin down why it works. The deeper he gets into usage-based explications of linguistically-interesting constructions, the further away he gets from offering real advice to budding Hemingways. Realistically, there are two steps to improving your writing: read some fucking books, and write a lot.

Improving your writing is like improving your Spanish: you’re not going to logic your way into understanding the secrets of syntax, just like you’re not going to find a satisfying logical explanation for that pesky personal “a.�� Instead, you have to tune your ear to what sounds right, and what sounds off. The main problem with Pinker’s style guide is that he tries to intellectualize something that has to be learned through experience. It’s like learning Spanish by memorizing the Wikipedia page on the Spanish language. It’s not going to work.

Ultimately, a writer has to get intimate with good prose, roll around in bed with it, be nakedly, uncomfortably vulnerable with it. Pinker won’t get you there. A writer should look to the great writers: Tolstoy, Joyce, Eliot, Proust. Their words make you want to grab their paragraphs, push their chapters against the wall, and ravish them.]]> 4.03 2014 The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century

author: Steven Pinker
name: Casey
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2017/11/29
date added: 2017/11/29
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, veridical
review:
This book taught me that many students of English have learned incorrect language rules from their teachers, and their writing can be improved by unlearning them. Lucky for me, I went to a failing high school where I didn’t learn shit. This must be why my prose is so sparkly.

Steven Pinker possesses a great mind and admirable writing ability. Ironically, his writing is at its worst when he tries to pin down why it works. The deeper he gets into usage-based explications of linguistically-interesting constructions, the further away he gets from offering real advice to budding Hemingways. Realistically, there are two steps to improving your writing: read some fucking books, and write a lot.

Improving your writing is like improving your Spanish: you’re not going to logic your way into understanding the secrets of syntax, just like you’re not going to find a satisfying logical explanation for that pesky personal “a.�� Instead, you have to tune your ear to what sounds right, and what sounds off. The main problem with Pinker’s style guide is that he tries to intellectualize something that has to be learned through experience. It’s like learning Spanish by memorizing the Wikipedia page on the Spanish language. It’s not going to work.

Ultimately, a writer has to get intimate with good prose, roll around in bed with it, be nakedly, uncomfortably vulnerable with it. Pinker won’t get you there. A writer should look to the great writers: Tolstoy, Joyce, Eliot, Proust. Their words make you want to grab their paragraphs, push their chapters against the wall, and ravish them.
]]> <![CDATA[The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less]]> 10639 Future Shock, a social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret. Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401K, everyday decisions have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.

In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains why too much of a good thing has proven detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz explains how a culture that thrives on the availability of constantly evolving options can also foster profound dissatisfaction and self-blame in individuals, which can lead to a paralysis in decision making and, in some cases, depression.

With the latest studies on how we make choices in our personal and professional lives, Schwartz offers practical advice on how to focus on the right choices, and how to derive greater satisfaction from choices that we do make.]]> 265 Barry Schwartz 0060005696 Casey 3
I know I haven't actually read The Paradox of Choice, forgotten it, and then picked it up again years later only to find it intensely familiar. My book-related record keeping is far too complete and obsessive for that. I chose this book because it's a classic, one that has been oft referenced in other books that I've enjoyed. While I can fault the book for being somewhat repetitive, I can't fault it for being influential. My three star rating feels disingenuous, kind of like the people who claim The Beatles are unoriginal because a ton of other bands have copied them. However, I think I've already established that my ratings are capricious, and violate all sorts of statistical assumptions, and are generally a bad use of a continuous, quantitative measure. I'm okay with that.

If you haven't read all those books that cite this book, the main idea is that that we have more choices than ever before, and we have a lay presumption that those choices should make us happy. Unfortunately, empirical research suggests that more choices actually make us more overwhelmed, less satisfied when we do reach a decision, and more likely to avoid making any decisions altogether. Additionally, some people (maximizers) are caught up with making only the best decisions; Schwartz postulates a causal relationship between increased choice and depression, although this hypothesis is fairly speculative. I'm apparently a maximizer, because my Netflix ritual involves scrolling through all the movies for twenty minutes looking for the best one, getting frustrated, and turning on Friends reruns again.

One terrifying insight from this book is that 2004 was kind of a long time ago. I sort of knew this already, because I've recently had some Cabernet Sauvignon from 2004 that had developed a really lovely bouquet. The examples provided in this book range from buying a new CD player, to shopping around for long distance service, to picking out a movie from the video rental store. Schwartz mentions that real estate is usually a good investment! There's even a hypothetical recent college grad who is fielding four different job offers (!!) and making trade-offs between a great salary with only moderate room for advancement, and a good salary with lots of room for advancement. In 2016, that kid is totally back at home living with his parents, bemoaning the fact that entry level jobs in his field require six years of experience and a masters degree, and still barely pay above minimum wage. (Note: my iPad just tried to autocorrect jobs to Jo's. Twice. Even my iPad knows that jobs don't really exist anymore.)

Overall, this is a quick read, but much of the same material has been covered elsewhere, more recently, and with fewer antiquated references to print media and cassette tapes. A contemporary reader would likely find Thinking, Fast and Slow, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, or Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics much more interesting.]]> 3.83 2004 The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

author: Barry Schwartz
name: Casey
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 2016/11/29
date added: 2016/11/29
shelves: relevant-for-teachers, cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, fitter-happier-more-productive, knowledge-is-good, veridical
review:
Have I read this one before? Because it really feels like I've read this one before.

I know I haven't actually read The Paradox of Choice, forgotten it, and then picked it up again years later only to find it intensely familiar. My book-related record keeping is far too complete and obsessive for that. I chose this book because it's a classic, one that has been oft referenced in other books that I've enjoyed. While I can fault the book for being somewhat repetitive, I can't fault it for being influential. My three star rating feels disingenuous, kind of like the people who claim The Beatles are unoriginal because a ton of other bands have copied them. However, I think I've already established that my ratings are capricious, and violate all sorts of statistical assumptions, and are generally a bad use of a continuous, quantitative measure. I'm okay with that.

If you haven't read all those books that cite this book, the main idea is that that we have more choices than ever before, and we have a lay presumption that those choices should make us happy. Unfortunately, empirical research suggests that more choices actually make us more overwhelmed, less satisfied when we do reach a decision, and more likely to avoid making any decisions altogether. Additionally, some people (maximizers) are caught up with making only the best decisions; Schwartz postulates a causal relationship between increased choice and depression, although this hypothesis is fairly speculative. I'm apparently a maximizer, because my Netflix ritual involves scrolling through all the movies for twenty minutes looking for the best one, getting frustrated, and turning on Friends reruns again.

One terrifying insight from this book is that 2004 was kind of a long time ago. I sort of knew this already, because I've recently had some Cabernet Sauvignon from 2004 that had developed a really lovely bouquet. The examples provided in this book range from buying a new CD player, to shopping around for long distance service, to picking out a movie from the video rental store. Schwartz mentions that real estate is usually a good investment! There's even a hypothetical recent college grad who is fielding four different job offers (!!) and making trade-offs between a great salary with only moderate room for advancement, and a good salary with lots of room for advancement. In 2016, that kid is totally back at home living with his parents, bemoaning the fact that entry level jobs in his field require six years of experience and a masters degree, and still barely pay above minimum wage. (Note: my iPad just tried to autocorrect jobs to Jo's. Twice. Even my iPad knows that jobs don't really exist anymore.)

Overall, this is a quick read, but much of the same material has been covered elsewhere, more recently, and with fewer antiquated references to print media and cassette tapes. A contemporary reader would likely find Thinking, Fast and Slow, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, or Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics much more interesting.
]]> <![CDATA[NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children]]> 6496815
NurtureShock is a groundbreaking collaboration between award-winning science journalists Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. They argue that when it comes to children, we've mistaken good intentions for good ideas. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, they demonstrate that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring--because key twists in the science have been overlooked.

Nothing like a parenting manual, the authors' work is an insightful exploration of themes and issues that transcend children's (and adults') lives.]]> 336 Po Bronson 0446504122 Casey 4 They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you."

-Philip Larkin, from This Be The Verse

A few years back, I caught an informercial for a product called "Your Baby Can Read.�� Supposedly, the program can teach babies to read before they’re even able to talk, despite the fact that scientific evidence strongly suggests that babies can’t learn language from television. The product seems to have been pulled by the producer, but that hasn’t stopped me from using the hilarious infomercial when teaching psychology. It’s just another example of the flawed idea that children need to be doing everything faster and earlier, with no regard to whether reading Harry Potter is developmentally appropriate at age two.

I was not an early reader. I wasn’t a particularly late reader either, but I certainly wasn’t reading before kindergarten, or even much in kindergarten. My parents read to me, and sometimes I memorized books so that I could parrot them back to my parents, but that was pretty much it. Around first grade I had some sort of a-ha moment, and, after that, I read voraciously. Still do. This was a pretty normal developmental trajectory. Now, with increased pressure on parents to put their kids on the Harvard track by preschool, my reading would probably be a huge cause for concern.

Developmental Psychology is one of the most relevant classes that most people skip in college. College students spent so much of of their time trying to figure out how to not accidentally create a human fetus that they seem to forget that this might be something they’ll want to do on purpose later in life. One great opportunity offered by Developmental Psychology classes is understanding exactly what your own parents did wrong while raising you; this is not because it comes in handy during Thanksgiving arguments, but because it helps to humanize your parents. They were just doing the best they could, but they didn’t know what they were doing. No one does.

More importantly, though, Developmental Psychology clarifies some of the bizarre processes by which children learn and grow. It can help future parents realize that it’s better to provide clear rules instead of trying to be your kid’s friend, although it’s best to keep these rules reasonable and open to negotiation. It can help people understand what so-called normal development really looks like, so that they’ll be able to tell when there’s actually a problem. Hopefully, it can help quell the crazy over-scheduling of kids, which I have to believe wouldn’t be happening if parents understood how important sleep actually is.

Anyway, this book is not as good as a Developmental Psychology class, and there were a few points where I didn’t feel like they explained the research literature as well as I would have liked, but it’s still a good resource for anyone who has to deal with kids. Of course, my boyfriend was very happy to hear that I was only reading this for teaching purposes. Not surprising, really. Parenting sounds terrifying.]]> 4.01 2008 NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children

author: Po Bronson
name: Casey
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2016/03/29
date added: 2016/03/29
shelves: knowledge-is-good, cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, relevant-for-teachers
review:
"They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you."

-Philip Larkin, from This Be The Verse

A few years back, I caught an informercial for a product called "Your Baby Can Read.�� Supposedly, the program can teach babies to read before they’re even able to talk, despite the fact that scientific evidence strongly suggests that babies can’t learn language from television. The product seems to have been pulled by the producer, but that hasn’t stopped me from using the hilarious infomercial when teaching psychology. It’s just another example of the flawed idea that children need to be doing everything faster and earlier, with no regard to whether reading Harry Potter is developmentally appropriate at age two.

I was not an early reader. I wasn’t a particularly late reader either, but I certainly wasn’t reading before kindergarten, or even much in kindergarten. My parents read to me, and sometimes I memorized books so that I could parrot them back to my parents, but that was pretty much it. Around first grade I had some sort of a-ha moment, and, after that, I read voraciously. Still do. This was a pretty normal developmental trajectory. Now, with increased pressure on parents to put their kids on the Harvard track by preschool, my reading would probably be a huge cause for concern.

Developmental Psychology is one of the most relevant classes that most people skip in college. College students spent so much of of their time trying to figure out how to not accidentally create a human fetus that they seem to forget that this might be something they’ll want to do on purpose later in life. One great opportunity offered by Developmental Psychology classes is understanding exactly what your own parents did wrong while raising you; this is not because it comes in handy during Thanksgiving arguments, but because it helps to humanize your parents. They were just doing the best they could, but they didn’t know what they were doing. No one does.

More importantly, though, Developmental Psychology clarifies some of the bizarre processes by which children learn and grow. It can help future parents realize that it’s better to provide clear rules instead of trying to be your kid’s friend, although it’s best to keep these rules reasonable and open to negotiation. It can help people understand what so-called normal development really looks like, so that they’ll be able to tell when there’s actually a problem. Hopefully, it can help quell the crazy over-scheduling of kids, which I have to believe wouldn’t be happening if parents understood how important sleep actually is.

Anyway, this book is not as good as a Developmental Psychology class, and there were a few points where I didn’t feel like they explained the research literature as well as I would have liked, but it’s still a good resource for anyone who has to deal with kids. Of course, my boyfriend was very happy to hear that I was only reading this for teaching purposes. Not surprising, really. Parenting sounds terrifying.
]]> <![CDATA[Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking]]> 8520610 The book that started the Quiet Revolution

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content.]]> 333 Susan Cain 0307352145 Casey 5 4.07 2012 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

author: Susan Cain
name: Casey
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human]]> 15814532 -- New York Times

Humans live in landscapes of make-believe. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. Now Jonathan Gottschall offers the first unified theory of storytelling. He argues that stories help us navigate life's complex social problems--just as flight simulators prepare pilots for difficult situations. Storytelling has evolved, like other behaviors, to ensure our survival. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Gottschall tells us what it means to be a storytelling animal and explains how stories can change the world for the better. We know we are master shapers of story. The Storytelling Animal finally reveals how stories shape us.

"This is a quite wonderful book. It grips the reader with both stories and stories about the telling of stories, then pulls it all together to explain why storytelling is a fundamental human instinct."
--Edward O. Wilson

"Charms with anecdotes and examples . . . we have not left nor should we ever leave Neverland."-- Cleveland Plain Dealer]]> 272 Jonathan Gottschall 0544002342 Casey 3 3.70 2012 The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human

The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human

author: Jonathan Gottschall
name: Casey
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2013/06/09
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, quick-reads, relevant-for-teachers
review:
A slim volume about the power of narratives. Gottschall presents empirical evidence about the stories that we tell ourselves, although there's not anything new here. Unfortunately, Gottschall is better at telling stories about the results than describing the experiments in sufficient detail, although he is an English professor and this is a popular science book, so I can't begrudge him too much.
]]> <![CDATA[Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking]]> 10313931 The book that started the Quiet Revolution

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

Now with Extra Libris material, including a reader’s guide and bonus content]]> 370 Susan Cain Casey 5
I do not count myself as one of the quiet ones. Indeed, I'm one of the extroverts, and I'll go so far as to say that no one has ever called me quiet. I know I'm an extrovert, because I look forward to giving presentations (the bigger the audience, the better). I get antsy when I don't have a party to go to on Friday night, and I recharge after a long day of work by socializing. Plus, I'm going to spend a large portion of this review talking about myself.

Cain's book makes me realize that I also possess some traits that are more characteristic of introverts. I spend a fair amount of time with my nose buried in a book, and I'm hopelessly bad at multitasking. I'm not a fan of group work (unless I can be completely in control of the group), and I would certainly consider myself an intellectual. As Cain points out, no one is completely an extrovert, nor is anyone completely an introvert. Extroverts, however, flourish in American society, while introverts are often forced to pretend to be extroverts.

Particularly interesting is the chapter on raising introverted children. I don't have children, nor do I have plans to gestate a human being anytime soon, so I was surprised at how much I got from this section. After reading it, I realized how difficult school must have been for the shy ones, the ones that "never spoke up" in class. It's clear that I got undue praised for being bossy and talkative. Who knows how many kids my teachers ignored while I blabbed on endlessly about who knows what.

Throughout the book, Cain argues that introverts should be cultivated, that their unique abilities (such as the deep focus that so often eludes me) should be valued. I agree, and I think she should take her argument one step further: extroverts should try to bring out their introverted sides. Maybe, instead of telling introverts to be louder, we should all try to become more quiet.]]> 4.15 2012 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

author: Susan Cain
name: Casey
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2012/10/04
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:
Although the United States is the most extroverted country in the world, one third to one half of people are introverts. Introverts are often quiet people, the ones who would rather stay in on a weekend than go out to a party, the ones that need to recharge with solitude after giving presentations. Introverts are often deep thinkings and intimate friends, although our society (incorrectly) views them as passive and anti-social. In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain explains how Western society misunderstands the quiet among us.

I do not count myself as one of the quiet ones. Indeed, I'm one of the extroverts, and I'll go so far as to say that no one has ever called me quiet. I know I'm an extrovert, because I look forward to giving presentations (the bigger the audience, the better). I get antsy when I don't have a party to go to on Friday night, and I recharge after a long day of work by socializing. Plus, I'm going to spend a large portion of this review talking about myself.

Cain's book makes me realize that I also possess some traits that are more characteristic of introverts. I spend a fair amount of time with my nose buried in a book, and I'm hopelessly bad at multitasking. I'm not a fan of group work (unless I can be completely in control of the group), and I would certainly consider myself an intellectual. As Cain points out, no one is completely an extrovert, nor is anyone completely an introvert. Extroverts, however, flourish in American society, while introverts are often forced to pretend to be extroverts.

Particularly interesting is the chapter on raising introverted children. I don't have children, nor do I have plans to gestate a human being anytime soon, so I was surprised at how much I got from this section. After reading it, I realized how difficult school must have been for the shy ones, the ones that "never spoke up" in class. It's clear that I got undue praised for being bossy and talkative. Who knows how many kids my teachers ignored while I blabbed on endlessly about who knows what.

Throughout the book, Cain argues that introverts should be cultivated, that their unique abilities (such as the deep focus that so often eludes me) should be valued. I agree, and I think she should take her argument one step further: extroverts should try to bring out their introverted sides. Maybe, instead of telling introverts to be louder, we should all try to become more quiet.
]]> <![CDATA[The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves]]> 13426114 The New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality returns with thought-provoking work to challenge our preconceptions about dishonesty and urge us to take an honest look at ourselves.

Does the chance of getting caught affect how likely we are to cheat? How do companies pave the way for dishonesty? Does collaboration make us more honest or less so? Does religion improve our honesty? Most of us think of ourselves as honest, but, in fact, we all cheat. From Washington to Wall Street, the classroom to the workplace, unethical behavior is everywhere. None of us is immune, whether it's the white lie to head off trouble or padding our expense reports.

In The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, award-winning, bestselling author Dan Ariely turns his unique insight and innovative research to the question of dishonesty. Generally, we assume that cheating, like most other decisions, is based on a rational cost-benefit analysis. But Ariely argues, and then demonstrates, that it's actually the irrational forces that we don't take into account that often determine whether we behave ethically or not. For every Enron or political bribe, there are countless puffed résumés, hidden commissions, and knockoff purses.

In The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, Ariely shows why some things are easier to lie about; how getting caught matters less than we think; and how business practices pave the way for unethical behavior, both intentionally and unintentionally. Ariely explores how unethical behavior works in the personal, professional, and political worlds, and how it affects all of us, even as we think of ourselves as having high moral standards. But all is not lost. Ariely also identifies what keeps us honest, pointing the way for achieving higher ethics in our everyday lives. With compelling personal and academic findings,

The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty will change the way we see ourselves, our actions, and others]]> 264 Dan Ariely 0062183591 Casey 3 Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions than a new viewpoint on dishonesty. ]]> 3.93 2012 The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves

author: Dan Ariely
name: Casey
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2012/11/13
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:
Definitely interesting, but more of a rehash of the ideas presented in Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions than a new viewpoint on dishonesty.
]]> <![CDATA[Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time]]> 89281
Revised and Expanded Edition.

In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, Why People Believe Weird Things debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, "Why Smart People Believe in Weird Things," Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science.

Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. Why People Believe Strange Things is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.]]> 384 Michael Shermer 0805070893 Casey 4
What kind of person could deny that the holocaust actually happened? Who could argue against the evidence for evolution? And how do smart people believe such outlandish claims as ESP, alien abductions, and haunted houses? In his book, Michael Shermer explains the logical fallacies and cycles of belief that cause smart people to believe some really weird stuff. This book is worth reading for the in-depth discussion of logical fallacies alone; these fallacies should be taught in high school science classes. Shermer points out that part of the issue with pseudoscience is the way we approach science eduction: as a collection of facts, instead of an imperfect but self-correcting method for discovering the truth.

Shermer treats believers kindly: he does not attack them as ignorant or crazy. Indeed, he claims that intelligence and belief in weird things are completely orthogonal (in other words, statistically unrelated). However, he does compare creationists with holocaust deniers (both fringe groups that use similar tactics to deny a well-established truth), and he certainly counts a belief in God, particularly a belief that God can be proven scientifically, as strange. Shermer's discussion of Ayn Rand's cult of objectivism is amusingly vitriolic, and one of my favorite sections of the book.]]> 3.87 1997 Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time

author: Michael Shermer
name: Casey
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at: 2012/08/07
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:
��...no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavors to establish.�� - David Hume

What kind of person could deny that the holocaust actually happened? Who could argue against the evidence for evolution? And how do smart people believe such outlandish claims as ESP, alien abductions, and haunted houses? In his book, Michael Shermer explains the logical fallacies and cycles of belief that cause smart people to believe some really weird stuff. This book is worth reading for the in-depth discussion of logical fallacies alone; these fallacies should be taught in high school science classes. Shermer points out that part of the issue with pseudoscience is the way we approach science eduction: as a collection of facts, instead of an imperfect but self-correcting method for discovering the truth.

Shermer treats believers kindly: he does not attack them as ignorant or crazy. Indeed, he claims that intelligence and belief in weird things are completely orthogonal (in other words, statistically unrelated). However, he does compare creationists with holocaust deniers (both fringe groups that use similar tactics to deny a well-established truth), and he certainly counts a belief in God, particularly a belief that God can be proven scientifically, as strange. Shermer's discussion of Ayn Rand's cult of objectivism is amusingly vitriolic, and one of my favorite sections of the book.
]]> <![CDATA[The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains]]> 6966823 The best-selling author of The Big Switch returns with an explosive look at technology’s effect on the mind.

“Is Google making us stupid?�� When Nicholas Carr posed that question in a celebrated Atlantic Monthly cover story, he tapped into a well of anxiety about how the Internet is changing us. He also crystallized one of the most important debates of our time: As we enjoy the Net’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply? Now Carr expands his argument into the most compelling exploration of the Internet’s intellectual and cultural consequences yet published. Weaving insights from philosophy, neuroscience, and history into a rich narrative, The Shallows explains how the Net is rerouting our neural pathways, replacing the subtle mind of the book reader with the distracted mind of the screen watcher. A gripping story of human transformation played out against a backdrop of technological upheaval, The Shallows will forever alter the way we think about media and our minds.]]> 276 Nicholas Carr 0393072223 Casey 4
In making his argument, Carr first examines the history of information technology, starting with scrolls, wax-tablets, and my beloved codex. He shows that the type of "deep-reading" afforded by books is an anomaly in our history, although one with a myriad of benefits. This history covers everything from Guttenberg to artificial intelligence to Google, and is the best part of the book.

Carr also examines the scientific literature on multi-tasking (something people simply cannot do well), memory, and cognitive load. He argues that the internet puts more demands on executive function, leading to poorer storage and retrieval of information. This is supposed to affect our brains through neuroplasticity (changes in brain structure due to particular inputs), although he doesn't cite much evidence specific to internet use and reading. Carr's understanding of the scientific literature is fairly shallow, but not necessarily incorrect. If I were to grade his work in an introductory course on cognitive psychology, I'd have to mark him down for lack of precision.

One minor pet-peeve: Carr uses the term "the Net" to refer to the internet, which feels as out-of-touch as saying "the world wide web" or "the information superhighway." I'm guessing this was an editing decision, but it still bothers me.]]> 3.80 2010 The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains

The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains

author: Nicholas Carr
name: Casey
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2013/04/23
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:
The internet is a jumble of information: as I type this, I have two different email inboxes open in different tabs, another tab open to a blog post, instant messaging windows chiming, and text-messages being sent to my computer through Apple's iMessages systems (I forgot it was called iMessages, so I also had to open google and look that up). In short, my computer screen effectively works as a purveyor of distraction; in The Shallows, Nicolas Carr argues that the internet impacts my brain outside the pleasantly-blunted edges of my MacBook Pro (and my iPhone. And iPad. And, come to think of it, my Apple TV).

In making his argument, Carr first examines the history of information technology, starting with scrolls, wax-tablets, and my beloved codex. He shows that the type of "deep-reading" afforded by books is an anomaly in our history, although one with a myriad of benefits. This history covers everything from Guttenberg to artificial intelligence to Google, and is the best part of the book.

Carr also examines the scientific literature on multi-tasking (something people simply cannot do well), memory, and cognitive load. He argues that the internet puts more demands on executive function, leading to poorer storage and retrieval of information. This is supposed to affect our brains through neuroplasticity (changes in brain structure due to particular inputs), although he doesn't cite much evidence specific to internet use and reading. Carr's understanding of the scientific literature is fairly shallow, but not necessarily incorrect. If I were to grade his work in an introductory course on cognitive psychology, I'd have to mark him down for lack of precision.

One minor pet-peeve: Carr uses the term "the Net" to refer to the internet, which feels as out-of-touch as saying "the world wide web" or "the information superhighway." I'm guessing this was an editing decision, but it still bothers me.
]]> <![CDATA[The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business]]> 12609433 375 Charles Duhigg 1400069289 Casey 4 4.13 2012

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

author: Charles Duhigg
name: Casey
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/07/06
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> Stumbling on Happiness 56627 �� Why will sighted people pay more to avoid going blind than blind people will pay to regain their sight?
�� Why do dining companions insist on ordering different meals instead of getting what they really want?
�� Why do pigeons seem to have such excellent aim; why can’t we remember one song while listening to another; and why does the line at the grocery store always slow down the moment we join it?

In this brilliant, witty, and accessible book, renowned Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert describes the foibles of imagination and illusions of foresight that cause each of us to mis-conceive our tomorrows and mis-estimate our satisfactions. Vividly bringing to life the latest scientific research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, and behavioral economics, Gilbert reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there. With penetrating insight and sparkling prose, Gilbert explains why we seem to know so little about the hearts and minds of the people we are about to become.]]> 263 Daniel Todd Gilbert 1400077427 Casey 3 3.82 2006 Stumbling on Happiness

author: Daniel Todd Gilbert
name: Casey
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2012/05/17
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Human: The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique]]> 5728197 464 Michael S. Gazzaniga 0060892897 Casey 5 4.20 2008

Human: The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique

author: Michael S. Gazzaniga
name: Casey
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2010/01/01
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language]]> 869681 526 Steven Pinker 0061336467 Casey 5 4.06 1994

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language

author: Steven Pinker
name: Casey
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1994
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good]]> 9272404 A leading brain scientist's look at the neurobiology of pleasure-and how pleasures can become addictions.

Whether eating, taking drugs, engaging in sex, or doing good deeds, the pursuit of pleasure is a central drive of the human animal. In The Compass of Pleasure Johns Hopkins neuroscientist David J. Linden explains how pleasure affects us at the most fundamental level: in our brain.

As he did in his award-winning book, The Accidental Mind, Linden combines cutting-edge science with entertaining anecdotes to illuminate the source of the behaviors that can lead us to ecstasy but that can easily become compulsive. Why are drugs like nicotine and heroin addictive while LSD is not? Why has the search for safe appetite suppressants been such a disappointment? The Compass of Pleasure concludes with a provocative consideration of pleasure in the future, when it may be possible to activate our pleasure circuits at will and in entirely novel patterns.

]]> 240 David J. Linden 0670022586 Casey 4 3.89 2010 The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good

The Compass of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good

author: David J. Linden
name: Casey
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2012/03/13
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: knowledge-is-good, cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions]]> 1713426
Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we couldn't possibly be caught?

Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup?

Why do we go back for second helpings at the unlimited buffet, even when our stomachs are already full?

And how did we ever start spending $4.15 on a cup of coffee when, just a few years ago, we used to pay less than a dollar?

When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're in control. We think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we?

In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.

Not only do we make astonishingly simple mistakes every day, but we make the same "types" of mistakes, Ariely discovers. We consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. We fail to understand the profound effects of our emotions on what we want, and we overvalue what we already own. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable--making us "predictably" irrational.

From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, Ariely explains how to break through these systematic patterns of thought to make better decisions. "Predictably Irrational" will change the way we interact with the world--one small decision at a time.]]> 247 Dan Ariely Casey 4 4.12 2008 Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

author: Dan Ariely
name: Casey
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> How the Mind Works 835623 The Language Instinct. He explains what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and ponder the mysteries of life. And he does it with the wit that prompted Mark Ridley to write in the New York Times Book Review, "No other science writer makes me laugh so much. . . . [Pinker] deserves the superlatives that are lavished on him." The arguments in the book are as bold as its title. Pinker rehabilitates some unfashionable ideas, such as that the mind is a computer and that human nature was shaped by natural selection, and challenges fashionable ones, such as that passionate emotions are irrational, that parents socialize their children, and that nature is good and modern society corrupting. Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize A New York Times Notable Book of the Year and Publishers Weekly Best Book of 1997 Featured in Time magazine, the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Nature, Science, Lingua Franca, and Science Times Front-page reviews in the Washington Post Book World, the Boston Globe Book Section, and the San Diego Union Book Review]]> 660 Steven Pinker 0393318486 Casey 5 3.99 1997 How the Mind Works

author: Steven Pinker
name: Casey
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, dear-ones, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> Proust Was a Neuroscientist 822367 242 Jonah Lehrer 0618620109 Casey 3 3.83 2007

author: Jonah Lehrer
name: Casey
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2011/10/18
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature]]> 373969 New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous books, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Blank Slate, have catapulted him into the limelight as one of today's most important and popular science writers.

Now, in The Stuff of Thought, Pinker marries two of the subjects he knows best: language and human nature. The result is a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. What does swearing reveal about our emotions? Why does innuendo disclose something about relationships? Pinker reveals how our use of prepositions and tenses taps into peculiarly human concepts of space and time, and how our nouns and verbs speak to our notions of matter. Even the names we give our babies have important things to say about our relations to our children and to society.

With his signature wit and style, Pinker takes on scientific questions like whether language affects thought, as well as forays into everyday life: why is bulk e-mail called spam and how do romantic comedies get such mileage out of the ambiguities of dating? The Stuff of Thought is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of readers of everything from The Selfish Gene and Blink to Eats, Shoots & Leaves.]]> 499 Steven Pinker 0670063274 Casey 5 3.91 2007 The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

author: Steven Pinker
name: Casey
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2007/10/02
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature]]> 5752 كولن ماكوين - الواشنطن بوست

ستيفن بنكر ذو معرفة موسوعية، وأسلوب نقاش قاطع، نقاشه في - الصفحة البيضاء - هو أن الحياة الفكرية في الغرب، وأن معظم سياساتنا الاجتماعية والسياسية كانت محكومة - إلى حد كبير - خلال القرن العشرين بنظرة للطبيعة البشرية فيها عيوب أساسا، وأن هذه الهيمنة كانت مدعومة من شيء ما يبلغ درجة إرهاب أكاديمي (إنه لم يطرح هذا بقوة). إننا سوف نستفيد كثيرا من وجهة نظر أكثر واقعية، من الممتع قراءة عرض بنكر لأنه واضح بشكل يحسد عليه، فشرحه لمسألة تقنية صعبة مثل الإختلاف والإنتكاس في دراسات التوائم، لن تجد شرحا أفضل لها، إنه لا يخشى إستخدام لغة قوية، يضاف إلى ذلك أن أجزاء من الكتاب مسلية تبعث السرور.
جون ر. سي تيرنر - الملحق الأدبي لصحيفة التايمز

يصور كتاب الصفحة البيضاء الحالة الراهنة من التلاعب في مناقشة الطبيعة والتربية، اقرأه كي تفهم ليس فقط العمى الأخلاقي والجمالي لدى أصدقائك، بل أيضا كي تفهم المثالية المضللة لدى الأمم، إنه عمل رائع، في الوقت المناسب.
فاي ويلدون - الديلي تلغراف]]> 560 Steven Pinker 0142003344 Casey 5 4.08 2002 The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

author: Steven Pinker
name: Casey
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/03/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, veridical, relevant-for-teachers
review:

]]> Still Alice 2153405 Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University.

Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what's it's like to literally lose your mind...]]> 292 Lisa Genova 0595440096 Casey 2
Unfortunately, Genova’s academic expertise far outpaces her writing ability, which significantly reduced the impact of her overall message. Indeed, it read more like a subpar young adult novel than serious fiction for adults, which is a shame. I figured this out early on: in one of the first chapters, Genova describes Alice and her husband’s physical appearance by having them look at themselves in the mirror (note to aspiring writers: if you find it necessary to make sure the reader knows what your characters look like, emulate Tolstoy, rather than Stephenie Meyer. I can still picture Natasha, slight and ebullient, sitting restlessly on the couch of her drawing room, just as I can easily visualize the Little Princess, with her peach fuzz mustache. Yet I have no recollection of what Alice is supposed to look like, even though I just read the description two days ago, because Genova never gave me a reason to care.). The writing doesn’t get any better from there, with a random Mary Sue-ish episode in which Alice ends up at the same restaurant as Jennifer Aniston, and obnoxious PSAs about support for people with Alzheimers thrown in, seemingly independent of the plot.

Actually, the whole thing read like a very special episode of a lowest-common-demoniator sitcom. Exhibit A:

Definitely a fascinating subject, though. I’d like to see it explored in the future, in the hands of a more capable writer.]]> 4.32 2007 Still Alice

author: Lisa Genova
name: Casey
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at: 2015/01/24
date added: 2015/01/24
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, the-not-so-serious-lit
review:
I waffled between giving this a two or three star review, and, as much as I’d like to give it three stars, I just can’t do it. Still Alice sounds like an excellent book: the story of a Harvard Professor Cognitive Psychology who gets diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. Author Lisa Genova, also a cognitive psychologist, did a considerable amount of research for the book, and I looked forward to reading a depiction of the experiential reality of Alzheimers from someone uniquely qualified to fictionalize it.

Unfortunately, Genova’s academic expertise far outpaces her writing ability, which significantly reduced the impact of her overall message. Indeed, it read more like a subpar young adult novel than serious fiction for adults, which is a shame. I figured this out early on: in one of the first chapters, Genova describes Alice and her husband’s physical appearance by having them look at themselves in the mirror (note to aspiring writers: if you find it necessary to make sure the reader knows what your characters look like, emulate Tolstoy, rather than Stephenie Meyer. I can still picture Natasha, slight and ebullient, sitting restlessly on the couch of her drawing room, just as I can easily visualize the Little Princess, with her peach fuzz mustache. Yet I have no recollection of what Alice is supposed to look like, even though I just read the description two days ago, because Genova never gave me a reason to care.). The writing doesn’t get any better from there, with a random Mary Sue-ish episode in which Alice ends up at the same restaurant as Jennifer Aniston, and obnoxious PSAs about support for people with Alzheimers thrown in, seemingly independent of the plot.

Actually, the whole thing read like a very special episode of a lowest-common-demoniator sitcom. Exhibit A:

Definitely a fascinating subject, though. I’d like to see it explored in the future, in the hands of a more capable writer.
]]> <![CDATA[Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness]]> 13547180 New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity.

When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?

In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Cahalan tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen.]]> 250 Susannah Cahalan 145162137X Casey 4 4.06 2012 Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness

author: Susannah Cahalan
name: Casey
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/28
date added: 2012/12/28
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, memoir-writers-this-is-your-life, audiobook
review:

]]> How to Lie with Statistics 51291 142 Darrell Huff 0393310728 Casey 4 3.82 1954

author: Darrell Huff
name: Casey
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1954
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/11/30
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> Hallucinations 13330771
Hallucinations don’t belong wholly to the insane. Much more commonly, they are linked to sensory deprivation, intoxication, illness, or injury. People with migraines may see shimmering arcs of light or tiny, Lilliputian figures of animals and people. People with failing eyesight, paradoxically, may become immersed in a hallucinatory visual world. Hallucinations can be brought on by a simple fever or even the act of waking or falling asleep, when people have visions ranging from luminous blobs of color to beautifully detailed faces or terrifying ogres. Those who are bereaved may receive comforting “visits�� from the departed. In some conditions, hallucinations can lead to religious epiphanies or even the feeling of leaving one’s own body.

Humans have always sought such life-changing visions, and for thousands of years have used hallucinogenic compounds to achieve them. As a young doctor in California in the 1960s, Oliver Sacks had both a personal and a professional interest in psychedelics. These, along with his early migraine experiences, launched a lifelong investigation into the varieties of hallucinatory experience.

Here, with his usual elegance, curiosity, and compassion, Dr. Sacks weaves together stories of his patients and of his own mind-altering experiences to illuminate what hallucinations tell us about the organization and structure of our brains, how they have influenced every culture’s folklore and art, and why the potential for hallucination is present in us all, a vital part of the human condition.
]]> 326 Oliver Sacks 0307957241 Casey 4 3.91 2012 Hallucinations

author: Oliver Sacks
name: Casey
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2012/11/11
date added: 2012/11/11
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry]]> 11363747 When Jon Ronson is drawn into an elaborate hoax played on some of the world's top scientists, his investigation leads him, unexpectedly, to psychopaths. He meets an influential psychologist who is convinced that many important business leaders and politicians are in fact high-flying, high-functioning psychopaths, and teaches Ronson how to spot them. Armed with these new abilities, Ronson meets a patient inside an asylum for the criminally insane who insists that he's sane, a mere run-of-the-mill troubled youth, not a psychopath--a claim that might be only manipulation, and a sign of his psychopathy. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud, and with a legendary CEO who took joy in shutting down factories and firing people. He delves into the fascinating history of psychopathy diagnosis and treatments, from LSD-fueled days-long naked therapy sessions in prisons to attempts to understand serial killers.
Along the way, Ronson discovers that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their most insane edges. "The Psychopath Test" is a fascinating adventure through the minds of madness.]]> 272 Jon Ronson 1101515163 Casey 4 3.96 2011 The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry

author: Jon Ronson
name: Casey
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/08/28
date added: 2012/08/28
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1]]> 1001304 Long Course in Principles of Psychology, one of the great classics of modern Western literature and science and the source of the ripest thoughts of America’s most important philosopher. As such, it should not be confused with the many abridgements that omit key sections.
The book presents lucid descriptions of human mental activity, with detailed considerations of the stream of thought, consciousness, time perception, memory, imagination, emotions, reason, abnormal phenomena, and similar topics. In its course it takes into account the work of Berkeley, Binet, Bradley, Darwin, Descartes, Fechner, Galton, Green, Helmholtz, Herbart, Hume, Janet, Kant, Lange, Lotze, Locke, Mill, Royce, Schopenhauer, Spinoza, Wundt, and scores of others. It examines contrasting interpretations of mental phenomena, treating introspective analysis, philosophical interpretations, and experimental research.
It remains unsurpassed today as a brilliantly written survey of William James�� timeless view of psychology.]]> 720 William James 0486203816 Casey 0 4.18 1868 The Principles of Psychology: Volume 1

author: William James
name: Casey
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1868
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/08/01
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, to-finish
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death]]> 193755 Elle, suffered a massive stroke that left him completely and permanently paralyzed, a victim of "locked-in syndrome." Where once he had been renowned for his gregariousness and wit, Bauby now found himself imprisoned in an inert body, able to communicate only by blinking his left eye. The miracle is that in doing so he was able to compose this stunningly eloquent memoir, which was published two days before Bauby's death in 1996 and went on to become a number-one bestseller across Europe.

The second miracle is that The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is less a record of affliction than it is a celebration of the liberating power of consciousness. In a voice that is by turns wistful and mischievous, angry and sardonic, Bauby tells us what it is like to spend a day with his children; to imagine lying in bed beside his lover; to conjure up the flavor of delectable meals even as he is fed by tube. Most of all, this triumphant book allows us to follow the flight of an indomitable spirit and to share its exultation at its own survival.]]> 132 Jean-Dominique Bauby 0375701214 Casey 5
At the age of 44, Bauby, the former French Elle editor in chief, had a stroke that damaged his brain stem. Here's a bit of a refresher on neuroanatomy: the brain stem is an evolutionarily ancient structure at the base of the brain, right before the brain becomes the spinal cord. Newer, cortical areas of the brain are involved in recently evolved functions, such as language and planning. Deeper structures control more basic functions, such as movement, respiration, and circulation. Strokes that damage cortical areas are no picnic, but the brain is plastic enough that skills can often be relearned. Strokes that damage the brain stem, however, are catastrophic.

Following the stroke, Bauby became locked in to his own mind. His locked in syndrome meant that he was unable to move, unable to speak. He was luckier than others with the syndrome: he could blink his left eye, and he learned to move his head 90 degrees to the left.

His memoir consists of a series of non-linear vignettes that deal with his life, both before and after the stroke. He speaks of the nurses, his children, travels he went on before the stroke, former lovers, old friends. During a particularly moving scene, he writes about the imaginary meals he eats (due to the stroke, he has to be fed through a feeding tube). Because he memorized each chapter before dictating it, he was forced to be concise. His brevity adds a haunting quality to the memoir.

This book will be of interest to almost anyone, but especially those of us who are interested in the brain. Psychologists, neuroscientists, and neurologists in particular should read this book. It's amazing to see what a rich inner world can be created by those who the outer world writes off as close to vegetative.]]> 4.00 1997 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death

author: Jean-Dominique Bauby
name: Casey
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at: 2012/07/18
date added: 2012/07/18
shelves: memoir-writers-this-is-your-life, cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab
review:
As I turned the last page of this book, I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a stroke that left him unable to talk or move, painstakingly dictated his memoir by blinking, over the course of months. I finished reading it in an afternoon.

At the age of 44, Bauby, the former French Elle editor in chief, had a stroke that damaged his brain stem. Here's a bit of a refresher on neuroanatomy: the brain stem is an evolutionarily ancient structure at the base of the brain, right before the brain becomes the spinal cord. Newer, cortical areas of the brain are involved in recently evolved functions, such as language and planning. Deeper structures control more basic functions, such as movement, respiration, and circulation. Strokes that damage cortical areas are no picnic, but the brain is plastic enough that skills can often be relearned. Strokes that damage the brain stem, however, are catastrophic.

Following the stroke, Bauby became locked in to his own mind. His locked in syndrome meant that he was unable to move, unable to speak. He was luckier than others with the syndrome: he could blink his left eye, and he learned to move his head 90 degrees to the left.

His memoir consists of a series of non-linear vignettes that deal with his life, both before and after the stroke. He speaks of the nurses, his children, travels he went on before the stroke, former lovers, old friends. During a particularly moving scene, he writes about the imaginary meals he eats (due to the stroke, he has to be fed through a feeding tube). Because he memorized each chapter before dictating it, he was forced to be concise. His brevity adds a haunting quality to the memoir.

This book will be of interest to almost anyone, but especially those of us who are interested in the brain. Psychologists, neuroscientists, and neurologists in particular should read this book. It's amazing to see what a rich inner world can be created by those who the outer world writes off as close to vegetative.
]]> Language Myths 173095 Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill have invited nineteen respected linguists from all over the world to address these "language myths"--showing that they vary from the misconceived to the downright wrong. With essays ranging from "Women Talk Too Much" and "In the Appalachians They Speak Like Shakespeare" to "Italian Is Beautiful, German Is Ugly" and "They Speak Really Bad English Down South and in New York City," Language Myths is a collection that is wide-ranging, entertaining, and authoritative.]]> 189 Laurie Bauer 0140260234 Casey 3
This book is a great introduction to linguistics, and may well lead readers to explore interesting concepts in more depth. Because I come from a cognitive background, I enjoyed the points of view offered, and would recommend this book to anyone interesting in language and linguistics.]]> 3.67 1998 Language Myths

author: Laurie Bauer
name: Casey
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1998
rating: 3
read at: 2007/03/01
date added: 2012/07/16
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:
We all have some "common sense" thoughts about language, such as believing that some languages are harder than others, or that it's best for society if we keep people from "speaking incorrectly." Language Myths examines these erroneous assumptions in a series of articles revolving around one myth.

This book is a great introduction to linguistics, and may well lead readers to explore interesting concepts in more depth. Because I come from a cognitive background, I enjoyed the points of view offered, and would recommend this book to anyone interesting in language and linguistics.
]]> <![CDATA[The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature]]> 774056
When William James went to the University of Edinburgh in 1901 to deliver a series of lectures on "natural religion," he defined religion as "the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine." Considering religion, then, not as it is defined by--or takes place in--the churches, but as it is felt in everyday life, he undertook a project that, upon completion, stands not only as one of the most important texts on psychology ever written, not only as a vitally serious contemplation of spirituality, but for many critics one of the best works of nonfiction written in the 20th century. Reading The Varieties of Religious Experience, it is easy to see why. Applying his analytic clarity to religious accounts from a variety of sources, James elaborates a pluralistic framework in which "the divine can mean no single quality, it must mean a group of qualities, by being champions of which in alternation, different men may all find worthy missions." It's an intellectual call for serious religious tolerance �� indeed, respect �� the vitality of which has not diminished through the subsequent decades.]]> 534 William James 0140390340 Casey 4 4.03 1902 The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature

The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature

author: William James
name: Casey
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1902
rating: 4
read at: 2012/04/30
date added: 2012/04/30
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives]]> 2272880
By showing us the true nature of chance and revealing the psychological illusions that cause us to misjudge the world around us, Mlodinow gives us the tools we need to make more informed decisions. From the classroom to the courtroom and from financial markets to supermarkets, Mlodinow's intriguing and illuminating look at how randomness, chance, and probability affect our daily lives will intrigue, awe, and inspire.]]> 252 Leonard Mlodinow 0375424040 Casey 4 3.93 2008 The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

author: Leonard Mlodinow
name: Casey
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2012/04/11
date added: 2012/04/11
shelves: knowledge-is-good, cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales]]> 63697 243 Oliver Sacks Casey 5 4.08 1985

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales

author: Oliver Sacks
name: Casey
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1985
rating: 5
read at: 2007/12/01
date added: 2012/03/03
shelves: knowledge-is-good, cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab
review:

]]> <![CDATA[This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession]]> 893035 �� Are our musical preferences shaped in utero?
�� Is there a cutoff point for acquiring new tastes in music?
�� What do PET scans and MRIs reveal about the brain’s response to music?
�� Is musical pleasure different from other kinds of pleasure?

This Is Your Brain on Music explores cultures in which singing is considered an essential human function, patients who have a rare disorder that prevents them from making sense of music, and scientists studying why two people may not have the same definition of pitch. At every turn, this provocative work unlocks deep secrets about how nature and nurture forge a uniquely human obsession.]]> 322 Daniel J. Levitin 0452288525 Casey 4 3.71 2006 This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

author: Daniel J. Levitin
name: Casey
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/03/03
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined]]> 11107244 Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year. The author of The New York Times bestseller The Stuff of Thought offers a controversial history of violence.

Faced with the ceaseless stream of news about war, crime, and terrorism, one could easily think we live in the most violent age ever seen. Yet as New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker shows in this startling and engaging new work, just the opposite is true: violence has been diminishing for millennia and we may be living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence. For most of history, war, slavery, infanticide, child abuse, assassinations, pogroms, gruesome punishments, deadly quarrels, and genocide were ordinary features of life. But today, Pinker shows (with the help of more than a hundred graphs and maps) all these forms of violence have dwindled and are widely condemned. How has this happened?

This groundbreaking book continues Pinker's exploration of the essence of human nature, mixing psychology and history to provide a remarkable picture of an increasingly nonviolent world. The key, he explains, is to understand our intrinsic motives- the inner demons that incline us toward violence and the better angels that steer us away-and how changing circumstances have allowed our better angels to prevail. Exploding fatalist myths about humankind's inherent violence and the curse of modernity, this ambitious and provocative book is sure to be hotly debated in living rooms and the Pentagon alike, and will challenge and change the way we think about our society.]]> 802 Steven Pinker 0670022950 Casey 4 4.17 2010 The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined

author: Steven Pinker
name: Casey
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2012/02/23
date added: 2012/02/23
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, books-that-can-double-as-weapons, veridical
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid]]> 24113 777 Douglas R. Hofstadter 0465026567 Casey 5 4.29 1979

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

author: Douglas R. Hofstadter
name: Casey
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1979
rating: 5
read at: 2011/12/12
date added: 2011/12/12
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, books-that-can-double-as-weapons, pull-it-surprise
review:

]]> <![CDATA[SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance]]> 6402364
Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary?

SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as:

How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
Why are doctors so bad at washing their hands?
How much good do car seats do?
What's the best way to catch a terrorist?
Did TV cause a rise in crime?
What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common?
Are people hard-wired for altruism or selfishness?
Can eating kangaroo save the planet?
Which adds more value: a pimp or a Realtor?

Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else, whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it really is �� good, bad, ugly, and, in the final analysis, super freaky.

Freakonomics has been imitated many times over �� but only now, with SuperFreakonomics, has it met its match.]]> 270 Steven D. Levitt 0060889578 Casey 4 4.00 2009 SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes And Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance

author: Steven D. Levitt
name: Casey
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2011/01/01
date added: 2011/10/18
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything]]> 1202
These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much heralded scholar who studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life -- from cheating and crime to sports and child rearing -- and whose conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head. He usually begins with a mountain of data and a simple, unasked question. Some of these questions concern life-and-death issues; others have an admittedly freakish quality. Thus the new field of study contained in this book: freakonomics.

Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives -- how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything. The inner workings of a crack gang. The truth about real-estate agents. The myths of campaign finance. The telltale marks of a cheating schoolteacher. The secrets of the Ku Klux Klan.

What unites all these stories is a belief that the modern world, despite a surfeit of obfuscation, complication, and downright deceit, is not impenetrable, is not unknowable, and -- if the right questions are asked -- is even more intriguing than we think. All it takes is a new way of looking. Steven Levitt, through devilishly clever and clear-eyed thinking, shows how to see through all the clutter.

Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
(front flap)]]> 268 Steven D. Levitt 0061234001 Casey 4 4.01 2005 Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

author: Steven D. Levitt
name: Casey
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2011/01/01
date added: 2011/10/18
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Language As Social Action: Social Psychology and Language Use]]> 443166
Topics covered
*speech act theory and indirect speech acts;
*politeness and the interpersonal determinants of language;
*language and impression management and person perception;
*conversational structure, perspective taking; and
*language and social thought.

This volume should serve as a valuable resource for students and researchers in social psychology and communication who want a clear presentation of the linguistic underpinnings of social interaction. It will also be useful to cognitive psychologists and other language researchers who want a thorough examination of the social psychological underpinnings of language use. Although this book is relevant for a variety of disciplines, it is written in a clear and straightforward style that will be accessible for readers regardless of their orientation.]]> 246 Thomas M. Holtgraves 0805841776 Casey 5 4.17 2001 Language As Social Action: Social Psychology and Language Use

Language As Social Action: Social Psychology and Language Use

author: Thomas M. Holtgraves
name: Casey
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2011/03/01
date added: 2011/10/18
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain]]> 2626281
Music can be inspiring, moving us to the heights or depths of emotion - and it can also be our best medicine. In Musicophilia Oliver Sacks tells us why. (back cover)]]> 425 Oliver Sacks 1400033535 Casey 4 4.03 2007 Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

author: Oliver Sacks
name: Casey
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2011/09/26
date added: 2011/09/26
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking]]> 40102 The Tipping Point a classic, Blink changes the way you'll understand every decision you make. Never again will you think about thinking the same way.

Malcolm Gladwell redefined how we understand the world around us. Now, in Blink, he revolutionizes the way we understand the world within. Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye - that actually aren't as simple as they seem. Why are some people brilliant decision makers, while others are consistently inept? Why do some people follow their instincts and win, while others end up stumbling into error? How do our brains really work - in the office, in the classroom, in the kitchen, and in the bedroom? And why are the best decisions often those that are impossible to explain to others?

In Blink we meet the psychologist who has learned to predict whether a marriage will last, based on a few minutes of observing a couple; the tennis coach who knows when a player will double-fault before the racket even makes contact with the ball; the antiquities experts who recognize a fake at a glance. Here, too, are great failures of "blink": the election of Warren Harding; "New Coke"; and the shooting of Amadou Diallo by police. Blink reveals that great decision makers aren't those who process the most information or spend the most time deliberating, but those who have perfected the art of "thin-slicing" - filtering the very few factors that matter from an overwhelming number of variables.]]> 296 Malcolm Gladwell 0316010669 Casey 3
That said, Blink has a number of problems. While the stories provided are interesting, Gladwell doesn't really build them into a well formed point. As others have said, the stories outweigh the conclusions. Another problem is that the book purports to be scientific, while is it really a series of loosely related observations. It's a neat book, but those looking for a scientific treatment of quick-thinking should definitely turn elsewhere.]]> 3.97 2005 Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

author: Malcolm Gladwell
name: Casey
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2006/10/01
date added: 2007/09/22
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good
review:
Blink is an interesting and thought-provoking book. It examines the ways in which we make decisions quickly, often without even knowing that we are making them. My favorite section of the book was the chapter which recounts a recent war game. In this game, the computer aided US team could not work as well as a former general who was able to make decisions quickly and correctly. If stories like this appeal to you, the book is definitely worth reading.

That said, Blink has a number of problems. While the stories provided are interesting, Gladwell doesn't really build them into a well formed point. As others have said, the stories outweigh the conclusions. Another problem is that the book purports to be scientific, while is it really a series of loosely related observations. It's a neat book, but those looking for a scientific treatment of quick-thinking should definitely turn elsewhere.
]]> The Selfish Gene 315240 The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since.

Why are there miles and miles of "unused" DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet's clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind. Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or memes, which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings. --Rob Lightner

]]> 352 Richard Dawkins 0192860925 Casey 5
It may not be hard science (it is, after all, popular science writing), but it will open your eyes to different ways of thinking about genes and genomes. It's also a fun read, that can be read in a day (which is more than can be said for some dry and inexplicably long journal articles). If you are at all interested in biology, genetics, psychology, zoology or any of the life sciences, I highly recommend this book.]]> 4.19 1976 The Selfish Gene

author: Richard Dawkins
name: Casey
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1976
rating: 5
read at: 2007/05/01
date added: 2007/09/05
shelves: cognitive-scientists-do-it-in-lab, knowledge-is-good, dear-ones
review:
This book was recommended to me while I was working on a research project in Evolutionary Psychology at my university. Being a student in Psychology, I had background knowledge in evolution and natural selection, but this book changed the way I thought about evolutionary theory.

It may not be hard science (it is, after all, popular science writing), but it will open your eyes to different ways of thinking about genes and genomes. It's also a fun read, that can be read in a day (which is more than can be said for some dry and inexplicably long journal articles). If you are at all interested in biology, genetics, psychology, zoology or any of the life sciences, I highly recommend this book.
]]>