Cognitive studies Books

Book Synopsis''Her stories have the power to transform your life'' Lori Gottlieb, bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone ''Radically changes the way we think about mental illness, pleasure, pain, reward and stress'' Daniel Levitin, bestselling author of The Organized MindTHE NEW YORK TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER We are a wired generation. In these fast-paced times we are constantly bombarded by high-reward, high-dopamine stimuli. From texting to social media, food to drugs, gambling to shopping, we have become addicted to fleeting and distracting pleasures that are making us sick.In Dopamine Nation, psychiatrist and bestselling author Dr Anna Lembke reveals why our relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain and what we can do about it. Bringing together cutting-edge neuroscience with the gripping real life experiences from her clinical practice, Lembke explores how contentment and connTrade ReviewAnna Lembke's stories of guiding people to find a healthy balance between pleasure and pain have the power to transform your life -- Lori Gottlieb, bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to SomeoneBrilliant . . . No matter what you might find yourself over-indulging in-from the internet to food to work to sex-you'll find this book riveting, scary, cogent, and cleverly argued. Lembke weaves patient stories with research, in a voice that's as empathetic as it is clear-eyed -- Beth Macy, bestselling author of DopesickRadically changes the way we think about mental illness, pleasure, pain, reward, and stress. Turn toward it. You'll be happy you did -- Daniel Levitin, bestselling author of The Organized Mind and Successful Aging[An] eye-opening survey on pleasure-seeking and addiction . . . Readers looking for balance will return to Lembke's informative and fascinating guidance. * Publishers Weekly, starred review *fascinating case histories, and a sensible formula for treatment. * Kirkus Reviews *Dr Anna Lembke is a whiz on why we get hooked on things - and how we can enjoy pleasurable things in healthier doses * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA new dawn of brain tracking and hacking is coming. Will you be prepared for what comes next?Imagine a world where your brain can be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, your thoughts can be used as evidence of a crime, and your own feelings can be held against you. A world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, and the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories or cure addictions.Neuroscience has already made all of this possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the universal controller for all of our interactions with technology. This can benefit humanity immensely, but without safeguards, it can seriously threaten our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and self-determination.From one of the world's foremost experts on the ethics of neuroscience, The Battle for Your Brain offers a path forward to navigate the complex legal and ethic

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Book SynopsisSleep has hardly changed since Paleolithic humans snoozed soundly in their caves. While sabre-toothed tigers were their biggest night-time worry, today it's stress and social media that keep us awake, but the solutions are the same, and sleep therapist Dr Merijn van de Laar offers understanding and advice to have you sleeping better within weeks. How to get a better night's sleep in 3 weeks: Don't believe everything you read or hear about sleepLet go of the 8-hour ruleUse the simple sleep diary in the back of this book to record your sleep pattern over 3 weeksDiscover your personal sleep needsExamine your attitude towards lying awake at nightShorter total bed times might be betterFocus on the reason for lying awake rather than on the reason for not sleepingReduce stressKeep regular bedtimesFollow the rules of natureRespect your personal circadian rhythmDon't tempt the night-time ghosts Human sleep as we know it today evolved hundreds of thousands years ago, to suit a huntergatherer lifestyle. It's not always compatible with our modern lives, but remains an essential function, vital for our health, well-being and daytime functioning. In this groundbreaking new book, Dr Merijn van de Laar investigates the origins of sleep based on archaeological findings and anthropological studies in contemporary hunter-gatherers, looking at the major discrepancies between our primordial bodily needs and our current sleep-inhibiting behaviour. Cave dwellers lived in balance with the forces of nature. They had adapted perfectly to environmental influences such as light, temperature and seasonal variations. The way they ate and moved during the day must have had a positive effect on sleep quality. We need to look to their example, and adjust our eating, exercise, light, temperature and, last but not least: our expectations towards sleep. By taking on board the ancient wisdom of our ancestors, we will improve the quality of our sleep, the way our bodies were designed to do it.

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Book SynopsisMind Mapping is a breakthrough system of planning and note-taking that cuts homework time in half and makes schoolwork fun. Mind Maps for Kids is Tony Buzan's first book written specially for a younger audience, suitable for ages 7 to 14.Tony Buzan has been teaching children all over the world for the past thirty years and has proved that Mind Maps are the magic formula in the classroom: remembering facts and figures is a piece of cake, planning is a doddle and getting stuck for an answer is a thing of the past.In Mind Maps for Kids, Tony Buzan explains this amazing system using step-by-step examples in every subject across the curriculum. He shows just how easy Mind Mapping is and how it can help kids to remember things and concentrate better make clearer and better notes revise and ace exams! come up with ideas and unlock the imagination save timeMind Maps for Kids is a full-colour workbook, with the emphasis on having fun. As well as tips for improving memory and concentration, the book is packed with jokes, cartoons and brainteasers.Mind Mapping is the shortcut to success that puts kids one step (and sometimes miles!) ahead.Trade Review‘Mind Maps are fun for all ages.’ The Independent (Top 10 Best Revision Guides) The whole world should Mind Map.'THE EXPRESS 'The biggest name in memory.'THE NEW YORKER 'Tony Buzan deserves a medal for coming up with the sanity-saving concept of Mind Maps, which make difficult mental tasks possible, even pleasurable, by engaging the right side of the brain, where colour and creativity reign…The system can be a lifesaver for children with dyslexia-type difficulties.’ Time Out

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Book SynopsisWhy does one smoker die of lung cancer but another live to 100? The answer is 'The Hidden Half' - those random, unknowable variables that mess up our attempts to comprehend the world.We humans are very clever creatures - but we're idiots about how clever we really are. In this entertaining and ingenious book, Blastland reveals how in our quest to make the world more understandable, we lose sight of how unexplainable it often is. The result - from GDP figures to medicine - is that experts know a lot less than they think. Filled with compelling stories from economics, genetics, business, and science, The Hidden Half is a warning that an explanation which works in one arena may not work in another. Entertaining and provocative, it will change how you view the world.Trade ReviewHighly original and challenging... Once you have read this book, you can't unread it. * Daniel Finkelstein, The Times *Fascinating and provocative. Blastland is one of the most original thinkers around. * Tim Harford - Financial Times columnist and author of The Undercover Economist *Elegantly written and mind-expanding, The Hidden Half will enthrall you with its storytelling while educating you with its scientific depth. * Daniel H. Pink - bestselling author of Drive *Brilliant. Blastland provides an explanation of the need for humility in the face of the inevitable limits to knowledge and our all-too-human temptation to tell stories about the world that go far beyond what the evidence will support. * Diane Coyle - Bennett Professor of Public Policy, Cambridge University *Fascinating... As John Wooden said, it's what you learn after you know it all that counts. * Andrew Gelman - author of Rich State Poor State Red State Blue State *Excellent. Blastland makes a compelling case that God is fond of playing dice with the cosmos-and the list of unpredictable things keeps growing, not shrinking. * Phillip Tetlock - bestselling author of Superforecasting *Beautifully written and often very funny. Anyone making decision that matter should enjoy this book and profit from its lessons. * Dame Frances Cairncross - Chair, Executive Committee of the Institute for Fiscal Studies *Thought-provoking. * UnHerd *Table of Contents0: Prologue 1: Bill is not Ben 2: I am not constant 3: Here is not there, now is not then 4: One path is not enough 5: The principle isn't practical 6: Big is not small 7: Big is not clear 8: The ignorant chicken 9: What to do 10: Postscript

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Book SynopsisDiscover how to talk instantly to your subconscious and manifest the life you want.We all have goals and dreams whether it's personally or professionally that we want to achieve, but for reasons we can't always fathom, our behaviour and actions can hold us back. In her eye-opening and effective new book, MBS expert Liz Dean reveals how the key to transforming those dreams into reality lies not in our conscious actions, but in our subconscious thoughts. By aligning the two, we can unleash our own power to lose weight, organise our lives, work more efficiently in our jobs and so much more. Switch Words is this simple yet incredibly powerful tool to help you get there.The greatest obstacle in achieving your goals is your subconscious. Whilst your conscious mind knows what you want and how to get it, experience tells us our subconscious mind can often ignore or sabotage our desires through action or inaction. Have you ever created a meal plan to help you lose weight, but then a couple of

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Book SynopsisA new edition of a classic work that originated the “embodied cognition” movement and was one of the first to link science and Buddhist practices.This classic book, first published in 1991, was one of the first to propose the “embodied cognition” approach in cognitive science. It pioneered the connections between phenomenology and science and between Buddhist practices and science—claims that have since become highly influential. Through this cross-fertilization of disparate fields of study, The Embodied Mind introduced a new form of cognitive science called “enaction,” in which both the environment and first person experience are aspects of embodiment. However, enactive embodiment is not the grasping of an independent, outside world by a brain, a mind, or a self; rather it is the bringing forth of an interdependent world in and through embodied action. Although enacted cognition lacks an absolute foundation, the book shows how

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Book Synopsis''Utterly engrossing . . . Ambitious, accessible and important'' James O''BrienA provocative new vision of how our world really works - and why chance determines everything.In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas deep-dives into the phenomenon of randomness, unpicking our neat and tidy storybook version of events to reveal a reality far wilder and more fascinating than we have dared to consider. The bewildering truth is that but for a few incidental changes, our lives - and our societies - would be radically different.Offering an entirely new perspective, Fluke explores how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and random events. How much difference does our decision to hit the snooze button make? Did one couple''s vacation really change the course of the twentieth century? What are the smallest accidents that have tilted the course of history itself? The mind-bending lessons ofTrade ReviewConsistently gripping - dazzling in its sweep and thrillingly brain-twisting in its argument -- Tom Holland, author of RUBICON and PERSIAN FIREDrawing on many disciplines, this fascinating book explores the combination of chaos and order that governs our lives and probes the deep question of whether we truly have free will -- Mervyn King, co-author of RADICAL UNCERTAINTY and former Governor of the Bank of EnglandA brilliant meditation on the eternal clash between chaos and order, and determinism and freedom. Klaas grapples with some of the most difficult, mind-bending questions of our time - or any time - [and] makes these heady topics a blast to read -- Scott Patterson, New York Times bestselling author of CHAOS KINGS and THE QUANTSKlaas expertly weaves riveting stories about real people, posing deep questions with uncertain answers. Self-exploration is a journey into the unknown, and Klaas is a genial guide -- Donald D. Hoffman, author of THE CASE AGAINST REALITYKlaas explores how seemingly inconsequential actions have life-changing consequences. This utterly captivating book will make you rethink everything you have ever done -- Sabine Hossenfelder, physicist and New York Times bestselling author of EXISTENTIAL PHYSICSAt this book's fascinating core is the idea that all of our actions count because of the web of connectivity that envelops us. Brian Klaas is masterful in surfacing stories of history upended on a whim -- Jonah Berger, New York Times bestselling author of CONTAGIOUSFluke is the intellectual equivalent of a slap across the face...Klaas's beautifully written application of chaos theory to human experience won't just shift your paradigm, it'll detonate it -- Jonathan Gottschall, author of THE STORYTELLING ANIMALIn truth we are subject to a ceaseless barrage of unpredictable, but life-changing, events. Marshalling a series of provocative examples, Brian Klaas paints a convincing picture of the central role of randomness, and why there can nevertheless be a bit of order amid the chaos -- Sean Carroll, author of THE BIGGEST IDEAS IN THE UNIVERSEIts core premise is that the world is a lot more uncertain than we like to believe it is - and if we want to have healthy, happy lives, we should probably stop pretending we can eliminate randomness . . . It's uplifting to acknowledge the interconnected, contingent nature of our world . . . There's something empowering about feeling every moment of your life could change the world -- New StatesmanProvocative and compelling, bringing the complex relationship between order and chaos vividly alive . . . there is every chance you will love it -- New Scientist

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021 ''Punchy, funny and invigorating ... Pinker is the high priest of rationalism'' Sunday Times ''If you''ve ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead. It''s cheaper, more entertaining, and more effective'' Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that discovered vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, quack cures and conspiracy theorizing? In Rationality, Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are simply an irrational species - cavemen out of time fatally cursed with biases, fallacies and illusions. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives and set the benchmarks for rationality itself. Instead, he explains, we think in ways that suit the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning we have built up over millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, causal inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book - until now. Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. Brimming with insight and humour, Rationality will enlighten, inspire and empower. ''A terrific book, much-needed for our time'' Peter SingerTrade ReviewSteven Pinker is the high priest of rationalism ... [This book] is an impassioned and zippy introduction to the tools of rational thought ... Pinker wants probability theory and psychological biases to be taught in schools and universities. Punchy, funny and invigorating, this could be the textbook. -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *Steven Pinker is among the best science writers in history, and with Rationality he applies his talents to one of the most important and misunderstood human abilities - tracking reality with a brain that was designed to do so under some circumstances but not others. If you've ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead. It's cheaper, more entertaining, and more effective. -- Jonathan Haidt, NYU-Stern School of Business and author of The Righteous MindThe Enlightenment torchbearer is eloquent in his defence of clear thinking ... [reason] is a tool that human beings have to learn to use with care, something this book will help any reader to do. -- Julian Baggini * Financial Times *Rationality ­- like all of Pinker's work - [is] a paen to human potential... what Pinker really trades in are profoundly refreshing, energising sets of explanations for why we do and think the way we do ... harnessing reason is not just useful in all kinds of ways both personal and universal, but a wondrous property of being human. -- Zoe Strimpel * Daily Telegraph *Almost every sentence in Rationality is crisp and intelligible, which is quite a feat, given that explaining logic to humans is like teaching them Sanskrit. Pinker suggests various ways to run our collective affairs more rationally. -- Simon Kuper * New Statesman *A reader-friendly primer in better thinking through the cultivation of that rarest of rarities: a sound argument. * Kirkus *Rationality is a terrific book, much-needed for our time. In addition to drawing together the tools for overcoming obstacles to rational thinking, Pinker breaks new ground with the evidence he provides linking rationality and moral progress. -- Peter Singer

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Book SynopsisThe human mind is both brilliant and pathetic. We have mastered fire and have stood on the moon, and yet every one of us is fundamentally ignorant, irrational and prone to making simple mistakes every day.'In The Knowledge Illusion, the cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach hammer another nail into the coffin of the rational individual . . . positing that not just rationality but the very idea of individual thinking is a myth.'Yuval Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens and Homo DeusIn this groundbreaking book, cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach show how our success as a species is down to us living in a rich community of knowledge where we are drawing on information and expertise outside our heads. And we have no idea that we are even doing it.Utilizing cutting-edge research, The Knowledge Illusion explains why we think we know more than we do, why beliefs are so hard to change and why we are so prone to making mistakes. Providing a blueprint for successful ways to work in collaboration to do amazing things, it reveals why the key to human intelligence lies in the way we think and work together.Trade ReviewIn The Knowledge Illusion, the cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach hammer another nail into the coffin of the rational individual . . . positing that not just rationality but the very idea of individual thinking is a myth. -- Yuval Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens and Homo DeusSloman and Fernbach offer clever demonstrations of how much we take for granted, and how little we actually understand . . . The book is stimulating, and any explanation of our current malaise that attributes it to cognitive failures — rather than putting it down to the moral wickedness of one group or another — is most welcome. Sloman and Fernbach are working to uproot a very important problem. * Financial Times *We all know less than we think we do, including how much we know about how much we know. There's no cure for this condition, but there is a treatment: this fascinating book. The Knowledge Illusion is filled with insights on how we should deal with our individual ignorance and collective wisdom. -- Steven PinkerWe radically overestimate how much we know. In this fascinating book, Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach examine the origin and consequences of this knowledge illusion, exploring both the extent of our ignorance and the clever ways in which we overcome it. This is an exceptionally clear and well-reasoned book, and it has some important and radical things to say about everything from the allure of stories to how iPhones make us smarter to the pros and cons of democracy. This is psychology at its best. -- Paul BloomI love this book. A brilliant, eye-opening treatment of how little each of us knows, and how much all of us know. It's magnificent, and it's also a lot of fun. Read it! -- Cass R. Sunstein, coauthor of Nudge and founder and director, Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, Harvard Law School

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Book SynopsisFor many of us life has stopped making sense. Super-efficient routines that once served us well now stress us out and a ''toughing it out'' mindset is only compounding the problem.In Better in Every Sense, neuroscientist Norman Farb and clinical psychologist Zindel Segal reveal how the new science of sensation provides the key to doing things differently. By tuning into new and everyday sensations - from the feeling of our feet on a crowded street to the sound of birdsong in the park - we can engage our sensory network and boost our resilience, well-being, health and creativity.Grounded in decades of scientific research and filled with simple exercises and practical mental techniques for mastering the art of ''sense foraging'', Better in Every Sense explores the power of sensory experience to liberate us from our negative thinking patterns and help us successfully handle all of life''s challenges.A brilliant, user-friendly, and easy-to-implemTrade ReviewA brilliant, user-friendly, and easy-to-implement framework explaining why intentionally tuning in to our senses and learning how to trust them and expand their repertoire in outside-the-box ways-what the authors call 'sense foraging'-is profoundly liberative and healing, revolutionary, and yet totally commonsensical. -- Jon Kabat-ZinnWhen you are feeling stressed or stuck, how do you relate to your life? In Better in Every Sense the authors take us through the science of tools to get out of the 'house of habit' and offer ways to re-engage with your life. A wonderful new book by Norman Farb and Zindel Segal. Fascinating, thought-provoking, and so useful in these trying times. -- Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real LifeThese two highly trained and highly skilled professionals have got the chops - and the goods - to help you genuinely upgrade your life! -- Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier

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Book SynopsisSleep has hardly changed since Paleolithic humans snoozed soundly in their caves. While sabre-toothed tigers were their biggest night-time worry, today it's stress and social media that keep us awake, but the solutions are the same, and sleep therapist Dr Merijn van de Laar offers understanding and advice to have you sleeping better within weeks.How to get a better night's sleep in 3 weeks:Don't believe everything you read or hear about sleepLet go of the 8-hour ruleUse the simple sleep diary in the back of this book to record your sleep pattern over 3 weeksDiscover your personal sleep needsExamine your attitude towards lying awake at nightShorter total bed times might be betterFocus on the reason for lying awake rather than on the reason for not sleepingReduce stressKeep regular bedtimesFollow the rules of natureRespect your personal circadian rhythmDon't tempt the night-time ghostsHuman sleep as we know it today evolved hundreds of thousands years ago, to suit a huntergatherer lifestyle. It's not always compatible with our modern lives, but remains an essential function, vital for our health, well-being and daytime functioning. In this groundbreaking new book, Dr Merijn van de Laar investigates the origins of sleep based on archaeological findings and anthropological studies in contemporary hunter-gatherers, looking at the major discrepancies between our primordial bodily needs and our current sleep-inhibiting behaviour.Cave dwellers lived in balance with the forces of nature. They had adapted perfectly to environmental influences such as light, temperature and seasonal variations. The way they ate and moved during the day must have had a positive effect on sleep quality. We need to look to their example, and adjust our eating, exercise, light, temperature and, last but not least: our expectations towards sleep. By taking on board the ancient wisdom of our ancestors, we will improve the quality of our sleep, the way our bodies were designed to do it.

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Book SynopsisReveals the mind boggling neuroscience connecting brain, body, mind, and society, by examining a range of brain disorders, in the tradition of Oliver Sacks.

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Book Synopsis‘Wendy Wood is the world’s foremost expert in the field, and this book is essential’ – Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit.What if you could harness the extraordinary power of your unconscious mind, which already determines so much of what you do, to achieve your goals? Shockingly, we spend nearly half our day repeating things we've done in the past without thinking about them. How we respond to the people around us; the way we conduct ourselves in meetings; what we buy; when and how we exercise, eat and drink – a truly remarkable number of things we do every day, we do by habit.And yet, whenever we want to change something about ourselves, we rely on willpower alone. We hope that our determination and intention will be enough to effect positive change. And that is why almost all of us fail.Professor Wendy Wood is the world's foremost expert on habits. By drawing on three decades of original research, she explains the fascinating science of how we form habits and provides the key to unlocking our habitual mind in order to make the changes we seek.Combining a potent mix of neuroscience, case studies and experiments conducted in her lab, Good Habits, Bad Habits is a comprehensive, accessible and highly practical book that will change the way you think about almost every aspect of your life.Trade ReviewIf you’ve ever struggled to make or break a habit, this is the book you need to read. Wendy Wood is widely recognized as the authority on the science of habits -- Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLifeWendy Wood is the world’s foremost expert in the field, and this book is essential -- Angela Duckworth, author of GritEnlightening and insightful . . . Wood’s research and perspective on the malleability of habits will bring hope to any reader looking to create long-term behavioural change * Publishers Weekly *Wendy Wood . . . is the most thoughtful, innovative person who understands the role of habits in human behaviour . . . I can’t imagine a better person writing this book -- Dan ArielyThere is no one in all of psychology who could write a more compelling book on habits and behaviours -- James W. PennebakerNo one has studied how habits form and direct behaviour better than Professor Wendy Wood . . . She has described how to change negative habits into positive versions better than anybody. She's the researcher best able to write the next big book on the topic -- Robert Cialdini, author of Influence and Pre-SuasionFascinating and fun, this book will change a lot of lives . . . Wood brings state-of-the-art social science into contact with the most pressing issues in daily life. She’s a tremendous guide -- Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University, and author of How Change HappensA fascinating tour of the science of habits, and Wendy Wood is the consummate tour guide. One of the world’s leading habit researchers -- Professor Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk Tank Pink and IrresistibleA huge achievement. Wendy Wood manages to distil the science of habit formation, most of which emerges from her own lab, in a manner that is fascinating but also, above all, extremely useful for people looking to make positive change in their life -- David Kessler, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Overeating and CaptureMany authors have written about habits . . . but Wood is also a premier scientist in psychology, working on how habits affect and are affected by the human mind. Top tip: Willpower isn’t enough. But through her original research, Wood explains what does work * Washington Post *In Good Habits, Bad Habits . . . the social psychologist Wendy Wood refutes both [William] James’s determinism and glib exhortations to be proactive, and seeks to give the general reader more realistic ideas for how to break habits. Drawing on her work in the field, she sees the task of sustaining positive behaviors and quelling negative ones as involving an interplay of decisions and unconscious factors . . . Even people who score high on self-control questionnaires may owe their apparent virtue to situational factors rather than to sheer fortitude . . . This observation leads to the crux of her book’s thesis: the path to breaking bad habits lies not in resolve but in restructuring our environment in ways that sustain good behaviors. * The New Yorker *Table of ContentsUnit - Part I: How We Really Are Chapter - 1: Persistence and Change Chapter - 2: The Depths Beneath Chapter - 3: Introducing Your Second Self Chapter - 4: What About Knowledge? Chapter - 5: What About Self Control? Unit - Part II: The Three Bases of Habit Formation Chapter - 6: Context Chapter - 7: Repetition Chapter - 8: Reward Chapter - 9: Consistency is for Closers Chapter - 10: Total Control Unit - Part III: Special Cases, Big opportunities, and the World Around Us Chapter - 11: Jump Through Windows Chapter - 12: The Special Resilience of Habit Chapter - 13: Contexts of Addiction Chapter - 14: Happy with Habit Chapter - 15: You Are Not Alone Section - i: Epilogue Section - ii: How to Stop Looking at Your Phone So Often Section - iii: Notes Section - iii: Bibliography Acknowledgements - iv: Acknowledgements Index - v: Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAbsorbing and engagingly written. . . Costa is a charming and witty guide. This is a rigorous book about complex science but Costa has a winningly informal style, a deadpan wit, and mixes laboratory findings of cognitive neuropsychology with examples from everyday life, TV programmes, sports and politics -- Patrick McGuiness * Guardian *Enlightening and astonishing. . . very readable: the prose is gentle, anecdotal, witty, personal and balanced. . . Albert Costa (a Catalan-Spanish bilingual) died last year, and this book is a great testimony to his lifetime of research into the subject -- Tobias Jones * Observer *Fascinating. . . This engaging book explores just how multiple languages are acquired and sorted out by the brain. . . Costa's work derives from a great fund of knowledge, considerable curiosity and solidly scientific spirit -- Phillip Hensher * Spectator *Absorbing. . . Amiably written, and reader-friendly even when delving into the minutiae of bilingualism, this compact but data-dense book throws out some intriguing ideas about the relationship of dual-language use to attitudes and behaviour -- Boyd Tonkin * Art's Desk *A clear and approachable study by a renowned neurologist * Prospect *A fascinating primer on the science of language. . . Anyone with an inquisitive mind and an interest in language in general, and certainly bilingualism specifically, will find this book a compelling read -- Victoria Murphy * TES *Neuropsychologist Albert Costa spent two decades exploring bilingualism, and his book offers surprising insights * BBC Science Focus *

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Book SynopsisHow does your mind work? How does your brain give rise to your mind? These are questions that all of us have wondered about at some point in our lives, if only because everything that we know is experienced in our minds. They are also very hard questions to answer. After all, how can a mind understand itself? How can you understand something as complex as the tool that is being used to understand it? This book provides an introductory and self-contained description of some of the exciting answers to these questions that modern theories of mind and brain have recently proposed. Stephen Grossberg is broadly acknowledged to be the most important pioneer and current research leader who has, for the past 50 years, modelled how brains give rise to minds, notably how neural circuits in multiple brain regions interact together to generate psychological functions. This research has led to a unified understanding of how, where, and why our brains can consciously see, hear, feel, and know about the world, and effectively plan and act within it. The work embodies revolutionary Principia of Mind that clarify how autonomous adaptive intelligence is achieved. It provides mechanistic explanations of multiple mental disorders, including symptoms of Alzheimer''s disease, autism, amnesia, and sleep disorders; biological bases of morality and religion, including why our brains are biased towards the good so that values are not purely relative; perplexing aspects of the human condition, including why many decisions are irrational and self-defeating despite evolution''s selection of adaptive behaviors; and solutions to large-scale problems in machine learning, technology, and Artificial Intelligence that provide a blueprint for autonomously intelligent algorithms and robots. Because brains embody a universal developmental code, unifying insights also emerge about shared laws that are found in all living cellular tissues, from the most primitive to the most advanced, notably how the laws governing networks of interacting cells support developmental and learning processes in all species. The fundamental brain design principles of complementarity, uncertainty, and resonance that Grossberg has discovered also reflect laws of the physical world with which our brains ceaselessly interact, and which enable our brains to incrementally learn to understand those laws, thereby enabling humans to understand the world scientifically. Accessibly written, and lavishly illustrated, Conscious Mind/Resonant Brain is the magnum opus of one of the most influential scientists of the past 50 years, and will appeal to a broad readership across the sciences and humanities.Trade ReviewCan humans create technology that will mimic, or even surpass, biological intelligence? Questions such as these underlie the career of author Stephen Grossberg, a founder of the field of neural networks and creator of this magnum opus covering 60 years of research in neuroscience, psychology, and mathematics. * C. L. Iwema, CHOICE *The polymath Freeman Dyson once likened mathematicians to birds and frogs: 'Birds fly high in the air and survey broad vistas of mathematics out to the far horizon. They delight in concepts that unify our thinking and bring together diverse problems from different parts of the landscape. Frogs live in the mud below and see only the flowers that grow nearby. They delight in the details of particular objects, and they solve problems one at a time.' Grossberg's genius lies in embodying both, and in recognizing that "obvious hypotheses, with which no one would disagree, together imply conclusions about deep properties of brain organization." Can a deep understanding of boundaries and surfaces of simple, toy objects lead to the most profound insights into the nature of learning and attention? Can an understanding of how silence flows across time and alters the perception of words uttered before it, help explain consciousness itself? Grossberg shows how. * Sai Gaddam, Boston University *Conscious MIND and Resonant BRAIN is a tour de force on How the Brain Works. It's a masterpiece on brain science and neuro-computing that could only be created by Grossberg. * Leon Chua, University of California at Berkeley *After reading many papers by the author, I always wished that he would present them in a coherent whole. And here it is. A magnificent volume of great science from mind to brain and back, a condensed ars poetica of a great scientist. * György Buzsáki, New York University *Stephen Grossberg is one of the most original and influential theorists in contemporary cognitive science and computational neuroscience. In Conscious MIND Resonant BRAIN, he takes the reader on an eye-opening tour in which he addresses fundamental problems of mind and brain from his unique theoretical perspective. This is an important book that should be of interest to anyone who wonders how a brain can give rise to a mind. * Daniel L. Schacter, Harvard University *In this book Stephen Grossberg shares the wisdom and encyclopedic knowledge that he acquired over 50 years of research devoted to unravel the mysteries of the human brain. Stephen pioneered the field of theoretical neuroscience... It is the essence of overarching principles to be abstract and to sometimes defy intuition, but Stephen succeeds to convey the essential in a language that is readily accessible to the non- expert. He embeds the discussion of neuronal mechanisms in the rich framework of cognitive psychology and elegantly bridges the gap between scientific evidence and subjective experience. He takes the readers by the hand and lets them discover the often surprising philosophical, ethical and societal implications of neurobiological discoveries. For those who enjoy intellectual adventures and wish to explore the boundaries of the known this scholarly written book is a real treasure. * Wolf Singer, Max Plank Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt *How often do we have the chance to hold a true masterpiece? Grossberg's monumental accomplishments developed over multiple decades now written at an accessible level to a broader audience. What a true privilege! * Luis Pessoa, University of Maryland *Steve Grossberg is one of the most insightful and prolific writers on biological intelligence. This book is a masterful presentation of fundamental methods of modeling minds, brains and their interactions with the world, many of which are due to the author and his collaborators. The models are presented as mathematical systems, including computing and neural networks. The variables, parameters and functions represent biological and environmental concepts; mathematical conclusions are interpreted as predictions of biological behavior. In many cases these have been verified experimentally. There are illuminating and surprising connections to other disciplines, including art, music and economics. Highly recommended to a general audience. * Morris W. Hirsch, University of California at Berkeley *This comprehensive overview of Grossberg's contributions to our understanding of the mind and brain shows exactly how prescient he, and his colleagues, have been.Whatever one's specific interest, from visual illusions to mental illness, this book provides a principled treatment of it.The principles flow from Grossberg's early framing of many of the questions that have come to define computational neuroscience – including his early understanding of the centrality of expectations.Kudos to him for pulling it all together here. * Lynn Nadel, University of Arizona *What an ambitious, lucid, eye-opening and engaging book! By using the computational theories he developed, Grossberg attempts nothing less than to integrate our knowledge of how our mind works with our knowledge of how the brain works. The topics he covers range from perception to action, from emotion to memory, and from decision making to love, with consciousness and the mind-body problem figuring prominently throughout. The story he weaves, with many incisive, delightful illustrations, is compelling and accessible. The reader is rewarded with a novel appreciation of the human psyche and artificial intelligence, and is left with admiration for Grossberg's achievement. * Morris Moscovitch, University of Toronto *This book is not for the faint of heart. Stephen Grossberg has been a giant in the field of computational neuroscience for 60 years. In this book he presents his carefully developed, integrative neurobiological theory on how the nervous system generates our conscious lives. It is bold yet self-reflective and therein challenging to all students trying to figure out how the brain does its tricks. A must read. * Michael Gazzaniga, University of California at Santa Barbara *This book is first and foremost an account of a personal odyssey of one of the great and most prolific scientific minds of our time trying to understand itself. What we have here at last is a genuine attempt by the author to make his ideas accessible to most readers as "a simple story, without mathematics" (or at least with minimal math). The foundation of this story is the concept of "resonance" in neural systems. When resonance fails, this triggers adaptation. This book is largely a treatise on how the resonance concept can help us understand almost all aspects of sensation, perception, and higher cognition. Even without all the math, this book of 600 plus pages will take considerable dedication to assimilate, but I believe that any student of neuroscience interested in the brain as the basis of mind will find it well worth the effort. * Bruce McNaughton, University of California at Irvine *How a brain makes its mind is one of the most perplexing questions in science. In this book, you will find the most comprehensive account to date by a towering pioneer of brain theory of our time. * Deliang Wang, Ohio State University *Don't read Grossberg in the original—unless you are an adept. Start with this exceptional overview of the lifework of a brilliant cognitive neuroscientist; then, organized and inspired, turn to the journals. Grossberg identifies key phenomena that open windows into the functioning of the brain; identifies the key problems that the brain needs to solve relevant to them; constructs elegant modules that might both solve those problems and give rise to the phenomena noted, and finally assembles them into systems and makes new predictions. This is textbook scientific inquiry, executed by a virtuoso. The book would be a fine component of a seminar, with students selecting the problems and modules for a deeper dive, then explicating them to the class. * Peter Killeen, Arizona State University *An excellent and wide-ranging view of how the brain perceives the world for us by a pioneering brain theoretician. * Wolfram Schultz, University of Cambridge *Whenever you claim to be "the first to do" this or that in artificial intelligence, it is customary - and correct - to add "with the exception of Stephen Grossberg". Quite simply, Stephen is a living giant and foundational architect of the field. * Karl J. Friston, University College London *This is a breath-taking book authored by a giant pioneer of the brain and mind. * Shun-Ichi Amari, RIKEN Brain Science Institute *Professor Grossberg is a rara avis. In an age of increasing specialization, he has a remarkable, unparalleled, gift of seeing connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. And he writes about these with passion, but without compromising accuracy. * V. S. Ramachandran, University of California San Diego *Stephen Grossberg is a true genius, who has discovered and developed many of the most important concepts and theories about how our brains make our minds. His fundamental contributions to science for over 50 years are richly worthy of a Nobel Prize. * Leonid Perlovsky, Harvard University *Stephen Grossberg is a "big picture" thinker who has had a remarkably deep influence on many aspects of several fields. It's difficult to overstate the range of his vision and the depth of his thinking, and I expect this book to be required reading in many courses for years to come. * Stephen Kosslyn, Foundry College *Although a behavioral modeler and not a neuroscientist, I have followed Stephen Grossberg's research closely for many years, because I regard him as one of the very most creative and insightful neuroscience theorists that the field has seen. His book should be a must read for those wanting to understand how the brain produces mind. * Richard Shiffrin, Indiana University *The current volume charts the remarkable developments that have led Dr. Grossberg to a principled, unified theory of the link between brain and mind. Dr. Grossberg's insights are unparalleled in their breadth and detail, leading us to a scientific understanding of the most remarkable aspect of the mind, consciousness. * Michael Mozer, Google Brain, Mountain View, CA *Conscious Mind, Resonant Brain is the magnum opus of one of the giants of neural networks. The soaring ambition of this book reflects the career achievements of Grossberg's insatiable appetite for understanding how brains work. It is a must-read for those interested in all aspects of how the mind and brain function in health and disease. * Donald C. Wunsch II, University of Science and Technology *Grossberg has single-handedly elevated the psychophysics and psychology pioneered by Herman von Helmholtz and William James into a comprehensive mathematical theory of brain and behavior with profound implications and strong empirical support. * David Hestenes, Arizona State University *Table of ContentsPREFACE Biological intelligence in sickness, health, and technology Chapter 1. OVERVIEW From Complementary Computing and Adaptive Resonance to conscious awareness Chapter 2. HOW A BRAIN MAKES A MIND Physics and psychology split as brain theories were born Chapter 3. HOW A BRAIN SEES: CONSTRUCTING REALITY Visual reality as illusions that explain how we see art Chapter 4. HOW A BRAIN SEES: NEURAL MECHANISMS From boundary completion and surface filling-in to figure-ground perception Chapter 5. LEARNING TO ATTEND, RECOGNIZE, AND PREDICT THE WORLD From vigilant conscious awareness to autism, amnesia, and Alzheimer's disease Chapter 6. CONSCIOUS SEEING AND INVARIANT RECOGNITION Complementary cortical streams coordinate attention for seeing and recognition Chapter 7. HOW WE SEE A CHANGING WORLD How vision regulates object and scene persistence Chapter 8. HOW WE SEE AND RECOGNIZE OBJECT MOTION Visual form and motion perception obey complementary laws Chapter 9. TARGET TRACKING, NAVIGATION, AND DECISION-MAKING Visual tracking and navigation obey complementary laws Chapter 10. LAMINAR COMPUTING BY CEREBRAL CORTEX Towards a unified theory of biological and artificial intelligence Chapter 11. HOW WE SEE THE WORLD IN DEPTH From 3D vision to how 2D pictures induce 3D percepts Chapter 12. FROM SEEING AND REACHING TO HEARING AND SPEAKING Circular reaction, streaming, working memory, chunking, and number Chapter 13. FROM KNOWING TO FEELING How emotion regulates motivation, attention, decision, and action Chapter 14. HOW PREFRONTAL CORTEX WORKS Cognitive working memory, planning, and emotion conjointly achieve valued goals Chapter 15. ADAPTIVELY TIMED LEARNING How timed motivation regulates conscious learning and memory consolidation Chapter 16. LEARNING MAPS TO NAVIGATE SPACE From grid, place, and time cells to autonomous mobile agents Chapter 17. A UNIVERSAL DEVELOPMENTAL CODE Mental measurements embody universal laws of cell biology and physics

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Book SynopsisWhat do infants know? How does the knowledge that they begin with prepare them for learning about the particular physical, cultural, and social world in which they live? Answers to this question shed light not only on infants but on children and adults in all cultures, because the core knowledge possessed by infants never goes away. Instead, it underlies the unspoken, common sense knowledge of people of all ages, in all societies. By studying babies, researchers gain insights into infants themselves, into older children''s prodigious capacities for learning, and into some of the unconscious assumptions that guide our thoughts and actions as adults. In this major new work, Elizabeth Spelke shares these insights by distilling the findings from research in developmental, comparative, and cognitive psychology, with excursions into studies of animal cognition in psychology and in systems and cognitive neuroscience, and studies in the computational cognitive sciences. Weaving across these diTable of ContentsPrologue 1. Vision 2. Objects 3. Places 4. Number 5. Core knowledge 6. Forms 7. Agents 8. Core social cognition 9. Language 10. Beyond Core Knowledge

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Book SynopsisFrom one of our leading thinkers, a dazzling philosophical journey through virtual worldsIn the coming decades, the technology that enables virtual and augmented reality will improve beyond recognition. Within a century, world-renowned philosopher David J. Chalmers predicts, we will have virtual worlds that are impossible to distinguish from non-virtual worlds. But is virtual reality just escapism? In a highly original work of ''technophilosophy'', Chalmers argues categorically, no: virtual reality is genuine reality. Virtual worlds are not second-class worlds. We can live a meaningful life in virtual reality - and increasingly, we will.What is reality, anyway? How can we lead a good life? Is there a god? How do we know there''s an external world - and how do we know we''re not living in a computer simulation? In Reality+, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of philosophy, using cutting-edge technology to provide invigorating new answers to age-old questions.Drawing on examples from pop culture, literature and film that help bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it.Trade ReviewChalmers is a joy: an exuberant guide through challenging terrain, quick with anecdotes and arguments, wit and wild ideas -- Kieran Setiya * TLS *Delightfully - or perhaps worryingly - convincing... A brilliant and very readable philosophical investigation... [Chalmers] tackles some frankly mindbending ideas, but does so in a lively and entertaining style, filled with references to pop culture -- PD Smith, Book of the Day * Guardian *Everyone should read this important book -- Josh Glancy * Sunday Times *Fascinating... Thoughtful, clear and funny... Reality+ is a gripping act of philosophical escapology... Hugely entertaining -- Kit Wilson * The Times *One of the most important living philosophers, existing in an exclusive club of living thinkers who are on compulsory reading lists for undergraduate philosophy students... He writes with admirable clarity and there's something quite rock'n'roll about him -- Bryan Appleyard * Spectator *[Chalmers] deftly interweaves the finer points of ancient Chinese philosophy and Cartesian dualism with the metaphysics of the Matrix films and the World of Warcraft computer games... A rich, scintillating [...] book that reflects many fascinating facets of our virtual worlds -- John Thornhill * Financial Times *A David Chalmers book is a competition. On the one hand the writing is so clear and engaging that you want to keep turning pages; on the other, the ideas are so surprising and profound that you are continually stopping to think about them. Reality+ is a treasure trove of provocative reflections on cosmology, consciousness, artificial intelligence, ethics, and more. Reading it will change the way you think about the universe -- Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of SpacetimeFasten your seatbelt and put your helmet on, David Chalmers is going to take you on an amazing trip. Reality+ is wild, profound, and playful, placing famous arguments from the history of philosophy next to surprising observations about video games. Cleverly disguised as light reading, this book carries a large payload of new ideas about existence, knowledge, and what makes life worth living -- Jennifer Nagel, University of TorontoAs humanity enters a brave new world of artificial superintelligence and computer-generated virtual realities, how can we humble hunter-gatherers, descended from cavemen, begin to grasp our astonishing technological future? The answer lies in this book. We must think about the ultimate nature of reality. In Reality+ David Chalmers provides the roadmap to your future -- Susan Schneider, NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation, and author of Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your MindA stunning achievement. In effortless prose David Chalmers explores new ways to think about everything from consciousness to computation, deities to democracy. Reality+ shows time and again how familiar topics take on interesting new forms when viewed through the lens of virtual reality -- Scott Sturgeon, author of The Rational MindWhat is real anyway? Exploring the deepest doubts about reality from Zhuangzi to Descartes, Chalmers stirs our own doubts and leads us into the real worlds of future virtual reality. A gripping book -- Susan Blackmore, author of THE MEME MACHINE and SEEING MYSELFOne of the world's leading philosophers re-examines all the age-old questions of life through the new-fangled prism of virtual reality. Fun, provocative, occasionally zany, Reality+ sketches out the contours of a new "technophilosophy" and makes you think afresh about the possibilities of the metaverse -- John Thornhill, Books of the Year * Financial Times *What will it be like to be trapped in Zuckerberg's Metaverse? This is a mind-bending yet lucid discussion of how we might still lead meaningful lives, even in a simulated world -- The Telegraph Cultural Desk, Books of the Year * Telegraph *In a world stuffed with dangers of all scales, from microbial plagues to planet-smashing asteroids, might it be reassuring to know that we are all just software programs running on some vast alien computer simulation? The eminent Australian philosopher David J Chalmers addresses such sci-fi possibilities in Reality+ . Whether we are trapped in the Matrix or in Mark Zuckerberg's promised Metaverse, questions of what is real and how we might still lead flourishing lives are here discussed in mind-bending yet lucid fashion. The good news, according to Chalmers, is that a table made from digital ones and zeroes (if we are in VR or a simulation) is just as real as a table made from quantum wave-packets (assuming we live in the real world). That is, until a rock falls on it from space -- Steven Poole, Books of the Year * Telegraph *The Australian philosopher David Chalmers made this name when he concluded that consciousness was the "Hard Problem". Everybody else had come up with various daft conclusions. But Chalmers, not being daft, said we had no idea what it was. Now he goes further: we don't know whether we are a computer simulation -- Bryan Appleyard, Books of the Year * Sunday Times *Chalmers posits that virtual reality will not only be commonplace, but it'll be as valid as our genuine reality. We'll interact with virtual objects, which will replace screen-based computing. We'll spend much of our lives in virtual environments - come the next pandemic, we might be hanging out in simulate worlds, not on Zoom -- Rory Kiberd, Books of the Year * Irish Times *The future, too, is the subject of David Chalmers's Reality +. Rather than scoffing at Mark Zuckerberg's metaversal adventures, Chalmers gives due consideration to what the rise of virtual worlds could mean for the real one-and whether, after a certain point, they'll even be distinguishable. -- Books of the Year * Prospect *Chalmers is very clever because [in Reality+] he's managed to rehearse many of the key arguments that you would encounter in most philosophy courses, but through that lens of virtual reality... It genuinely is thought-provoking (or virtual thought-provoking). It's well-written too -- Nigel Warburton, Books of the Year * Five Books *

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Book SynopsisRead this book! Mithu Storoni''s unique strategy doesn''t just preserve brain health and longevity, it promises to escalate mental performance to new heights and improve the way we work. - Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and #1 New York Times Bestselling author of the Blue Zones.Is it time to change gear?Take back control by learning to adjust your brain''s speed and efficiency.In today''s Information Age, we move through life at a frantic pace to keep up with the never-ending influx of information and daily tasks. Bombarded with data every waking hour, it''s no wonder our brains are feeling overwhelmed and overloaded.In Hyperefficient, Dr Mithu Storoni lays out the tools to retune our brains to the best settings for complex thinking, creativity, concentration, and decision-making. Based on intriguing scientific research, Hyperefficient is a must-have practical manual for your brain

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Book SynopsisA grand new vision of cognitive science that explains how our minds build our worldsOne of the most important books yet published this century' SpectatorFor as long as we''ve studied the mind, we''ve believed that information flowing from our senses determines what our mind perceives. But as our understanding has advanced in the last few decades, a hugely powerful new view has flipped this assumption on its head. The brain is not a passive receiver, but an ever-active predictor.At the forefront of this cognitive revolution is widely acclaimed philosopher and cognitive scientist Andy Clark, who has synthesized his ground-breaking work on the predictive brain to explore its fascinating mechanics and implications. Among the most stunning of these is the realization that experience itself, because it is guided by prior expectation, is a kind of controlled hallucination. We don''t passively take in the world around us; instead our mind is constantly making and refining predictions about what we expect to see. This even applies to our bodies, as the way we experience pain and other states is shaped by our expectations, and this has broader implications for the understanding and treatment of conditions from PTSD to schizophrenia to medically unexplained symptoms. From the most mundane experiences to the most sublime, it is our predictions that sculpt our experience.A landmark study of cognitive science, The Experience Machine lays out the extraordinary explanatory power of the predictive brain for our lives, mental health and society.

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Book SynopsisWendy Wood was born in the UK and is Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at the University of Southern California. Her research incorporates neuroscience, cognition and behavioural insights to understand habit persistence and change, and she has collaborated with many luminary psychologists, including Angela Duckworth and Adam Grant. She has written for the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, and her work has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Time magazine, USA Today and NPR.Trade ReviewIf you’ve ever struggled to make or break a habit, this is the book you need to read. Wendy Wood is widely recognized as the authority on the science of habits -- Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast WorkLifeWendy Wood is the world’s foremost expert in the field, and this book is essential -- Angela Duckworth, author of GritEnlightening and insightful . . . Wood’s research and perspective on the malleability of habits will bring hope to any reader looking to create long-term behavioural change * Publishers Weekly *Wendy Wood . . . is the most thoughtful, innovative person who understands the role of habits in human behaviour . . . I can’t imagine a better person writing this book -- Dan Ariely, bestselling author of Predictably IrrationalThere is no one in all of psychology who could write a more compelling book on habits and behaviours -- James W. Pennebaker, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of TexasNo one has studied how habits form and direct behaviour better than Professor Wendy Wood . . . She has described how to change negative habits into positive versions better than anybody. She's the researcher best able to write the next big book on the topic -- Robert Cialdini, author of Influence and Pre-SuasionFascinating and fun, this book will change a lot of lives . . . Wood brings state-of-the-art social science into contact with the most pressing issues in daily life. She’s a tremendous guide -- Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard University, and author of How Change HappensA fascinating tour of the science of habits, and Wendy Wood is the consummate tour guide. One of the world’s leading habit researchers -- Professor Adam Alter, New York Times bestselling author of Drunk Tank Pink and IrresistibleA huge achievement. Wendy Wood manages to distil the science of habit formation, most of which emerges from her own lab, in a manner that is fascinating but also, above all, extremely useful for people looking to make positive change in their life -- David Kessler, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Overeating and CaptureMany authors have written about habits . . . but Wood is also a premier scientist in psychology, working on how habits affect and are affected by the human mind. Top tip: Willpower isn’t enough. But through her original research, Wood explains what does work * Washington Post *In Good Habits, Bad Habits . . . the social psychologist Wendy Wood . . . seeks to give the general reader more realistic ideas for how to break habits. Drawing on her work in the field, she sees [that] . . . the path to breaking bad habits lies not in resolve but in restructuring our environment in ways that sustain good behaviors * The New Yorker *Table of ContentsUnit - Part I: How We Really Are Chapter - 1: Persistence and Change Chapter - 2: The Depths Beneath Chapter - 3: Introducing Your Second Self Chapter - 4: What About Knowledge? Chapter - 5: What About Self Control? Unit - Part II: The Three Bases of Habit Formation Chapter - 6: Context Chapter - 7: Repetition Chapter - 8: Reward Chapter - 9: Consistency is for Closers Chapter - 10: Total Control Unit - Part III: Special Cases, Big opportunities, and the World Around Us Chapter - 11: Jump Through Windows Chapter - 12: The Special Resilience of Habit Chapter - 13: Contexts of Addiction Chapter - 14: Happy with Habit Chapter - 15: You Are Not Alone Section - i: Epilogue Section - ii: How to Stop Looking at Your Phone So Often Section - iii: Notes Section - iii: Bibliography Acknowledgements - iv: Acknowledgements Index - v: Index

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Book Synopsis''An original, provocative and fascinating new theory by one of the world''s leading neuroscientists about why the mind wanders - and when and why it''s good for you'' Daniel Gilbert''A gentle and humane book that should be read by everyone interested in the human mind and the human brain'' Andy ClarkOur brains are noisy. Certain regions are always grinding away at involuntary activities like daydreaming, worrying about the future and self-chatter, taking up to forty-seven percent of our waking time. This is mindwandering and while it can tug your attention away from the present and contribute to anxiety, cognitive neuroscientist Moshe Bar reveals that there is a method behind this apparent madness. Mindwandering is the first popular book to explore the multi-faceted phenomenon of our wandering minds and the cutting-edge new research behind it. Bar combines his decades of research to explain the benefits and the possible cost of mindwandering wTrade ReviewAn original, provocative, and fascinating new theory by one of the world’s leading neuroscientists about why the mind wanders – and how we can change its trajectory to make ourselves happier and more creative -- Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and bestselling author of STUMBLING ON HAPPINESSBrains constantly balance the two states of tracing known paths and setting off on new adventures. Bar's revelatory, pioneering studies on this are finally available for everyone to enjoy, so we can optimally direct our states of mind to better align with the moment. A fascinating read that will bring your mind back home -- David Eagleman, New York Times bestselling author of INCOGNITO and LIVEWIREDMindwandering is the best thing that can happen to anyone. What is it? Why is it good? Let Moshe Bar take you by the hand and show you the exciting ways it liberates us from the tedium of the known world into the world of possibilities’ -- Michael S. Gazzaniga, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and author of THE CONSCIOUSNESS INSTINCTHighly accessible and entertaining, alternately personal and analytic, this lovely and stimulating book will make you appreciate your mind, and Bar’s -- Susanna Siegel, Edgar Pierce Professor of Philosophy, Harvard UniversityIn this highly original, accessible, erudite, engaging and informative book, a distinguished neuroscientist highlights the role of mindwandering in solving problems, inducing happiness, and in teaching us to "bring the right mind to the right time" -- Nancy Etcoff, psychologist at Harvard University and author of SURVIVAL OF THE PRETTIESTMindwandering evinces the intimate relationship between curiosity and creativity, mindwandering and mindfulness, agency and association, sentience and selfhood. It does so using a compelling mixture of personal narratives and high-end cognitive (and clinical) neuroscience . . . An addictive and eclectic read, crafted with a gentle and telling humour -- Karl J. Friston, Scientific Director at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging and Professor at University College LondonIn this important, entertaining and instructive treatment, Moshe Bar takes us on a journey through contemporary neuroscience to show when, why, and exactly how a wandering mind can be good for us. Along the way, we learn why we should meditate, how to profit from imagined experiences and how we can make the most of our limited mental resources. A gentle and humane book that should be read by everyone interested in the human mind and the human brain -- Andy Clark, Professor of Cognitive Philosophy, University of Sussex, and author of SURFING UNCERTAINTY

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[Renn’s] new tour de force, The Evolution of Knowledge, addresses all those concerned with science’s fate. . . . In the 1930s, at a moment of existential crisis comparable to today’s, [Edmund] Husserl likewise sought to reorient science around shared human experiences and common human needs. Yet Husserl, a notoriously opaque writer, had little hope of communicating his message to the scientific community. With this lucid and accessible book, Renn stands a far greater chance of success."---Deborah R. Coen, Science"This is an important book and one that powerfully advances our understanding of how knowledge operates in society while directly engaging with pressing contemporary issues."---Geoffrey Cantor, Times Higher Education"A global history of knowledge is a breathtakingly ambitious project. . . . Renn faces down the difficulties of crafting such an account with skill and resolve. The result is provocative and challenging."---Joseph D. Martin, Physics Today"In The Evolution of Knowledge, both academics and nonacademics concerned with the state of our planet will find a lot to think with and elaborate on. This erudite, rich, and important book indeed opens conversations rather than closing them."---Raf De Bont, Isis"This book should be required reading for all who consider themselves students of the history of knowledge."---Alfred Freeborn, History of Human Sciences"An inspiring survey of the products of Renn's long career."---Jeremy Trevelyan Burman, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences

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Book SynopsisFrom the renowned neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author of Incognito comes the companion volume to the international PBS series about how your life shapes your brain, and how your brain shapes your life. An ideal introduction to how biology generates the mind.... Clear, engaging and thought-provoking. —NatureLocked in the silence and darkness of your skull, your brain fashions the rich narratives of your reality and your identity. Join renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman for a journey into the questions at the mysterious heart of our existence. What is reality? Who are “you”? How do you make decisions? Why does your brain need other people? How is technology poised to change what it means to be human?  In the course of his investigations, Eagleman guides us through the world of extreme sports, criminal justice, facial expressions, genocide, brain surgery, gut feelin

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Book SynopsisTrade Review'Filled with lively stories and vivid examples (involving ants, monsters, mosquitoes and dust bunnies, as well as paltry humans) ... its central thesis is sharp and convincing ... the argumentative theory of reason makes sense of human irrationality. * Times Literary Supplement *Elegant and compelling ... Mercier and Sperber delight in turning conventional wisdom on its head ... A timely and necessary book * Financial Times *Timely ... an antidote to the dual-process models behind Kahneman's famous Thinking, Fast and Slow. We need a faith in reason, and this book provides strong arguments that such faith is reasonable * Times Higher Education *Reason is more likely to confirm things that we want to be true, or which we already believe. So why does it exist? This new book provides the answer * Prospect *

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Book SynopsisUp to the 1960s, psychology was deeply under the influence of behaviourism, which focused on stimuli and responses, and regarded consideration of what may happen in the mind as unapproachable scientifically. This began to change with the devising of methods to try to tap into what was going on in the ''black box'' of the mind, and the development of ''cognitive psychology''. With the study of patients who had suffered brain damage or injury to limited parts of the brain, outlines of brain components and processes began to take shape, and by the end of the 1970s, a new science, cognitive neuroscience, was born. But it was with the development of ways of accessing activation of the working brain using imaging techniques such as PET and fMRI that cognitive neuroscience came into its own, as a science cutting across psychology and neuroscience, with strong connections to philosophy of mind. Experiments involving subjects in scanners while doing various tasks, thinking, problem solving, and remembering are shedding light on the brain processes involved. The research is exciting and new, and often makes media headlines. But there is much misunderstanding about what brain imaging tells us, and the interpretation of studies on cognition. In this Very Short Introduction Richard Passingham, a distinguished cognitive neuroscientist, gives a provocative and exciting account of the nature and scope of this relatively new field, and the techniques available to us, focusing on investigation of the human brain. He explains what brain imaging shows, pointing out common misconceptions, and gives a brief overview of the different aspects of human cognition: perceiving, attending, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and acting. Passingham concludes with a discussion of the exciting advances that may lie ahead.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of ContentsBackground Perceiving Attending Remembering Reasoning Deciding Checking Acting The future References Further Reading Index

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Book Synopsis[A] creative and original book on resilience through crises' DAVID MILIBAND [A] fascinating book is full of insights I highly recommend it' KATE RAWORTH, AUTHOR OF DOUGHNUT ECONOMICSFrom a leading international crisis management expert, a breakthrough book about performance under pressure that will change the way you think about stressWhen we experience too much stress, we often feel like shutting down and escaping the source: we downshift'. With too little stress, we become apathetic and disengaged. But what happens in the middle zone when we experience what psychologists call positive stress' and how can we use it to overcome extraordinary barriers and perform at our peak?From his role as a globally recognised change-maker at the likes of the United Nations, the International Red Cross and the World Bank, Ben Ramalingam has a unique vantage point from which to identify the key principles that can enable anyone to use stress as an opportunity for change. We learn how a switch in mentality helps musicians dazzle huge crowds against all odds; how astronauts focus on originality to overcome life-threatening incidents; and how discovering a sense of purpose allows emergency health workers and aid experts to deal with unprecedented crises.Through a sweep of fascinating interviews, in-depth research and inspiring human stories, Upshift provides us with an everyday toolkit that can help to improve our work, relationships and mindset, and places us on the road to success. Taking readers on an epic journey from early humans' survival of the Ice Age to how modern social movements emerge and propagate in the digital world, Upshift is a reminder that creative solutions to complex problems will always exist as long as we're ready to innovate.Trade Review‘Ben Ramalingam has brought all of his considerable passion and experience to write this creative and original book on resilience through crises. I will be looking for Upshifters from now on!’David Miliband ‘How can we experience stressful situations not as a threat to avoid, but as a challenge to rise to? This fascinating book is full of insights from Ben Ramalingam's rich personal and professional experience of responding to crisis. I highly recommend it’Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics ‘A fascinating and inspiring read for everyone who aspires to harness creativity in the face of extreme constraints – which in today’s runaway world is every single one of us’Jaideep Prabhu, author of Frugal Innovation ‘Upshift is an inspired book about those moments when operating on the edge of your comfort zones, when you discover not only who you really are but who you have the potential to be. It's essential for you – and for those around you’Mike Adamson, Chief Executive Officer, British Red Cross ‘A reassuring guide to empowerment’Kirkus Praise for Aid on the Edge of Chaos ‘Groundbreaking … Important and relevant’Financial Times ‘Ramalingam sets out a challenge … to rethink our basic assumptions and to think and act in ways that are more attuned to the real world in all its complexities’Sir Richard Jolly, former Assistant Secretary Generalof the United Nations ‘Marrying science, policy and practice with a deep moral conscience, [Ramalingam] points to a future that we should all be working toward’Peter Doherty, Nobel Laureate in Medicine ‘Impressive … Sets a new milestone’Guardian ‘A leading champion of the adaptive, scientific,trial-and-error thinking that the aid industry badly needs’Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist

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Book SynopsisAdult humans have impressive pieces of cognitive equipment, but in Cecilia Heyes's view these cognitive gadgets are not programmed in the genes. They are constructed over the course of childhood through social interaction. From birth, our malleable minds learn from our culture-soaked human environment not only what to think but how to think it.Trade ReviewThis is an important book and likely the most thoughtful of the year in the social sciences… Highly recommended, it is likely to prove one of the most thought-provoking books of the year. -- Tyler Cowen * Marginal Revolution *With this volume, [Heyes] stakes out a bold, authoritative position in the multidisciplinary literature on cultural evolution and human uniqueness…Highly recommended to anyone willing to have their assumptions challenged. -- Carl Brusse * Quarterly Review of Biology *An essential addition to the literature on human uniqueness…Brilliantly challenges many of the core assumptions of contemporary evolutionary psychology in a way that is insightful, cohesive, detailed, and carefully written. This is perhaps one of the best and most comprehensive views of human cognitive evolution advanced in the recent years. -- Ivan Gonzalez‐Cabrera * History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences *Fascinating. * Choice *Cecilia Heyes presents a new hypothesis to explain the one feature that distinguishes Homo sapiens from all other species: the mind. Through lucid, compelling writing, this masterly exegesis proposes that the key features of the human mind, termed ‘cognitive gadgets,’ are the products of cultural rather than genetic evolution. It will stimulate its readers to think deeply, as Heyes has done, about what it means to be human. -- Lord John Krebs, University of OxfordCognitive Gadgets is a book written with a strong conviction, boldly taking on deeply entrenched views on topics such as the genetic basis of language and imitation. It will be a very positive contribution to long-held debates about the nature of being human. -- Steven Mithen, author of The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and BodyHuman minds are strange and powerful, but how did they become that way? Cecilia Heyes argues that culture is the prime mover, upgrading the mind by installing a cascade of ‘gadgets’—non-genetic innovations that enable imitation, mind-reading, episodic memory, and more. Cognitive Gadgets is an elegant, compelling, and groundbreaking work that should be read by anyone interested in what we are and how we came to be. -- Andy Clark, University of EdinburghCognitive Gadgets is a terrific book. Heyes makes a very surprising claim, arguing that human cognitive capacities—language, technical and causal intelligence, and the capacity to understand others—are not built by natural selection, but are instead cultural adaptations, installed by social learning. It is a richly informed, beautifully clear, and lucidly argued case. -- Kim Sterelny, Australian National UniversityEvolutionary psychology has been plagued by theories that are interesting but not testable, and theories that are testable but not interesting. In her exposition of cognitive gadgets, Heyes escapes from this trap. By emphasizing specific mechanisms, she makes precise predictions about what makes human cognition unique, and demonstrates that human culture is not just about accumulating knowledge—it also enables each of us to learn how to think. -- Chris Frith, University College LondonHow much of what is distinctively human depends on our biological (genetic) evolution and how much is culturally influenced or learned? This book will make you think about this old question anew and wonder if you have drawn the lines between these two kinds of inheritance in the right places. -- Mary Jane West-Eberhard, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis book is pure, sunshine-yellow, stop-me-guys-if-I'm-being-crazy California deep-think ... thoughtful, stretching and occasionally brilliant. * The Sunday Times *Don Hoffman is widely regarded as one of the deepest and most original thinkers of his generation of cognitive scientists. His startling argument has implications for philosophy, science, and how we understand the world around us. Yet despite his powerful intellect and strong opinions, Hoffman is a genial writer with an unfailingly pleasant voice." -- Steven Pinker, Johnstone Family Professor, Department of Psychology; Harvard University; Author, 'The Sense of Style'; and 'The Better Angels of Our Nature'In this masterpiece of logic, rationality, science, and mathematics, Donald Hoffman dismantles the local realism of Albert Einstein and the "astonishing hypothesis" of Francis Crick, the scientific giants of the century. Read this book carefully and you will forever change your understanding of reality, both that of the universe and your own self. -- Deepak ChopraHoffman's truly radical theory will force us to ponder reality in a completely different light. Handle with care. Your perception of the world around you is about to be dismantled! -- Chris Anderson, author of 'TED Talks'Think you know what's really out there? Read this breathtaking, whistle-stop tour of a book that illuminates all the profound weirdness masked by our experience and assumptions. -- David Eagleman, best-selling author of 'The Brain' and 'Incognito'Empirical research on the human brain has made breathtaking progress during the last three decades. What's missing, though, is an attempt to see the 'big picture' of the kind Don Hoffman has introduced in this book. And he does so with the wit, clarity and originality that characterizes all his work. -- VS Ramachandran MBBS. PhD, FRCP, DSc, UCSD and Salk Institute.A fresh view into who we truly are?one that transcends the perceptions that we accept as reality. Hoffman unapologetically takes us down a rabbit hole where we learn that all reality is virtual and that truth lies solely in you, the creator. -- Rudolph Tanzi, coauthor of 'Super Brain'Captivating and courageous ... anyone who reads this book will likely never look at the world the same way again. Hoffman challenges us to rethink some of the most basic foundations of neuroscience and physics, which could prove to be exactly what we need to make progress on the most difficult questions we face about the nature of reality. -- Annaka Harris, author of 'Conscious'

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Book SynopsisA cognitive ethnography of how bioengineering scientists create innovative modeling methods.In this first full-scale, long-term cognitive ethnography by a philosopher of science, Nancy J. Nersessian offers an account of how scientists at the interdisciplinary frontiers of bioengineering create novel problem-solving methods. Bioengineering scientists model complex dynamical biological systems using concepts, methods, materials, and other resources drawn primarily from engineering. They aim to understand these systems sufficiently to control or intervene in them. What Nersessian examines here is how cutting-edge bioengineering scientists integrate the cognitive, social, material, and cultural dimensions of practice. Her findings and conclusions have broad implications for researchers in philosophy, science studies, cognitive science, and interdisciplinary studies, as well as scientists, educators, policy makers, and funding agencies. In studying the epistemic

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Book SynopsisWritten in an accessible style, this is a comprehensive yet concise guide to bilingualism, taking us on a journey on how the brain processes languages. Offering an overview of current research in the field, yet clear and easy to read, it is suitable for both scholars and general readers.Trade Review'Garraffa, Sorace and Vender provide a lucid and comprehensive introduction to the fascinating topic of bilingualism. The lifespan approach highlights the relevance and significance of bilingualism to individuals and society. Schwieter has done a great service to us all by translating and adapting the book into English, making it accessible to many more readers across the world.' Li Wei, Director and Dean, University College London, Institute of Education'Why does bilingualism matter? Although the active use of two or more languages is common, bilingualism continues to be misunderstood. The consequences of that misunderstanding are deep, with implications for development and education in the earliest years of life and for health across the lifespan. This book provides a much needed accessible overview of the science of language learning and bilingualism. It celebrates the idea that the variation in human experience that is reflected in language is actually the norm rather than the exception, with bilingual brains that adapt and flourish when language learning is supported. Bilinguals matters because people matter and because language is with us everywhere.' Judith Kroll, University of California'This is a very accessible and comprehensive introduction to bilingualism, from language development in childhood to the neurological correlates of knowing two languages. Garraffa, Sorace, and Vender have managed to find the right tone of voice to present the often complex and nuanced research-based evidence in a way that is informative and easy to read. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in finding out more about the many and fascinating facets of bilingualism.' Ludovica Serratrice, University of Reading'… as a speech and language therapist, I was particularly delighted to see the inclusion of bilingualism in Developmental Language Disorder and other contexts not usually discussed. The emphasis on the evidence-base, and the positive outcomes of being bilingual are clearly articulated. This engaging and thought-provoking book will challenge the reader to change their preconceptions of bilingualism'. Sean Pert, The University of Manchester, Chair RCSLT'Bilingualism Matters is an excellent resource for teachers, parents and researchers interested in bilingualism to access research from a neuroscience perspective to support their work. I will draw on this resource to advocate for bilingual programs, and to support my social science research with interdisciplinary evidence. I recommend this book to anyone seeking an accessible resource which summarises key neuroscience findings in relation to bilingualism across the lifespan.' Ruth Fielding, Monash UniversityTable of Contents1. Who is bilingual?; 2. The development of two languages: phonology, lexicon, and morphosyntax; 3. Bilingualism across the lifespan; 4. Two languages in one brain; 5. Bilingualism and atypical development; 6. Bilingualism and society; Glossary.

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Book Synopsis"How unfair for one man to be blessed with such a torrent of stimulating thoughts. Stimulating is an understatement." —Richard Dawkins A memoir by one of the greatest minds of our age, preeminent philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel C. Dennett.Trade Review"A delightful memoir from one of our deepest thinkers." -- Kirkus (starred review)"Always an enthusiastic learner with an insatiable curiosity, Dennett’s amiable autodidacticism illustrates a life of the mind intertwined with the rich home life of a true Renaissance man. Highly recommended." -- Booklist (starred review)

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Book SynopsisMin W. Jung offers a new understanding of the neural basis of innovation in terms of humans’ exceptional capacity for imagination and high-level abstraction.Trade ReviewAlthough memory, imagination, and planning are discrete concepts, this insightful book by Min W. Jung, an internationally respected researcher, demonstrates that the brain does not make such distinctions. Written in delightful prose, this volume will spark interest for the specialist and other curious minds alike. -- György Buzsáki, author of Rhythms of the Brain and The Brain from Inside OutIn this wide-ranging and scholarly book, Min W. Jung conveys many of the complexities of modern cognitive neuroscience in an accessible way for readers with minimal scientific background. While his particular focus is on how the human brain became so good at innovation, his broad interests make this book a treat no matter one's background. -- Lynn Nadel, Regents Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of ArizonaA Brain for Innovation is a highly approachable account of how the human brain’s ability to imagine with abstract concepts has been applied to demystify this same ability. After entertaining us with his skillful crisscrossing of neuroscience, AI, and philosophy, Jung also reminds us that imagination is a double-edged sword and must be used cautiously to save our future. -- Daeyeol Lee, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience and Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Hippocampus and Imagination1. Hippocampus: From Memory to Imagination2. False Memory3. Place Cells and Hippocampal ReplayPart II: The Neural Symphony of Imagination4. Neural Circuits of the Hippocampus5. Value-Based Decision-Making6. Remembering Rewarding Futures7. The Evolution of ImaginationPart III: The Neural Foundation of Abstraction8. Abstract Thinking and Neocortex9. Prefrontal Cortex10. The Human Revolution and Associated Brain Changes11. Deep Neural NetworkPart IV: Beyond Imagination and Abstraction12. Sharing Ideas and Knowledge through Language13. On Creativity14. The Future of InnovationEpilogueAppendix 1: Dentate GyrusAppendix 2: Value-Coding NeuronsNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Using an expository style, interspersed with first-person accounts of his own research, Harris provides an authoritative synopsis of developmental neuroscience."---R. Douglas Fields, Science"[Zero to Birth] really is a masterpiece in terms of how much information is packed into this average sized book."---Nicole Barbaro, Bookmarked Reads"The story of how this development takes place is filled with as much drama as any Shakespearian plot. There are accounts of self-love and selfless cooperation, suicide and cannibalism, rivalry and survival of the fittest. All on the cellular level. And, fortunately for readers who are not experts in the field, the style makes the story comprehensible and engaging."---Gunnel Minett, Breathwork Science"Highly illuminating."---Andrew Robinson, Nature

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Book Synopsis

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