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nglenn's review against another edition
I didn’t like the style. It was academic but also making big claims. It just didn’t capture my attention. Maybe a topic area I know too much about?
smuds2's review against another edition
3.0
UNFINISHED
REVIEW RATING SYSTEM - [ 1 = FELT DECEIVED, 2 = NOT WHAT I EXPECTED IN A BAD WAY BUT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME, 3 = WHAT I EXPECTED FELT LIKE MY TIME WAS USED AS EXPECTED, 4 = PLEASANTLY SURPRISED, 5 = THINKING ABOUT IT MONTHS LATER ]
RULES : (1) can not give anything a 5 outright, must either be a re-read or a update to score, (2) can not give incremental ratings, except for 4.75 which is functionally a "revisit in case it is actually a 5", (3) I should always end with a "this leads me to think" of 2-3 ideas this book roused in me.
REVIEW RATING SYSTEM - [ 1 = FELT DECEIVED, 2 = NOT WHAT I EXPECTED IN A BAD WAY BUT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME, 3 = WHAT I EXPECTED FELT LIKE MY TIME WAS USED AS EXPECTED, 4 = PLEASANTLY SURPRISED, 5 = THINKING ABOUT IT MONTHS LATER ]
RULES : (1) can not give anything a 5 outright, must either be a re-read or a update to score, (2) can not give incremental ratings, except for 4.75 which is functionally a "revisit in case it is actually a 5", (3) I should always end with a "this leads me to think" of 2-3 ideas this book roused in me.
radbear76's review against another edition
5.0
An interesting and entertaining book. A little technical at times but worth the effort as it provides a lot of insights about why people do what they do.
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
A very cool book by a wonderful writer, and it really does live up to the title, exploring human behavior from the science of neurons through evolutionary psychology, empathy, war, free will, politics, and pretty much everything in between. The writing is solid and clear but also playful and engaging, with copious footnotes that are relevant, snarky, or both. Sapolsky seems to enjoy bantering with readers as much as leading us to conclusions.
There is plenty of passionate commentary and numerous insightful thoughts from a clearly knowledgeable writer with rational and well-defended positions. As one quotable example, there is this, from the chapter on hierarchy: “We’re really out there as a species in that sometimes our high status individuals don’t merely plunder and instead actually lead, actually attempt to facilitate the common good. We’ve even developed bottom-up mechanisms for collectively choosing such leaders on occasion. A magnificent achievement. Which we then soil by having our choosing of leaders be shaped by implicit, automatic factors more suitable to five-year-olds deciding who should captain their boat on a voyage with the Teletubbies to Candyland.” (p. 476)
On the downside, the subject matter is so broad, that it makes for a lengthy and occasionally tedious read. Not that everything isn’t well-written and mostly enjoyable, but there’s just so much to cover that it can begin to seem excessive. And of course this is only a superficial treatment of some of the material; if you’ve already done more in depth reading on some of this, as I have, then you may not need or want to plow through the treatment it’s given here. Finally, Sapolsky can occasionally be stylistically repetitive, using the phrases “harks back” and “stay tuned”, for example, a few times too many each.
But overall, this is a masterful compilation of everything surrounding the subject of behavior; if you know nothing of the topic, this book touches on all aspects in enough depth to bring you up to speed on historical and current thinking.
There is plenty of passionate commentary and numerous insightful thoughts from a clearly knowledgeable writer with rational and well-defended positions. As one quotable example, there is this, from the chapter on hierarchy: “We’re really out there as a species in that sometimes our high status individuals don’t merely plunder and instead actually lead, actually attempt to facilitate the common good. We’ve even developed bottom-up mechanisms for collectively choosing such leaders on occasion. A magnificent achievement. Which we then soil by having our choosing of leaders be shaped by implicit, automatic factors more suitable to five-year-olds deciding who should captain their boat on a voyage with the Teletubbies to Candyland.” (p. 476)
On the downside, the subject matter is so broad, that it makes for a lengthy and occasionally tedious read. Not that everything isn’t well-written and mostly enjoyable, but there’s just so much to cover that it can begin to seem excessive. And of course this is only a superficial treatment of some of the material; if you’ve already done more in depth reading on some of this, as I have, then you may not need or want to plow through the treatment it’s given here. Finally, Sapolsky can occasionally be stylistically repetitive, using the phrases “harks back” and “stay tuned”, for example, a few times too many each.
But overall, this is a masterful compilation of everything surrounding the subject of behavior; if you know nothing of the topic, this book touches on all aspects in enough depth to bring you up to speed on historical and current thinking.
rosabrancaa's review against another edition
5.0
O livro de non-fiction mais fixe que li até hoje. O Sapolsky escreveu um livro sobre comportamento humano, ecologia, neurocenas, com pesquisa e é capaz de explicar sem ser condescendente ou sem ser complexo. Tem um sarcasmo e um humor que me fez escrever "LOL" nas margens dos livros umas 100 vezes. É um livro grande e apesar de ser uma leitura leve, tem muito conhecimento condensado em 600 e tal páginas, o que leva a uma leitura mais lenta e mais cuidada. A segunda metade do livro, quando ele se torna mais ecólogo de humanos (xD) e menos biólogo e neurocientista é simplesmente maravilhosa. Fez-me pensar imenso. A maneira como ele explica os efeitos da pobreza e da percepção de pobreza no desenvolvimento do cérebro deixou-me boquiaberta. Juízes ao que parece quando estão com fome tendencialmente fazem sentenças mais pesadas. Da justiça, à moral, à empatia, passando pelas guerras e violência, mais do que respostas fez-me levantar muitas perguntas.
É um livro e um autor que reconhece o valor da ciência, sem separar ciência exacta ou ciência social e esse respeito e a maneira como ele integra todo esse conhecimento foi para mim espectacular.
É um livro e um autor que reconhece o valor da ciência, sem separar ciência exacta ou ciência social e esse respeito e a maneira como ele integra todo esse conhecimento foi para mim espectacular.
amoland's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the definitive work on why you should reject essentialism. Fundamentally changed my mental models of the world, after taking me 2+ years to read lol.
andreashappe's review against another edition
5.0
This and "Thinking fast and slow" are books for any top 10 list.
The first part of the book walks back temporally: starting with an aggressive action, it highlights the seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, years and millennia that led up to the action, covering (neuro)biology, hormones, culture, religion, evolution among others. The second part is more about aggression, us-vs-them, empathy and all that follows. The sections on free will and punishment were enlightening.
In between that, it explains how brains work, including all that weird counter-intuitive decisions that take place all over one's life. The author's feeling frequently reach through the pages; a paragraph about the emptiness one feels after achieving something, the human tendency of getting hungrier afterwards instead of becoming content.
It explains a log of my and society's workings.. while upholding, that in the end, it's me who decides how to act. The importance to feed one's brain with the right inputs. It gives hope that one's actions are not predetermined through genes or environment. A progressive "just because nature/society/evolution ends up in a certain way, this doesn't make it good or meant to be in that way". Oddly progressive and humanitarian in that conclusion.
The first part of the book walks back temporally: starting with an aggressive action, it highlights the seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, years and millennia that led up to the action, covering (neuro)biology, hormones, culture, religion, evolution among others. The second part is more about aggression, us-vs-them, empathy and all that follows. The sections on free will and punishment were enlightening.
In between that, it explains how brains work, including all that weird counter-intuitive decisions that take place all over one's life. The author's feeling frequently reach through the pages; a paragraph about the emptiness one feels after achieving something, the human tendency of getting hungrier afterwards instead of becoming content.
It explains a log of my and society's workings.. while upholding, that in the end, it's me who decides how to act. The importance to feed one's brain with the right inputs. It gives hope that one's actions are not predetermined through genes or environment. A progressive "just because nature/society/evolution ends up in a certain way, this doesn't make it good or meant to be in that way". Oddly progressive and humanitarian in that conclusion.
susanbrearley's review against another edition
5.0
Really loved this. The technical bits were a bit dry, but worth sticking it out since it was valuable background. This book reinforces the perspective of how and why we do what we do. I appreciated the comprehensive nature - I think there was nothing left unexamined. Highly recommended.