Reality Check: What Your Mind Knows, But Isn't Telling You [Paperback]

David L Weiner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2005

What is reality? Each of us has a 'virtual reality map' imprinted on our brains, which consists of our individual ideologies, opinions, attitudes, values, and beliefs that we've built up over the years. But what if you learned that your reality map was distorted or limited? In "Reality Check", David L Weiner takes us on an entertaining romp through many odd and interesting new findings in various scientific fields - from neurobiology to physics and genetics, describing how difficult it is for these findings to sink in and impact our perspectives. One of the most fascinating topics that Weiner discusses is what neuroscience has found out about certain apelike mechanisms in our brains. These ancient vestiges of evolution can cause turmoil if we don't meet their primitive expectations, and their penchant for pecking order and status can create far-out realities that we think are absolutely true. By opening our minds to what science has discovered about our realities, and what it still considers to be mysteries, we can gain valuable insights and tools for improving the quality of our lives. The fresh and surprising information in this book has ramifications for parents, managers, educators, and everyone else interested in getting the most out of others and themselves.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David L. Weiner (Chicago IL) is the author of Power Freaks, Battling the Inner Dummy, and Brain Tricks. He is also on the external board of advisers of the HealthEmotions Research Institute of the University of Wisconsin and is the founder and CEO of Marketing Support, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (August 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591023025
• ISBN-13: 978-1591023029
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,202,478 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kind of Random Thinking About the Brain, November 7, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reality Check: What Your Mind Knows, But Isn't Telling You (Paperback)

This book is kind of a random walk down Mr. Weiner's mind. He seems to be quite interested in following the current research in quite a number of scientific areas and then explaining these results to his readers.

If this book has a central theme, it is that the mind is a marvelous thing that you can use to do a lot of things, some good, some not so good. He cautions you, for instance on following the latest (or the earliest for that matter) religious fad that attempts to tell you what to think about everything. He makes it your task to do a 'Reality Check' on what you're being told and to make up your own mind.

Much of the book is on what you might call self help popular psychology. He describes the current research that is being conducted and illustrates how this might be applied in our daily lives. I particularly enjoyed his comments on religion. With 10,000 religions and 33,000 variations of the Christian religion alone, it's hard to imagine that they are all right. And yet the overwhelming percentage of us adopt the religion of out parents, unthinkingly, with no 'Reality Check.'

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Junior High Book Report, November 25, 2007

By 

Oliver (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Reality Check: What Your Mind Knows, But Isn't Telling You (Paperback)

I really wanted to like this book, but I could not. Weiner has nothing original to say. He has simply read a few popular science books -- good ones, such as How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker -- which you can and should read for yourself. Weiner gives what amounts to a book report, and a bad one at that.

First, Weiner uses childish language and technics, "Hello, hello wake up -- all this is going on in your mind this instant." I don't know about you, but I find that pretty lame.

Even worse, Weiner fails to understand basic concepts that many junior high students do understand. Get this quote:

"Do you have brown eyes? If both your parents have brown eyes, then you will have brown eyes, because the gene that creates brown eyes is dominant over the one that creates blue eyes."

Wrong! The fact that brown is dominant is why the child of two brown eyed parents can have blue eyes. The child of two blue eyed parents, however, will have blue eyes. Shame on Weiner, and shame on his editor for not catching that.

In short, this book is written at a junior high school level, but the author should not be teaching our kids!

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Reality Check" the reality of life., November 3, 2005

By 

Ms. Tookla (Rosemont, IL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Reality Check: What Your Mind Knows, But Isn't Telling You (Paperback)

This book is as informative as Weiner's other books. It is well written with a hint of humor so the lay person can understand what they are reading. The mind is such a complicated mass that it takes a great deal of guts to try and explain its workings. Obviously Weiner has done a great deal of research in compiling such an informative book. I would just like to say to the two negative reviews posted that it is easy to criticize someone else for trying to educate others on the workings of the mind ... especially if you don't seem to understand it yourself. I would suggest you read the author's other books...Power Freaks and Battling the Inner Dummy.