Why Choose This Book?: How We Make Decisions [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Read Montague (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2006

To the list of writers connecting mainstream readers and cutting-edge science—Malcolm Gladwell, Steven Johnson, James Surowiecki—add Read Montague, with this exploration of what exactly determines the choices we make.

With a new perspective on the science of decision-making from the researcher at the center of the computational neuroscience revolution, Why Choose This Book? shows what the latest brain science reveals about the crucial events of everyday experience—the choices we make. From how we decide what we consume to what kind of art we like, and even the romantic, ethical, and financial choices we make, Read Montague guides the reader through a new approach to the mind with an accessible style that is both entertaining and illuminating.

In taking apart the mind’s decision-making machinery, Montague first illustrates how our brains are like computers that are slow, small, fuzzy, and cheap—and began with goals like food, water, and sex. Second, he reveals how simple goals like these then turn into ideas like beauty, love, and terror with a life of their own. Finally, he explains how a value system in our heads controls those ideas so we can make good decisions—and how that physical system can break down leading to bad decisions, addictions, mental illness, and even large economic disasters.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Why do we choose chocolate ice cream over vanilla ice cream? Why do we select one lover rather than another? Baylor University neuroscientist Montague (now a fellow at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study) deftly marries psychology and neuroscience as he probes how we make choices. On one hand, decision making boils down to simple computation. Montague argues that our brains are efficient computational machines. But unlike computers, our brains fix on the goals of survival and reproduction, realizing that every hasty decision can be costly to the survival of the species. Our brains also harbor experiences (memories) that foster the choices we make. On the other hand, we can make choices that go against survival: for instance, we can choose to die for an idea. Why is that? Because, says Montague, human computations involve valuation, choosing between one value and another, requiring computation of cultural and psychological qualities. Although the notion of the brain as a computational machine can be traced at least as far back as Descartes, Montague adds new ideas to our understanding of how our brains compute. But his sometimes engaging and sometimes plodding book doesn't always explain the complex science for general readers. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

[Montague is] an expert on mental function and the brain. (The New York Times) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (November 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525949828
• ASIN: B000R7PZ42
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #773,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Informative; 3.5 Stars, July 26, 2008

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Why Choose This Book?: How We Make Decisions (Hardcover)

This is a informative book on decision making by the human brain. The author is a leader in this field who has made several notable contributions to the literature. Montague's basic theme is that convergence of experiments from and perspectives of several different disciplines, including neurophysiology, psychology, economics, and computer science, is generating considerable insight into human decision making and goal directed behaviors. I'm familiar with some of the primary literature in this area and I find that Montague does a good job of presenting the facts. Quite a bit of the discussion reflects Montague's research interests.

Montague begins in a somewhat surprising place, the efficiency of the brain. Most people who have thought about this issue tend to regard the brain as something of a kludge; slow, inefficient, and jerry-rigged by evolutionary compromises. Montague argues well that this impression is not correct. Rapid processing can be purchased only at the cost of high energy expenditure. Montague argues that proportional to energy expenditure, mammalian brains are remarkably efficient.

Montague then moves on to describe some of the most impressive recent results in neuroscience; the discovery of the role of dopamine signaling in reinforcement learning. This discovery represented a remarkable convergence of theory and experimental results. Montague explains this phenomenon well and discusses how this phylogenetically ancient mechanism emerged to respond to basic rewards and was probably coopted to serve more general functions. Montague discusses the closely related topic of valuation and its probable mechanisms and functional circuitry, then concludes with some more speculative discussions of learning and aspects of social behavior including altruism.

A recurrent theme of the book is the power of formal computational models to guide experiments and explain phenomena.

While Montague is a generally clear writer, this book has some real defects as a general introduction. Montague relies almost entirely on written descriptions of the science. Well designed figures would have greatly enhanced understanding of the science. Similarly, some explanations of the methods used would have enhanced this book. Finally, its surprising that someone so enthusiastic about formal modeling produces a book without a single, even very simple, equation. Very simple equations often capture much more information than many lines of text.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars neuroscience plus a lot more, December 16, 2006

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DS (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Choose This Book?: How We Make Decisions (Hardcover)

This is an excellent account of various closely related concepts in modern computational neuroscience, communicating to non-mathematical readers key theories such as predictive error signals and the dopamine system, temporal difference theory, cognitive control, neuroeconomics etc, testable in humans using behavioural and neuroimaging methods. As a philosopher observed, this approach hog-ties old philosophical dogmas. Indeed its a valuable antidote to philosophy, and unlike millennia of philosophical effort (including Satre), this approach is making very active progress. Highly recommended.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars how mind evolves with interactions., February 24, 2007

By 

Sreeram Ramakrishnan (Lynnfield, MA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Why Choose This Book?: How We Make Decisions (Hardcover)

In a mostly engaging technical look at the decision making mechanisms within the human mind and its evolution, Montague explores what the characteristics of an efficient computational machine are, primarily within the confines of Turing's 'philosophy'. Specifically, the book explains the how mind evolves through interactions and the notions of how we frame the value of choices available to us and how we assign costs to these choices. Covering disparate topics such as computational theory of mind, neuromodulatory systems, dopamine delivery, Redish's model, etc., the author paints a detailed picture of the various critical research directions that have enables us to understand the functioning of the human mind.

The book is not an easy-read in terms of the depth of the material covered (no reputable author would try to dumb this material down to a Cliff's note version). The discussion is mostly engaging, though sometimes, the topics change quite abruptly. The chapters do not necessarily seem to be seamlessly transitioned, and it would have served the reader, if the author summarized the main observations more clearly in each chapter. Despite these minor irritations, the book is a treasure trove for anyone interested in this field, though may not be sufficient for a serious student in this field. The end notes are well organized and detailed. An excellent read for a patient, curious reader. 4.5 stars