Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives 1st Edition

by Dean Buonomano (Author)

56 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0393342222

ISBN-10: 9780393342222

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“Excellent. . . . [Buonomano] reveals the intricate limitations and blessings of the most complex device in the known universe.”―The Atlantic

The human brain may be the best piece of technology ever created, but it’s far from perfect. Drawing on colorful examples and surprising research, neuroscientist Dean Buonomano exposes the blind spots and weaknesses that beset our brains and lead us to make misguided personal, professional, and financial decisions. Whether explaining why we are susceptible to advertisements or demonstrating how false memories are formed, Brain Bugs not only explains the brain’s inherent flaws but also gives us the tools to counteract them. 10 illustrations

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[An] intriguing take on behavioral economics, marketing and human foibles.” (Kirkus Reviews )

"Writing a book about the hardware and software flaws of the human brain is an ingenious idea, and Buonomano has fully delivered on its promise. To a degree that is difficult for most of us to imagine, much less understand, our successes and failures, joys and sufferings, are the product of protein interactions and electrical changes taking place inside our heads. Brain Bugs is a remarkably accessible and engaging introduction to the neuroscience of the human condition."
Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Moral Landscape, and The End of Faith

"In Brain Bugs, Dean Buonomano has brilliantly pulled off what few psychological scientists can do. In elegant and clear writing, he masterfully conveys the astonishing capability of the human mind, along with its flaws and limitations."
Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Irvine, and author of Eyewitness Testimony

"He takes readers on a lively tour of systematic biases and errors in human thinking, citing examples that are staples of psychology courses and other popular books. What is new, however, is Buonomano’s focus on the mechanisms of memory, especially its "associative architecture," as the main causes of the brain’s bugs."
Christopher Chabris, New York Times

"What makes the book all the more compelling is the lucidity with which Buonomano recognizes, amidst its weaknesses, the brain's insurmountable strengths, feats artificial intelligence is ages from reaching--most notably, its remarkable penchant for pattern-recognition and what Buonomano calls "the inherent and irrepressible ability of the brain to build connections and make associations."
Maria Popova, The Atlantic

"One of the things I liked most about this book was the way it leaps from neuron to brain and then to person and on to society and back again, making useful comparisons all the way."
Susan Blackmore, Focus Magazine

About the Author

Dean Buonomano is a professor of neurobiology and psychology at UCLA and a leading theorist on the neuroscience of time. His previous book, Brain Bugs: How the Brain’s Flaws Shape Our Lives, was a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (August 6, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780393342222
ISBN-13: 978-0393342222
ASIN: 0393342220
Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1 x 8.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 56 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #30 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Medieval Thought
- #62 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Psychology > Neuropsychology
- #137 in Books > Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Biology & Life Sciences > Anatomy & Physiology

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A. D. Thibeault

A Brief Summary and Review

July 17, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

*A full executive summary of this book is available at newbooksinbrief dot com.

The main argument: As much as we rely on our brains to navigate the complex world before us, anyone who has ever forgotten someone's name, or misread a situation, or made a poor decision in the heat of the moment knows that the brain does not always work as we would want. In his new book `Brain Bugs', neurobiologist Dean Buonomano explores the brain's many pitfalls and mistakes (and how and why it makes them), and also offers up some advice on how we can best manage these so called `brain bugs' in our everyday lives.

Buonomano identifies 3 major sources whence brain bugs originate. The first has to do with the fact that our brains are the product of evolution, and have evolved as they have to answer the specific challenges that we faced in our evolutionary history; therefore, while our brains may be well adapted to perform functions that were particularly important in our survival and reproduction in the environment in which our species evolved, they may not do as well at functions which, though handy, did not figure as prominently in our evolutionary past (remembering names seems to fall under this category). The second source of our brain bugs may be attributed to the fact that while evolution has brought us a host of useful mental abilities that have allowed us to survive and thrive, it is still a rather clumsy process, and as such does not always offer up perfect, or even optimal solutions; thus the mental systems that we have are sometimes prone to error and quirky behaviour (hence optical illusions, the ever raging and somewhat awkward battle between our reason and our impulses, and a number of other interesting effects). Finally, the third source of our brain bugs stems from the fact that while many of the brain systems that we have inherited were well adapted to the environment in which our species evolved, this environment has changed considerably in the recent past, to the point where some of the adaptations themselves may be ineffective and even counter-productive today (our craving of sugary, fatty foods, for instance, would have been very useful in the environment in which we evolved--where starvation was much more of a threat than heart disease, but can be positively disastrous in the modern world, where the opposite is more often the case). A full executive summary of the book is available at newbooksinbrief dot com.

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Boofus D

A fascinating book

September 10, 2011

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I read this book over a month ago and I haven't yet stopped thinking about it. It is a fascinating account of how the brain learns and associates ideas. The brain is continually manipulating data in order to make that data fit the brain's template of the world. This book redefined my opinion of what it means to learn.

The author uses the metaphor of a computer program to explain the hierarchy of the brain. The conscious brain acts as the main program, while the various facets of the unconscious brain are subroutines, which are called as required by the main. What an excellent metaphor.

The book contains several very good examples of brain "flaws" which the reader can perform. These demonstrations are entertaining and enlightening. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys playing with ideas.

6 people found this helpful

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J. Scot Prunckle

Pleasantly Surprised

March 3, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I have this book as a requirement for a class. It is an interesting read. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed it. If this is a subject that interests you, I would certainly recommend it!

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Careful Buyer

If you are not interested in how how humans or YOU think - avoid this book.

June 2, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Extremely useful: makes us aware that we are -- in fact -- not always totally rational.

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Karl Hess

Four Stars

June 3, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

well written, not a lot of new information for people who are familiar with the topic.

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Andre Golard

Good read, well-explained science, with practical implications

December 15, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A good mix of science and stories. It starts more on the science side, and becomes more speculative tackling broader concepts. Fine.

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abdul meskienyar

A must read

February 16, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book will help it's readers be better critical thinkers. A lot of interesting phenomenon that we in this advertising, media age should be aware of. (I'm not convinced a single bit by the theory of evolution, so I docked a star)

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Art

Five Stars

February 28, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Now it all makes sense!!!

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