Hallucinations
Oliver Sacks
Vintage
Nonfiction, Biography/Medicine/Psychology/Science
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: The first word that pops into most people's heads when someone mentions "hallucinations" is "crazy". After all, only a deeply disturbed mind could conjure images and voices from thin air, and only an equally disturbed person would actually believe these figments of imagination brought to apparent life, right? But hallucinations, of various forms and with various causes, are something most everyone has experienced at some time or another, from the phantom ringing phone at the edge of sleep to the "night terrors" associated with sleep paralysis. Medical doctor Oliver Sacks explores the causes, manifestations, and history of hallucinations through the lenses of medicine, psychology, and popular culture past and present.
REVIEW: This was another random selection via Libby. Like many people, I, too, have experienced what author Sacks would call "hallucinations" a time or two, mostly around the edges of sleep, though never to the extent of needing medical intervention. Referring to historical texts and recent investigations, as well as some personal experiences, Sacks relates the broad range of phenomena that could be called "hallucinations" - covering everything from seeing objects that do not exist to hearing voices to migraine "auras" to the phantom limbs felt by amputee patients and more - and how quite a few people who experience them aren't "crazy" in the least. Brains are tricky, complicated organs, about which quite a bit is still not fully understood, and the fact that we rely totally and utterly on them to interpret input from our senses to understand the world around us (and understand our own thoughts about said world) means that we can't always reliably sort out what's actual sensory input and what is a hiccup or glitch in the wiring or processing units. Historically, many cultures did not attach the stigma that the modern world often places on hallucinations, and sometimes they were deliberately sought out for healing or religious reasons. Likewise, not all hallucinations are necessarily harmful or indicative of major problems. Several of the stories were interesting, though the book as a whole seemed a little scattered, some parts feeling shallow or barely touched on before Sacks moved on, and I thought it could've used a stronger wrap-up at the end to summarize and tie together what it had covered. (Part of the problem may have been that the topic turned out to be too broad to adequately cover in a single volume of any reasonable length.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Third Man Factor (John Geiger) - My Review
Other Minds (Peter Godfrey-Smith) - My Review
Showing posts with label human psychology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human psychology. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Thursday, July 11, 2024
Same as Ever (Morgan Housel)
Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes
Morgan Housel
Portfolio
Nonfiction, Business/History/Human Psychology
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: It's not hard to find evidence that the world is going crazy lately. Political strife, income disparity, pandemics, floods of lies drowning truth and facts... the list goes on an on. While these are doubtless perilous times, they are far from entirely unprecedented. Business writer Morgan Housel digs into the past to put the present in perspective, finding a surprising number of basic ideas and truths that never seem to change.
REVIEW: With so much bombarding us with fear and gloom, this book seemed like a possible antidote for, or at least partial check on, the downward spiral. By looking back on other "unprecedented" times, Housel does indeed offer a bit of comfort (if mildly cold comfort; as much as pure pessimism is unwarranted, pure optimism's at least as self-deceptive) that what we're going through now isn't completely dissimilar to what humanity has gone through before. As the saying goes (often attributed to Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens), history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. While the details and specifics vary, society's reactions and human psychology remain the same. Greed and innovation, ambition and caution, selflessness and selfishness, the attractiveness of a compelling but potentially misleading story over solid but uninteresting or intimidating truths, all these and more have followed our species since long before prehistory, and will almost certainly continue with us as long as our species persists; indeed, the author uses evolution to demonstrate several concepts he presents in this book, such as how generalism often beats out specialization and how niches are constantly in flux, no life form guaranteed a perpetual pass from needing to adapt or die.
Housel does not offer specific predictions, as there are too many variables and too many times major events have hinged on the unanticipated and unquantifiable, but offers ways to reframe one's viewpoint to a more rational and less reactionary stance. Yes, there are plenty of things to worry about, but there is also some valid cause for cautious optimism. The focus tends to be on the business and financial side of things, which does lend itself to a few potential blind spots (in particular, I think he glossed over the potential problems of environmental and climate shifts, not to mention future competition for fresh water on a scale I don't think our species has faced), plus he has a way of glossing over the very real pitfalls and long-term costs of poverty. Overall, though, Housel presents an interesting and well-researched call for, if not complete calm, at least some hesitation before chalking our world and civilization up as a lost cause.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Scatter, Adapt, and Remember (Annalee Newitz) - My Review
Cities (Monica L. Smith) - My Review
Soonish (Kelly and Zach Weinersmith) - My Review
Morgan Housel
Portfolio
Nonfiction, Business/History/Human Psychology
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: It's not hard to find evidence that the world is going crazy lately. Political strife, income disparity, pandemics, floods of lies drowning truth and facts... the list goes on an on. While these are doubtless perilous times, they are far from entirely unprecedented. Business writer Morgan Housel digs into the past to put the present in perspective, finding a surprising number of basic ideas and truths that never seem to change.
REVIEW: With so much bombarding us with fear and gloom, this book seemed like a possible antidote for, or at least partial check on, the downward spiral. By looking back on other "unprecedented" times, Housel does indeed offer a bit of comfort (if mildly cold comfort; as much as pure pessimism is unwarranted, pure optimism's at least as self-deceptive) that what we're going through now isn't completely dissimilar to what humanity has gone through before. As the saying goes (often attributed to Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens), history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. While the details and specifics vary, society's reactions and human psychology remain the same. Greed and innovation, ambition and caution, selflessness and selfishness, the attractiveness of a compelling but potentially misleading story over solid but uninteresting or intimidating truths, all these and more have followed our species since long before prehistory, and will almost certainly continue with us as long as our species persists; indeed, the author uses evolution to demonstrate several concepts he presents in this book, such as how generalism often beats out specialization and how niches are constantly in flux, no life form guaranteed a perpetual pass from needing to adapt or die.
Housel does not offer specific predictions, as there are too many variables and too many times major events have hinged on the unanticipated and unquantifiable, but offers ways to reframe one's viewpoint to a more rational and less reactionary stance. Yes, there are plenty of things to worry about, but there is also some valid cause for cautious optimism. The focus tends to be on the business and financial side of things, which does lend itself to a few potential blind spots (in particular, I think he glossed over the potential problems of environmental and climate shifts, not to mention future competition for fresh water on a scale I don't think our species has faced), plus he has a way of glossing over the very real pitfalls and long-term costs of poverty. Overall, though, Housel presents an interesting and well-researched call for, if not complete calm, at least some hesitation before chalking our world and civilization up as a lost cause.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Scatter, Adapt, and Remember (Annalee Newitz) - My Review
Cities (Monica L. Smith) - My Review
Soonish (Kelly and Zach Weinersmith) - My Review
Friday, January 5, 2024
Thinking 101 (Woo-kyoung Ahn)
Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better
Woo-kyoung Ahn
Flatiron
Nonfiction, Psychology
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: You know you need to get your holiday shopping done... but somehow it doesn't happen until the last minute. You cheer when your team's star player makes the winning goal, but gloss over the teamwork, successes, and failure that made that one moment so apparently pivotal to victory. You're talking with your partner and suddenly realize that you're not only not on the same page, but hardly even in the same book. You consider yourself an above-average driver... just like the majority of people, which can't possibly be true. What's going on, here?
What's going on is your brain reacting in predictable ways to various situations, using tools that can be useful in some situations - and were useful in our evolution - but which can also work against us, sometimes to terrible results; it's one thing, after all, to be convinced that your lucky socks are why your sports team made it to the championships, but it's quite another to let unconscious biases and assumptions endanger livelihoods and lives, as cultural and racial and political intolerances can do when left unchecked to gain too much societal traction, or what happens when conspiracy theories botch pandemic responses. Learn about those pitfalls and mental traps, how to recognize them at work, and how to best work around them for better thinking and decision-making skills.
REVIEW: This is not the first book I've read addressing the flaws inherent in the human thought processes, the brain being an organ that evolved to facilitate survival rather than perpetuate pure logic, but it's a pretty good one. Ahn cites and explains various studies and anecdotes to make her points, and emphasizes that education alone isn't enough to short-circuit the mental short-circuts in the works. Indeed, sometimes being more educated just gives people more ways to "outthink" or debunk information that doesn't fit their personal beliefs or biases. Still, awareness is an important first step in recognizing when our thinking has become imbalanced and our decisions are compromised, especially when that imbalance and compromise causes harm. Once one is aware, there are tools and tips to help course-correct. Even though this is based off Ahn's popular college course, the language is accessible even to undereducated folk like myself. It's interesting and enjoyable.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) - My Review
Other Minds (Peter Godfrey-Smith) - My Review
You Are Not So Smart (David McRaney) - My Review
Woo-kyoung Ahn
Flatiron
Nonfiction, Psychology
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: You know you need to get your holiday shopping done... but somehow it doesn't happen until the last minute. You cheer when your team's star player makes the winning goal, but gloss over the teamwork, successes, and failure that made that one moment so apparently pivotal to victory. You're talking with your partner and suddenly realize that you're not only not on the same page, but hardly even in the same book. You consider yourself an above-average driver... just like the majority of people, which can't possibly be true. What's going on, here?
What's going on is your brain reacting in predictable ways to various situations, using tools that can be useful in some situations - and were useful in our evolution - but which can also work against us, sometimes to terrible results; it's one thing, after all, to be convinced that your lucky socks are why your sports team made it to the championships, but it's quite another to let unconscious biases and assumptions endanger livelihoods and lives, as cultural and racial and political intolerances can do when left unchecked to gain too much societal traction, or what happens when conspiracy theories botch pandemic responses. Learn about those pitfalls and mental traps, how to recognize them at work, and how to best work around them for better thinking and decision-making skills.
REVIEW: This is not the first book I've read addressing the flaws inherent in the human thought processes, the brain being an organ that evolved to facilitate survival rather than perpetuate pure logic, but it's a pretty good one. Ahn cites and explains various studies and anecdotes to make her points, and emphasizes that education alone isn't enough to short-circuit the mental short-circuts in the works. Indeed, sometimes being more educated just gives people more ways to "outthink" or debunk information that doesn't fit their personal beliefs or biases. Still, awareness is an important first step in recognizing when our thinking has become imbalanced and our decisions are compromised, especially when that imbalance and compromise causes harm. Once one is aware, there are tools and tips to help course-correct. Even though this is based off Ahn's popular college course, the language is accessible even to undereducated folk like myself. It's interesting and enjoyable.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) - My Review
Other Minds (Peter Godfrey-Smith) - My Review
You Are Not So Smart (David McRaney) - My Review
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
The Third Man Factor (John Geiger)
The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible
John Geiger
Hachette Books
Nonfiction, Psychology/Sociology/Survival
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: A scuba diver in a deep cave loses track of her guideline... only to sense a presence that helps keep her calm until she can escape. An injured mountain climber, lost in bad weather, is tempted to give up, until someone who could not possibly be there urges them onward toward rescue. A sailor attempting a solo circumnavigation senses and even sees and hears a stranger aboard their ship, helping them through rough weather. An explorer lost in hostile jungle terrain follows a phantom figure to safety. A man in the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks feels a presence just behind him, guiding him to safety before the towers collapse.
It sounds like the stuff of fiction, but these and other encounters like them are recorded thousands of times and more: people in high-stress, emergency situations and survival circumstances who sense or even see a phantom person, an entity that sometimes just watches and sometimes actively seems to offer advice or assistance. The figure can be a simple sensation of an unseen presence, a figure lacking features, an associate or loved one, or even a complete stranger. Even famed explorers like Shackleton experienced this, though many hide encounters for years or decades to avoid ridicule. The "Third Man Factor" is a real phenomenon, for all that nobody seems quite sure what the cause or trigger is. Author John Geiger relates several stories of Third Man encounters, along with studies and theories on their nature, from spiritual guides to evolutionary survival tactics to neural misfirings.
REVIEW: I've heard a few mentions of Third Man-like experiences in other survival stories, but this book is the first I've read dedicated solely to the phenomenon, which often falls into a gray area between spiritual or religious beliefs and neurochemistry. Actually studying it in action is difficult to impossible, given that it generally takes extreme situations to trigger, though some progress has been made on simulating similar experiences in lab settings. There's also some indication that it is related to the sense of a presence during sleep paralysis episodes and "imaginary friends" generated in childhood, and also possibly the misplaced sense of self that can also be seen in out-of-body experiences and "phantom limb" feelings in amputees; indeed, more than one person reporting their encounters seems to realize at some point that the "other" is an extension of themselves. Unlike delusional episodes or hallucinations, the people experiencing the Third Man often know that the "other" cannot possibly be there in truth, but the presence can still sometimes mean the difference between life and death in a very literal sense. "Third Men" (sometimes manifesting as female, or of undetermined gender) may well be an extreme survival tactic concocted by our social ape brains, for all that they sometimes seem like inert entities or even, rarely, vaguely malevolent (as in the "sleep paralysis demons" some report); just the sense of not being alone can help one rally in the face of impossible odds. The stories Geiger relates can occasionally bleed together (how many mountaineering disasters can a reader be expected to keep straight?), and sometimes the Third Man entity/experience involved seems more tangential than instrumental to helping the victims pull themselves together and get out of trouble, but overall it's a decently interesting look at an unusual psychological phenomenon.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Girl With No Name (Marina Chapman et al.) - My Review
Nation (Terry Pratchett) - My Review
Lost in Shangri-La (Mitchell Zuckoff) - My Review
John Geiger
Hachette Books
Nonfiction, Psychology/Sociology/Survival
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: A scuba diver in a deep cave loses track of her guideline... only to sense a presence that helps keep her calm until she can escape. An injured mountain climber, lost in bad weather, is tempted to give up, until someone who could not possibly be there urges them onward toward rescue. A sailor attempting a solo circumnavigation senses and even sees and hears a stranger aboard their ship, helping them through rough weather. An explorer lost in hostile jungle terrain follows a phantom figure to safety. A man in the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks feels a presence just behind him, guiding him to safety before the towers collapse.
It sounds like the stuff of fiction, but these and other encounters like them are recorded thousands of times and more: people in high-stress, emergency situations and survival circumstances who sense or even see a phantom person, an entity that sometimes just watches and sometimes actively seems to offer advice or assistance. The figure can be a simple sensation of an unseen presence, a figure lacking features, an associate or loved one, or even a complete stranger. Even famed explorers like Shackleton experienced this, though many hide encounters for years or decades to avoid ridicule. The "Third Man Factor" is a real phenomenon, for all that nobody seems quite sure what the cause or trigger is. Author John Geiger relates several stories of Third Man encounters, along with studies and theories on their nature, from spiritual guides to evolutionary survival tactics to neural misfirings.
REVIEW: I've heard a few mentions of Third Man-like experiences in other survival stories, but this book is the first I've read dedicated solely to the phenomenon, which often falls into a gray area between spiritual or religious beliefs and neurochemistry. Actually studying it in action is difficult to impossible, given that it generally takes extreme situations to trigger, though some progress has been made on simulating similar experiences in lab settings. There's also some indication that it is related to the sense of a presence during sleep paralysis episodes and "imaginary friends" generated in childhood, and also possibly the misplaced sense of self that can also be seen in out-of-body experiences and "phantom limb" feelings in amputees; indeed, more than one person reporting their encounters seems to realize at some point that the "other" is an extension of themselves. Unlike delusional episodes or hallucinations, the people experiencing the Third Man often know that the "other" cannot possibly be there in truth, but the presence can still sometimes mean the difference between life and death in a very literal sense. "Third Men" (sometimes manifesting as female, or of undetermined gender) may well be an extreme survival tactic concocted by our social ape brains, for all that they sometimes seem like inert entities or even, rarely, vaguely malevolent (as in the "sleep paralysis demons" some report); just the sense of not being alone can help one rally in the face of impossible odds. The stories Geiger relates can occasionally bleed together (how many mountaineering disasters can a reader be expected to keep straight?), and sometimes the Third Man entity/experience involved seems more tangential than instrumental to helping the victims pull themselves together and get out of trouble, but overall it's a decently interesting look at an unusual psychological phenomenon.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Girl With No Name (Marina Chapman et al.) - My Review
Nation (Terry Pratchett) - My Review
Lost in Shangri-La (Mitchell Zuckoff) - My Review
Saturday, June 14, 2014
You Are Not So Smart (David McRaney)
You Are Not So Smart
David McRaney
Gotham
Nonfiction, Human Psychology
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: You're not like those other people - the ones who are swayed by advertising and political posturing, who jump to conclusions, who are willfully blind to their own weaknesses, who are capable of acts of unthinkable callousness or cruelty. You know what's going on. You are in control of your life and your future. Sure, you make a few mistakes, but you learn from them, and will never repeat them.
If you think all that, you are not so smart. But don't worry. Nobody else is that smart, either.
McRaney outlines 48 common intrinsic faults in human thinking that skew our perceptions, handicap our growth, and hinder logical thought processes, most of them hardwired into our brains... yes, even yours.
REVIEW: This is an interesting - if often depressing - look at how little control we have over our mental processes and behaviors. No, we're not mindless automata enslaved by our ancestral subconscious brains, but we still have a lot of unacknowledged clutter in the attic... much of which we cannot eliminate. The articles are short, rarely longer than three pages, and make their points without too much psychological jargon. It makes for interesting food for thought... well, insomuch as my useless brain is capable of thought.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) - My Review
Duh!: The Stupid History of the Human Race (Bob Fenster) - My Review
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Jon Stewart et al.) - My Review
David McRaney
Gotham
Nonfiction, Human Psychology
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: You're not like those other people - the ones who are swayed by advertising and political posturing, who jump to conclusions, who are willfully blind to their own weaknesses, who are capable of acts of unthinkable callousness or cruelty. You know what's going on. You are in control of your life and your future. Sure, you make a few mistakes, but you learn from them, and will never repeat them.
If you think all that, you are not so smart. But don't worry. Nobody else is that smart, either.
McRaney outlines 48 common intrinsic faults in human thinking that skew our perceptions, handicap our growth, and hinder logical thought processes, most of them hardwired into our brains... yes, even yours.
REVIEW: This is an interesting - if often depressing - look at how little control we have over our mental processes and behaviors. No, we're not mindless automata enslaved by our ancestral subconscious brains, but we still have a lot of unacknowledged clutter in the attic... much of which we cannot eliminate. The articles are short, rarely longer than three pages, and make their points without too much psychological jargon. It makes for interesting food for thought... well, insomuch as my useless brain is capable of thought.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely) - My Review
Duh!: The Stupid History of the Human Race (Bob Fenster) - My Review
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Jon Stewart et al.) - My Review
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