Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect
J**H
Super interesting
A lot of interesting about our social brains, I’m recommending to everyone I know
S**W
Social....
A very compelling book on the physical goings on within our minds during our most average everyday lives. Dr Lieberman is a psychologist who has dedicated his life to understanding the functionality of the brain and why it responses the way it does. This book breaks down how nature has adapted our evolution as a social society and why. This gives a great insight to what portions of the brain react to certain situations and why. It also gives a comprehensive understanding as to how our society has evolved into the social dependency it is today. Dr Lieberman is not shy about sharing his own possibility embarrassing experiences in order to further his point on our social dependencies. For that..... I give five stars. Although I probably would have done so anyway because his research is fascinating on its own. 😃
N**R
The bulk of it can sound like you are reading through a university thesis
A very interesting and insightful work by Dr. Lieberman. You can tell he has put his life's work into uncovering these universal truths regarding humans and social behavior. There are many factoids regarding communication and people management that I will remember the rest of my life. However, the book reads incredibly dry. The bulk of it can sound like you are reading through a university thesis, which makes sense given the author's credentials and primary field of study. His attempt at making the data heavy experiments digestible is to sandwich the base material between an intro and conclusion in layman's prose. Unfortunately, sections sometimes read as: Intro, A+B=C, A+B≠D, Conclusion. While the non data oriented parts read well, I wish he could have injected that tone throughout the book without sacrificing information. With all that being said, if you are interested in understanding more about the human condition, I absolutely recommend this book. Great insight for managers or those working with large teams.
R**D
A brilliant and enlightening book
So my background is in therapy, and am always looking for books to enhance my understanding of human nature. This is one of the best books I've read, and feel the implications discussed in this book are some of the most important we need to be aware of in appreciating who we are. The author made a persuasive case with this book that our social connections really make or break us. There was just so much good information in this book that I see myself rereading it over the years to fully internalize and understand what to do with this important information.
G**E
We are more EO Wilson's ant than Ayn Rand's architect
This is another strong offering under the general category of evolutionary psychology. However, what makes this book different -- and shocking -- is the conclusion drawn toward the end. We are fundamentally mistaken about "who we are" because our evolved brain regularly tricks us into thinking we are taking certain actions or thinking certain thoughts on behalf of ourselves when, really, these actions & thoughts are on behalf of our social group. For some reason I was reminded of the '70's move, Soylent Green, where at the climax Charlton Heston raises a bloodied hand and shouts: "Soylent Green is People!" Well, Matthew Lieberman, as an academic, understandably shies away from using bloody hands, agonized cries, or even exclamation points, but you could easily imagine the unstated climax of his book as being: "The Self is People!"Now that we have this fundamentally new understanding of the Self, how do we live with it? Lieberman address this but, to me, it feels more like a piece of candy and a pat on the back after a visit to the doctor. What might be a better follow up is a book that would be something similar to The Robot's Rebellion, Stanovich's take on the implications of The Selfish Gene....or maybe even something like Camus' Myth of Sisyphus, but rooted in this brave new world of the "Self."
N**N
He DIDN'T blind me with science.
When I got to the passage explaining how Tylenol works as effectively on emotional pain as it does physical pain, I actually said "Wow" out loud. There are many such "wow" out loud passages in this book. Lieberman (and his colleagues, all of whom he generously mentions) has conducted quietly revolutionary research on humanity's need for social connections and explains, clearly and in a manner accessible to laypersons, how our human brains are built to crave emotional bonds with others and how that craving has helped us evolve. His research is impressive, his writing is engaging, his findings are illuminating, and the subject is fascinating. This is an important book which will make the reader (at least it made this reader) appreciate the necessity of human connection.
A**R
Super boring in the beginning
Super boring in the beginning. I put the book down multiple times and have regrettably not picked it back up since. I want to get into the information within the book but find it tiresome to sift through the evolutionist theory related to the main points.One day when I have more time or am so bored, maybe I'll make it through to the good content. FYI, I read little of the book and am writing this a while after. Maybe I'm wrong and just didn't read enough into the book.
E**N
Wired
Is it pure survival - or something far deeper? These are the types of questions asked and explored in this book on the need for human social interaction. Distinguishing humans from other mammals, Lieberman brings science to bear on why our social interactions are so critical, and what the implications are for the future of electronic connection and the era of “bowling alone”. An interesting if somewhat difficult read.
T**O
Ignore 1 star reviews. This is a masterpiece
Ignore 1 star reviews. This is a masterpiece
A**R
Good book
Good book. Teaches a lot about human interaction and how our ability to socialize and communicate has taken us forward in life as a species. While the book is to a large extent technical in its approach, I think if you have the patience and the openness to learn, there is great value in this book.
J**
Livro perfeito! condição entregue, a melhorar.
O produto é de excelente qualidade, tendo em vista o material do papel ser super confortável, não obstante ser imprescindível exímio cuidado no manuseio, a textura é finíssima e delicada, muito agradável, parecendo ser feita de seda. Eu Gostei bastante do material do livro. Excelente.
C**N
Excelente lectura
Excelente libro que nos ofrece un amplio conocimiento de la psicologia social, con información fundamentada y ejemplos aplicados a situaciones de la vida real, tiene algo de tecnisísmo pero al ser repetitivo nos vamos familiarizando con los términos de acuerdo a como se va avanzando en la lectura.La aplicación de este conocimiento en nuestra sociedad y a nivel personal puede traer grandes beneficios para mejorar nuestras relaciones personales y nuesta conexión con el entorno social.
T**U
L'homme animal social ou part de société ?
Le livre est à la hauteur de ses promesses . Facile à lire , l'auteur n'hésite pas à revenir sur ses explications à travers de brèves synthèses . Interessant si vous vous intéressez aux théories de l'esprit .... et au fait qu'on est beaucoup moins égoïstes qu'on se plait à se l'imaginer .Va bien en complément de "sapiens " .
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