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The Unpredictable Species
How our brains have evolved so that we control how we think and behave
The Unpredictable Species argues that the human brain evolved in a way that enhances our cognitive flexibility and capacity for innovation and imitation. In doing so, the book challenges the central claim of evolutionary psychology that we are locked into predictable patterns of behavior that were fixed by genes, and refutes the claim that language is innate. Philip Lieberman builds his case with evidence from neuroscience, genetics, and physical anthropology, showing how our basal ganglia--structures deep within the brain whose origins predate the dinosaurs--came to play a key role in human creativity. He demonstrates how the transfer of information in these structures was enhanced by genetic mutation and evolution, giving rise to supercharged neural circuits linking activity in different parts of the brain. Human invention, expressed in different epochs and locales in the form of stone tools, digital computers, new art forms, complex civilizations--even the latest fashions--stems from these supercharged circuits.
The Unpredictable Species boldly upends scientifically controversial yet popular beliefs about how our brains actually work. Along the way, this compelling book provides insights into a host of topics related to human cognition, including associative learning, epigenetics, the skills required to be a samurai, and the causes of cognitive confusion on Mount Everest and of Parkinson's disease.
The Unpredictable Species argues that the human brain evolved in a way that enhances our cognitive flexibility and capacity for innovation and imitation. In doing so, the book challenges the central claim of evolutionary psychology that we are locked into predictable patterns of behavior that were fixed by genes, and refutes the claim that language is innate. Philip Lieberman builds his case with evidence from neuroscience, genetics, and physical anthropology, showing how our basal ganglia--structures deep within the brain whose origins predate the dinosaurs--came to play a key role in human creativity. He demonstrates how the transfer of information in these structures was enhanced by genetic mutation and evolution, giving rise to supercharged neural circuits linking activity in different parts of the brain. Human invention, expressed in different epochs and locales in the form of stone tools, digital computers, new art forms, complex civilizations--even the latest fashions--stems from these supercharged circuits.
The Unpredictable Species boldly upends scientifically controversial yet popular beliefs about how our brains actually work. Along the way, this compelling book provides insights into a host of topics related to human cognition, including associative learning, epigenetics, the skills required to be a samurai, and the causes of cognitive confusion on Mount Everest and of Parkinson's disease.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 21, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 7, 2013
As someone who has had a professional interest in how the human brain works, I learned a lot from this book and have found myself referring friends to it. While the subject matter is scientific, Lieberman writes for the non-scientist and makes his potentially esoteric subject clear.
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September 9, 2023Questo libro fa parte dei miei studi, ma non è il solito libro pieno di nozioni pesanti... lo trovo molto interessante.
July 5, 2013
IMHO, this book is best appreciated if you have considerable background knowledge in the field of Cognitive Psychology. Which I have always found endlessly fascinating and a field I returned to study formally after age 50. I worked for some years within trials for tracking and other research projects re creativity in a university setting- so this was just a great read for me.
Sometimes (especially re Chomsky's universal language criteria and former definitive assumptions so accepted in this exact field)the book is rather confusing, both in explanation and in partial or open ended conclusion to its validity. There is no definitive universal if exceptions exist that are clearly observable exceptions. There is a very fine line in "proof" for this certainty. As language exceptions always occur and to me, much of the deduction after that "universal" assumption can be put into a category of faith, rather than that of definitive proof.
Unpredictable brain use is what makes homo sapiens such survivors. But this book's language was so dense and continually re-defining terms, that it is probably not a great read for someone with no former Cognitive investigation. I could be wrong and there would be parts interesting to all.
Sometimes (especially re Chomsky's universal language criteria and former definitive assumptions so accepted in this exact field)the book is rather confusing, both in explanation and in partial or open ended conclusion to its validity. There is no definitive universal if exceptions exist that are clearly observable exceptions. There is a very fine line in "proof" for this certainty. As language exceptions always occur and to me, much of the deduction after that "universal" assumption can be put into a category of faith, rather than that of definitive proof.
Unpredictable brain use is what makes homo sapiens such survivors. But this book's language was so dense and continually re-defining terms, that it is probably not a great read for someone with no former Cognitive investigation. I could be wrong and there would be parts interesting to all.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews