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Mindreading: An Investigation into How We Learn to Love and Lie
"I know what you're thinking," we say, but how do we know what others are thinking or feeling? Because evolution has granted us what has come to be known as "Theory of Mind," the ability not only to be self-aware but aware of others' consciousness. Theory of Mind develops slowly-and in some cases, such as autism, develops little or not at all. Theory of Mind allows us to interact socially, to care about others, to manage our behavior in groups, to fall in love, and--less admirably--it allows us to lie.
Some of the subject matter covered in
You are less likely to detect lies told to you by your longterm partner than by a new acquaintance.Female babies react more strongly and more often to another baby's cries than male babies. In other words, female children are more predisposed to become personally distressed by emotion in others and to cry in sympathy.In general, the female brain is superior to the male brain when it comes to social relationships; the male brain is better at spatial skills. People with autism follow the male trend, but to a much greater extreme.Autistics, like many normal men, collect things, focus on what seems to others to be trivial detail, and have a narrow range of interests. Could autism be an extreme form of the male brain?For evolutionary reasons, you should take very good care to detect eye gaze, because when another animal is looking at you it can mean one of the three 'F's. Either the animal wants to fight you, feed on you, or mate with you.
Some of the subject matter covered in
You are less likely to detect lies told to you by your longterm partner than by a new acquaintance.Female babies react more strongly and more often to another baby's cries than male babies. In other words, female children are more predisposed to become personally distressed by emotion in others and to cry in sympathy.In general, the female brain is superior to the male brain when it comes to social relationships; the male brain is better at spatial skills. People with autism follow the male trend, but to a much greater extreme.Autistics, like many normal men, collect things, focus on what seems to others to be trivial detail, and have a narrow range of interests. Could autism be an extreme form of the male brain?For evolutionary reasons, you should take very good care to detect eye gaze, because when another animal is looking at you it can mean one of the three 'F's. Either the animal wants to fight you, feed on you, or mate with you.
- GenresPsychologyNonfiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 13, 1998
2 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Sanjida O'Connell
12 books6 followersSanjida O'Connell is the author of four novels, THEORY OF MIND, ANGEL BIRD, SUGAR ISLAND and THE NAKED NAME OF LOVE, which has just been republished as THE PRIEST AND THE LILY.
She was one of the winners of the Betty Trask Award and shortlisted for the BBC Asia Award.
She writes psychological thrillers under the pen name of Sanjida Kay: BONE BY BONE, THE STOLEN CHILD, MY MOTHER'S SECRET and ONE YEAR LATER are published by Corvus Books.
She's had four works of non-fiction published: MINDREADING: HOW WE LEARN TO LOVE AND LIE, SUGAR: THE GRASS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, NATURE'S CALENDAR, CHIMPANZEE: THE MAKING OF THE FILM, and contributed to ANIMAL LIFE, an encyclopaedia edited by Charlotte Uhlenbroek.
She was one of the winners of the Betty Trask Award and shortlisted for the BBC Asia Award.
She writes psychological thrillers under the pen name of Sanjida Kay: BONE BY BONE, THE STOLEN CHILD, MY MOTHER'S SECRET and ONE YEAR LATER are published by Corvus Books.
She's had four works of non-fiction published: MINDREADING: HOW WE LEARN TO LOVE AND LIE, SUGAR: THE GRASS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, NATURE'S CALENDAR, CHIMPANZEE: THE MAKING OF THE FILM, and contributed to ANIMAL LIFE, an encyclopaedia edited by Charlotte Uhlenbroek.
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December 27, 2024
Text book on how the mind works, and includes details on autism.
Displaying 1 of 1 review