Because Books & People Are Amazing

Psychology is an interesting field because it sits at the intersection of the mind & body.  If you want to read about how neuroscience is trying to explain how the brain can be the seat of consciousness, then Antonio Damasio is your guy.  Two books, Descartes’ Error and The Feeling of What Happens should be on your list.  (Curiously while neuroscience is all the rage these days, one way to think about Freud’s whole intellectual project was trying to explain how the body— e.g., sex, aggression— can give rise to the mind. He was just ahead of his time in getting there 130 years ago.)

The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar, is about the power, importance, and illusions of choice.  Her book summarizes a lot of research and helps appreciate the complexity of choice.  This includes the ways people misperceive and romanticize “choosing” when their choices are governed by habits and unconscious influences. Another interesting, albeit more academic, book about decision-making is Gary Klein’s Sources of Power.

Part of what makes people amazing is how each of us can push our limits. Michael Apter wrote a book called, Danger: Our Quest for Excitement which is a fascinating book for the general public about that fine line between thrilling and terrifying.  Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies & Why (Lawrence Gonzalez) wins the award for most exciting title.  It is also an intriguing look at the psychology of extreme events.  Hopefully none of us find ourselves in these desperate moments, but the insights it offers about how people act under duress can be illuminating.  Another book in this same vein is Unthinkable, by Amanda Ripley.