15 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: “Through the Language Glass” by Guy Deutscher separates fact from fiction in a burgeoning, but rather controversial field: linguistic relativity. In addition to sketching out a brief history of the research done in the area, Deutscher’s book recalls hundreds of experiments which show why, how and to what extent language […]
Category: Popular Science
The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty Summary
12 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: “Amusing Ourselves to Death” explores whether Aldous Huxley’s fictional and dystopian vision of the future described in Brave New World hasn’t already turned into the reality of our TV-dominated and image-centered present. Spoiler alert: it has, and TV and reality shows are our pleasure drugs, our very own soma. Who […]
How We Learn Summary
14 min read ⌚ Quick Summary: How We Learn by Benedict Carey uses the newest findings related to the nature and biology of our brains as a springboard for a fun-to-read exploration of our learning habits and a sort of operational manual on how to tweak them so that you can harness the full power of […]
The Upside of Irrationality Summary
Quick Summary: The Upside of Irrationality is the second book by social scientist Dan Ariely, and it is a fitting follow-up to his first book, Predictably Irrational: if in his debut Ariely revealed the preprogrammed biases which instigate us to make unwise choices, here he shows the unexpected benefits (and, sometimes, downsides) of these decisions.
Enlightenment Now Summary
15 min read ⌚ The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress Did you enjoy Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature? If so, then wait till you get to know with its follow-up: Enlightenment Now. Who Should Read “Enlightenment Now”? And Why? Let us answer these questions with a question: why wouldn’t you read […]
Brief Answers to the Big Questions Summary
12 min read ⌚ Widely considered one of the greatest minds in history, Stephen Hawking left our planet on 14 March 2018, precisely 139 years after the birth of Albert Einstein. Brief Answers to the Big Questions is the last book he ever authored, his “parting gift to humanity.” And if not for anything else – […]
The Evolution of Beauty Summary
12 min read ⌚ How Darwin’s Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World – and Us You know everything there’s to know about evolution, right? The fittest survive and so on and so forth. Well, Richard O. Prum would like a chance to change your mind with a new theory, one aptly titled: The […]
The Blank Slate Summary
14 min read ⌚ The Modern Denial of Human Nature No matter what they say, a large part of who you are is due to your genes – and there’s nothing you can do to change that. Sounds scary? Steven Pinker doesn’t think so. And he explains why in: The Blank Slate. Who Should Read “The […]
Strangers to Ourselves Summary
14 min read ⌚ Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious Think you know yourself? Think again! Timothy D. Wilson’s research into the adaptive unconscious uncovers a startling truth: We are all Strangers to Ourselves. Who Should Read “Strangers to Ourselves”? And Why? Timothy D. Wilson is a professor at the University of Virginia and one of the foremost […]
How We Decide Summary
11 min read ⌚ Do you want to learn what stands behind each of your decisions? Jonah Lehrer uncovers that and so much more in: How We Decide. Who Should Read “How We Decide”? And Why? How We Decide is one of a few essential and popular books dealing with our decision-making process. If you know […]
