Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Liars, Lovers, and Heroes: What the New Brain Science Reveals About How We Become Who We Are
    Unavailable
    Liars, Lovers, and Heroes: What the New Brain Science Reveals About How We Become Who We Are
    Unavailable
    Liars, Lovers, and Heroes: What the New Brain Science Reveals About How We Become Who We Are
    Ebook830 pages9 hours

    Liars, Lovers, and Heroes: What the New Brain Science Reveals About How We Become Who We Are

    By Steven R. Quartz and Terrence J. Sejnowski

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    This exciting, timely book combines cutting-edge findings in neuroscience with examples from history and recent headlines to offer new insights into who we are. Introducing the new science of cultural biology, born of advances in brain imaging, computer modeling, and genetics, Drs. Quartz and Sejnowski demystify the dynamic engagement between brain and world that makes us something far beyond the sum of our parts.

    The authors show how our humanity unfolds in precise stages as brain and world engage on increasingly complex levels. Their discussion embraces shaping forces as ancient as climate change over millennia and events as recent as the terrorism and heroism of September 11 and offers intriguing answers to some of our most enduring questions, including why we live together, love, kill -- and sometimes lay down our lives for others.

    The answers, it turns out, are surprising and paradoxical: many of the noblest aspects of human nature -- altruism, love, courage, and creativity -- are rooted in brain systems so ancient that we share them with insects, and these systems form the basis as well of some of our darkest destructive traits. The authors also overturn popular views of how brains develop. We're not the simple product of animal urges, "selfish" genes, or nature versus nurture. We survive by creating an ingenious web of ideas for making sense of our world -- a symbolic reality called culture. This we endow to later generations as our blueprint for survival.

    Using compelling examples from history and contemporary life, the authors show how engagement with the world excites brain chemistry, which drives further engagement, which encourages the development of cultural complexity. They also share provocative ideas on how human development may be affected by changes in our culture. Their insights, grounded in science and far-reaching in their implications, are riveting reading for anyone interested in our past, present, and future.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateDec 14, 2010
    ISBN9780062028662
    Unavailable
    Liars, Lovers, and Heroes: What the New Brain Science Reveals About How We Become Who We Are

    Related to Liars, Lovers, and Heroes

    Related ebooks

    Biology For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      COVID-19 Speeds the Cashless Transition

      Jul 2, 2020

      Dayna Ford is senior director-analyst for Gartner, a market research firm. She focuses on digital wallets and other forms of electronic payment. Electronic payments have soared since the pandemic began. Do you expect that trend to continue after the

      2 min read

    • Article

      Joel Embiid

      Nov 29, 2022

      Joel Embiid
      2 min read

    • Article

      Beyond the Word Gap

      Apr 22, 2016

      Beyond the Word Gap
      6 min read

    • Article

      20 Terrific Brain-boosting Ideas!

      May 2, 2020

      Every baby is born with 100 billion brain cells. Some of these are connected at birth, but most of them are not. It is these connections that will happen in the first five years. Therefore, more the connections, the smarter and more efficient will be

      5 min read

    • Article

      Our Brains Tell Stories So We Can Live

      Aug 8, 2019

      We are all storytellers; we make sense out of the world by telling stories. And science is a great source of stories. Not so, you might argue. Science is an objective collection and interpretation of data. I completely agree. At the level of the stud

      8 min read

    • Article

      Consciousness Is Just a Feeling

      Mar 3, 2021

      When he was a boy, Mark Solms obsessed over big existential questions. What happens when I die? What makes me who I am? He went on to study neuroscience but soon discovered that neuropsychology had no patience for such open-ended questions about the

      12 min read

    • Article

      The Spiritual Consciousness of Christof Koch

      Oct 13, 2021

      Consciousness is a thriving industry. It’s not just the meditation retreats and ayahuasca shamans. Or the conferences with a heady mix of philosophers, quantum physicists, and Buddhist monks. Consciousness is a buzzing business in neuroscience labs a

      16 min read

    • Article

      Student Edition

      Sep 30, 2017

      WITH EMMA LAW RANCE HOMETOWN: Adelaide CURRENTLY LIVING: Oxford RESEARCH: Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience “The first project for my PhD explored how we make decisions when we are missing information, and how this uncertainty influences our c

      8 min read

    • Article

      Philosopher’s Groan

      Mar 11, 2024

      Philosopher’s Groan
      10 min read

    • Article

      Stanford Scientist, After Decades Of Study, Concludes: We Don't Have Free Will

      Oct 19, 2023

      Before epilepsy was understood to be a neurological condition, people believed it was caused by the moon, or by phlegm in the brain. They condemned seizures as evidence of witchcraft or demonic possession, and killed or castrated sufferers to prevent

      8 min read

    • Article

      My 3 Greatest Revelations

      Dec 5, 2023

      My 3 Greatest Revelations
      4 min read

    • Article

      What Is Your Sleep Type?

      Jan 1, 2023

      What Is Your Sleep Type?
      6 min read

    • Article

      Scientists Have No Defense Against Awe

      Jun 12, 2016

      Eileen Pollack, author of The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys’ Club, hinted at the complexity of the relationship between science and the soul in a recent essay: “We need scientists who recognize the reality of this illusion we st

      5 min read

    • Article

      The 35 Best Health and Science Books to Read This Summer

      Jun 21, 2017

      Hopefully you have time carved out for some rest and relaxation this summer, but whatever will you read? We here at STAT have you covered.

      12 min read

    • Article

      Social Connection Makes a Better Brain

      Oct 29, 2013

      Recent trends show that people increasingly value material goods over relationships—but neuroscience and evolution say this goes against our nature.

      8 min read

    Reviews for Liars, Lovers, and Heroes

    3/5

    6 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words