A readable work of popular science that reveals little-known facets of our worried, weary minds.
Noted physicist and science writer Mlodinow brings an up-to-date view of the neuroscience surrounding emotions.
In classical philosophy, emotions were viewed as separate from and opposite to rational thought. The latest view, informed by extensive brain studies, holds that emotions are different from but intimately connected with what we call deliberate thought in the form of decision-making and rational choice. “While rational thought allows us to draw logical conclusions based on our goals and relevant data,” Mlodinow writes, “emotion operates at a more abstract level—it affects the importance we assign to the goals and the weight we give to the data.” Sometimes it operates by tapping into more ancestral areas of the brain, touching on fight-or-flight instincts: If we hear a rustling in the bushes as we walk by them, is it the wind or a fierce predator? All mammals and many species of insects, Mlodinow writes, experience emotion as a feature of our shared “evolutionary heritage,” and the triggers are much the same. We feel our way around our environment, drawing on prior experience and using it as a guide, how we felt then conditioning how we feel now. This is not always healthy, however. Our fearful responses may not apply to every situation, but fear leads us to “assign higher than normal probabilities to alarming possibilities” that we may rationally know not to be so. As the author shows, our emotions are not uniform; some people are “quick to become anxious, while in others anxiety builds slowly,” and levels of happiness and sorrow are contingent on many factors. Whatever the instance, Mlodinow encourages readers to take time to better understand their own emotional makeup by developing an “emotional profile” that can lead to heightened self-awareness and, perhaps, even to greater peace of mind.
A readable work of popular science that reveals little-known facets of our worried, weary minds.Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-524-74759-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
An intriguing approach to identifying and relating to one’s emotions.
An analysis of our emotions and the skills required to understand them.
We all have emotions, but how many of us have the vocabulary to accurately describe our experiences or to understand how our emotions affect the way we act? In this guide to help readers with their emotions, Brackett, the founding director of Yale University’s Center for Emotional Intelligence, presents a five-step method he calls R.U.L.E.R.: We need to recognize our emotions, understand what has caused them, be able to label them with precise terms and descriptions, know how to safely and effectively express them, and be able to regulate them in productive ways. The author walks readers through each step and provides an intriguing tool to use to help identify a specific emotion. Brackett introduces a four-square grid called a Mood Meter, which allows one to define where an emotion falls based on pleasantness and energy. He also uses four colors for each quadrant: yellow for high pleasantness and high energy, red for low pleasantness and high energy, green for high pleasantness and low energy, and blue for low pleasantness and low energy. The idea is to identify where an emotion lies in this grid in order to put the R.U.L.E.R. method to good use. The author’s research is wide-ranging, and his interweaving of his personal story with the data helps make the book less academic and more accessible to general readers. It’s particularly useful for parents and teachers who want to help children learn to handle difficult emotions so that they can thrive rather than be overwhelmed by them. The author’s system will also find use in the workplace. “Emotions are the most powerful force inside the workplace—as they are in every human endeavor,” writes Brackett. “They influence everything from leadership effectiveness to building and maintaining complex relationships, from innovation to customer relations.”
An intriguing approach to identifying and relating to one’s emotions.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-21284-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Solid data and reasoned conjecture strike a harmonious balance in a new SETI.
A jocular title does not even hint at the real wonders of this cook’s tour of alien life.
Astrophysicist Frank, author of Light of the Stars and The Constant Fire, has been obsessed with the idea of extraterrestrial life since childhood. After years of dreaming about exploring the cosmos for signs of intelligent life, he and other scientists are on the threshold of a new era of unprecedented discovery in the field of astrobiology. He details not only recent revelations in the detection of exoplanets, but also the search for technosignatures, indicators of technologically advanced species on worlds light years distant. These are not merely elements of science fiction. They are realities now within human reach thanks to the continuing development of ultra-powerful telescopes and to the sea change in a scientific culture that once scoffed at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Frank’s enthusiasm is contagious, occasionally over-exuberant, and there is plenty of hard science in this survey, which the author presents with economy and accessibility. The book brims with fascinating facts and speculations, from the particulars of astrobiology to Dyson spheres. Frank’s cosmic tour makes stops at such milestones as the Fermi Paradox and the Drake Equation, showing how these 1950s advances continue to inform our thinking about the possibility of technological civilizations. The author also recounts the origins and current manifestations of the UFO craze and how the advancement of actual science has been impeded by 70 years of pop culture images that haunt our collective expectations. Frank advises we look for alien life where it most likely exists: deep space. He also stresses the key point that we have only begun to peer into the universe with instruments capable of breakthrough discoveries, a useful riposte to critics of the effort. Throughout, Frank champions the importance of demanding standards of evidence: “They are, literally, why science works.”
Solid data and reasoned conjecture strike a harmonious balance in a new SETI.Pub Date: Nov. 21, 2023
ISBN: 9780063279735
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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