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The Elephant in the Brain
The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life | Robin Hanson, Kevin Simler
3 posts | 5 read | 6 to read
"This book exposes our unconscious selfish motives, those we're reluctant to discuss or even think about. These motives drive our body language, laughter, and conversation, as well as venerated institutions like art, school, charity, medicine, politics, and religion"--
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Ankita8
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Pickpick

Our everyday actions and its reasons are explained in an interesting manner. There are many things which one already knew but the different chapters bring forth the mysteries of life in one book.

Would definitely recommend it for a one time read

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Bigwig
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Mehso-so

Your subconscious is a powerfully selfish presidential administration and your conscious mind is the press secretary lying to you about it. That‘s the premise of this interesting but uneven book exploring subconscious motivations for our supposedly logical and altruistic behaviors. I wanted to be captivated, but never quite got there. Think of it as “late night super interesting dorm room conversation with your roommate: the book.”

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Lizbeth17
Mehso-so

The first half of the book, I was surprised and interested. Maybe I shouldn‘t have been, since the essential conclusion is “humans are more selfish than you think, and prioritize sex and prestige”, but the writing kept the information feeling fresh and relevant, and the authors had a self effacing narrative that hit the right notes. But the chapters started feeling a bit repetitive and so I skipped to the end.