Review of Robert Kurzban's Why Everyone (Else) is a Hypocrite

Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind by Robert Kurzban
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an excellent book on the modular view of the mind. I particular enjoyed the chapters on deception and self-deception.

If you're interested in evolutionary psychology, this is a great book to start an investigation of the subject.



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Review of Robert Wright's The Moral Animal

The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology by Robert Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was introduced to this book during a course on Buddhism and Modern Psychology. Wright covers a lot of ground in this well organized and tightly written book.

Wright doesn't hand down laws, saying "This is how it is," but rather leads with questions and tries to work out the answers based on Darwinian Natural Selection. This is not an easy task; so much is not available when examining the world from a purely materialistic point of view. When one is not allowed to give credit to supernatural, or even non-biological mental events, it really demands a serious and deep interrogation of the biological, chemical, and other physical causes of why people do the things they do. Wright uses several events from Darwin's life as examples, and in doing so makes both evolutionary psychology and Darwinian Natural Selection accessible to his readers.

If you're interested in morality, Darwin, evolutionary psychology, or why people do what they do, this is an excellent read.

If you're not interested in those topics, it's STILL and excellent read! I highly recommend it.

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Talent is Made, You Can Make It!

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. by Daniel Coyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an amazing book. I like the way Coyle breaks down brilliance in several fields. He makes the points that what we usually consider to be genius or talent is actually a combination of several factors, including (most importantly) deep practice. Daniel Coyle went to several talent hotbeds, as he called them, and talked to master teachers, coaches, etc., and observed several students in several areas: sports, music, etc.

If you're interested in how talent is developed, this is a good read. I would recommend it for anyone who liked Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. Or anyone interested in success in any field.

This is one that I want to read, again and again.

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