Nonfiction and Nonsense

Chapter 9 (Centuries to Millenia Before) discussed culture and how it molds behavior. The author begins with declaring his goals for the chapter, which I appreciated. Culture can be defined in many ways, but to make things easier, he tells us how he will be defining it for the purpose of books subject. I enjoyed…

Chapter 7 (Back to the Crib, Back to the Womb) discusses the roots of our behavior, which began in childhood. Warning, this chapter is insanely long, and if you are the type of person who must read an entire chapter in one sitting once you begin it (as I am), make sure you have nothing…

Chapter 5 (Days to Months Before) begins by reminding us of the focus of the previous chapters, Seconds being the nervous system, Minutes to Hours being sensory cues, and Hours to Days being hormones. This chapter focuses on memory. Memory comes from the connection between the axon terminal and the dendritic spine. You would think…

Chapter 3 (Seconds to Minutes Before) discussed outside stimuli and their influences on behavior. Sounds, sights, smells, and touch are all sensory cues that can have an effect on your behavior, but in ways so subtle they are not noticed by you. I think my favorite parts in this chapter involved the things I learned…

This seventeen-chapter book began with an introduction that let me know I was going to enjoy myself while I struggled to understand the content. Mr. Sapolsky narrated a Hitler torture fantasy that gave a serial killer-esque feel with how obviously thought out each part of it has been detailed. From here I knew that while…