A calling ...

"We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims."

"Make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone."

- Buckminster Fuller

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Behave: not my favorite, but as important as any

I finished listening to Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst (Unabridged) by Robert M. Sapolsky, narrated by Michael Goldstrom on my Audible app. Try Audible and get it free: https://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B06XW3MVNF&source_code=AFAORWS04241590G4

Behave is not my favorite book because it casts such a wide net, yet it is so important precisely because it casts such a wide net. Sapolsky proposes a grand multifactorial theory evidencing how complicated behavior is, largely in counterpoint to a proliferation of oversimplifying single factor explanations skewing public debate about what causes the best and worst of public behavior. The author's command the nitty gritty of neuroscience, endocrinology, and primatology lends gravitas to his pointed challenges to sociology, theology, and legal traditions. The skeptic in me revels in the mastery with which the author pops intellectual balloons, but my pragmatic side, always seeking prescriptions to daily and longer term problems wonders: how can I use this? It reminds me of an all-in-one tool when I'm in need of a hammer.

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