Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Advanced
Title details for Kluge by Gary Marcus - Available

Kluge

by Gary Marcus
Stephen Hoye
Audiobook
Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
Are we "noble in reason"? Perfect, in God's image? Far from it, says New York University psychologist Gary Marcus. In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed organ but a "kluge," a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption. He unveils a fundamentally new way of looking at the human mind-think duct tape, not supercomputer-that sheds light on some of the most mysterious aspects of human nature. Taking us on a tour of the fundamental areas of human experience-memory, belief, decision making, language, and happiness-Marcus reveals the myriad ways our minds fall short. He examines why people often vote against their own interests, why money can't buy happiness, why leaders often stick to bad decisions, and why a sentence like "people people left left" ties us into knots even though it's only four words long. He also offers surprisingly effective ways to outwit our inner kluge-for example, always consider alternative explanations, make contingency plans, and beware the vivid, personal anecdote. Throughout, he shows how only evolution-haphazard and undirected-could have produced the minds we humans have, while making a brilliant case for the power and usefulness of imperfection.
Expand title description text
Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc. Edition: Unabridged

OverDrive Listen audiobook

  • ISBN: 9781400127511
  • File size: 188965 KB
  • Release date: June 30, 2008
  • Duration: 06:33:40

MP3 audiobook

  • ISBN: 9781400127511
  • File size: 189299 KB
  • Release date: June 30, 2008
  • Duration: 06:33:40
  • Number of parts: 7
Loading
Loading

Formats

OverDrive Listen audiobook
MP3 audiobook

subjects

Psychology Science Nonfiction

Languages

English

Are we "noble in reason"? Perfect, in God's image? Far from it, says New York University psychologist Gary Marcus. In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed organ but a "kluge," a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption. He unveils a fundamentally new way of looking at the human mind-think duct tape, not supercomputer-that sheds light on some of the most mysterious aspects of human nature. Taking us on a tour of the fundamental areas of human experience-memory, belief, decision making, language, and happiness-Marcus reveals the myriad ways our minds fall short. He examines why people often vote against their own interests, why money can't buy happiness, why leaders often stick to bad decisions, and why a sentence like "people people left left" ties us into knots even though it's only four words long. He also offers surprisingly effective ways to outwit our inner kluge-for example, always consider alternative explanations, make contingency plans, and beware the vivid, personal anecdote. Throughout, he shows how only evolution-haphazard and undirected-could have produced the minds we humans have, while making a brilliant case for the power and usefulness of imperfection.
Expand title description text
Psychology Science Nonfiction
The Ontario Library Service Download Centre site is funded by participating libraries.