
Kluge
The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $14.61
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Stephen Hoye
-
By:
-
Gary Marcus
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.
©2008 Gary Marcus (P)2008 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"The book is wholly accessible to the nonspecialist but likely to attract those already acquainted with amygdala, gyral cortex, and other landmarks in the cerebral map." ( Kirkus)
People who viewed this also viewed...



definitely worth reading
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyable, informative, though provoking, and very interesting!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Mandatory Reading
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Wonder mess of our Brain and Thought Process
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I listened to Kluge shortly after also listening to Gut Feelings by Gerd Gigerenzer of the Max Planck institute. I highly recommend reading them both in quick succession because they each advance arguments that conflict with the other and help put some perspective on both of them.
In Kluge, Marcus does a good job of illustrating many of the ways that our human brain, as well as the way we think falls short of perfection. Understanding our shortcomings is important, not to mention highly interesting.
But I can't help feeling that he's showing some of his own mental shortcomings in his arguments. He laments, for example, that we have an inefficient memory system, and argues that we would be better off with a "postal code" type system that would enable total recall.
However, he fails to consider the cases of people with exceptional memory and how they fit into the equation. The oversight seems to be his own case of confirmation bias, one of the examples of "kluginess" he details.
Gigerenzer's book does examine cases of such exceptional memory and illustrates that there appear to be some significant downsides - a fact that deserves to be explored in greater detail.
Kluge also lists some arguments counter to his, which are summarily dismissed. But the book doesn't address any of Gigerenzer's studies that show significant benefits to mental heuristics that rely on ignorance rather than solid data.
At times Kluge also seems a little overly critical, such as when it puts forth the notion that the species could benefit from a pill to cure procrastination.
But in general, Kluge outlines many interesting flaws in general human reasoning. I particularly enjoyed many of the tips for better decision making in the final chapter.
Overall, Kluge is a good read. I recommend it to anyone interested in human thought.
An Interesting Overview
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not the greatest..
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
He touches on the Questionable Reliability of Memory, the Decision-Making Process, and the Search for Happiness and Pleasure. He points out the points of failure and success that demonstrate what we all understand as the Humanity and fallibility of the Brain. Recognizing these issues he even offers suggestions that might help us use this wonderful organ more effectively.
Four Stars. ****
Comforting theory of Brain Evolution on many levels.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In #Kluge, Gary Marcus explores the quirks and inefficiencies of the human #brain, arguing that it is not as perfectly designed as we might assume. Instead, the brain is the result of a messy evolutionary process, where newer systems were added on top of older ones, often leading to clumsy or ineffective functioning.
For example, while we can easily recall faces from decades ago, we struggle to remember recent details like what we ate for breakfast. Similarly, we are susceptible to irrational decision-making, such as buying more items when influenced by arbitrary limits (“Limit 12 per customer” versus “Limit 4 per customer”).
Prof. Marcus highlights key areas of human experience — memory, belief, decision-making, language, and happiness — demonstrating how these cognitive functions reveal the brain’s imperfections. By understanding the brain as a “kluge” — a makeshift solution rather than an optimal design — we can better comprehend human behavior and thought processes.
This understanding is particularly relevant in the unfolding #AI era, where the efficiency and precision of machine intelligence augment creative nature of the human mind, offering opportunities for synergic collaboration between carbon and silicon-based intelligence.
Why being absolutely bright in one things we act weird in others?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fascinating Book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
mostly good
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.