Strangers to Ourselves
Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious
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Narrated by:
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Joe Barrett
About this listen
In an eye-opening tour of the unconscious, as contemporary psychological science has redefined it, Timothy D. Wilson introduces us to a hidden mental world of judgments, feelings, and motives that introspection may never show us. This is not your psychoanalyst's unconscious. The adaptive unconscious that empirical psychology has revealed, and that Wilson describes, is much more than a repository of primative drives and conflict-ridden memories. It is a set of pervasive, sophisticated mental processes that size up our worlds, set goals, and initiate action, all while we are consciously thinking about something else. If we don't know ourselves -- our potentials, feelings, or motives -- it is most often, Wilson tells us, because we have developed a plausible story about ourselves that is out of touch with our adaptive unconscious. Citing evidence that too much introspection can actually do damage, Wilson makes the case for better ways of discovering our unconscious selves. If you want to know who you are or what you feel or what you're like, Wilson advises, pay attention to what you actually do and what other people think about you. Showing us an unconscious more powerful that Freud's, and even more pervasive in our daily life, Strangers to Ourselves marks a revolution in how we know ourselves. The book is published by Harvard University Press.
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Professor Jim Davies's fascinating and highly accessible book, Riveted, reveals the evolutionary underpinnings of why we find things compelling. Drawing on work from philosophy, anthropology, religious studies, psychology, economics, computer science, and biology, Davies offers a comprehensive explanation to show that in spite of the differences between the many things that we find compelling, they have similar effects on our minds and brains.
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Fun and excellent listen!
- By Alejandro Franco on 04-13-18
By: Jim Davies
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Mindware
- Tools for Smart Thinking
- By: Richard E. Nisbett
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Many scientific and philosophical ideas are so powerful that they can be applied to our lives at home, work, and school to help us think smarter and more effectively about our behavior and the world around us. Surprisingly, many of these ideas remain unknown to most of us. In Mindware, the world-renowned psychologist Richard Nisbett presents these ideas in clear and accessible detail, offering a tool kit for better thinking and wiser decisions.
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Sound scientific advice on how to live your life
- By Neuron on 08-26-15
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The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking
- How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane
- By: Matthew Hutson
- Narrated by: Matthew Hutson, Don Hagen
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In this witty and perceptive debut, a former editor at Psychology Today shows us how magical thinking makes life worth living. Psychologists have documented a litany of cognitive biases and explained their positive functions. Now, Matthew Hutson shows us that even the most hardcore skeptic indulges in magical thinking all the time - and it's crucial to our survival. Drawing on evolution, cognitive science, and neuroscience, Hutson shows us that magical thinking has been so useful to us that it's hardwired into our brains.
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Highly enjoyable
- By David R Pinsof on 05-01-12
By: Matthew Hutson
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The Man Who Lied to his Laptop
- What Machines Teach Us About Human Relationships
- By: Clifford Nass, Corina Yen
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
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Clifford Nass has developed a powerful theory: Our brains can’t fundamentally distinguish between interacting with people and interacting with devices. Nass’s discoveries push the boundaries of both psychology and technology and provide nothing less than a new blueprint for successful human relationships.
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Human/Technology Interface
- By Roy on 10-19-10
By: Clifford Nass, and others
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Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life
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- By: Douglas T. Kenrick
- Narrated by: Fred Stella
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
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Between what can be learned from evolutionary psychology and cognitive science a picture emerges. In Sex, Murder, and the Meaning of Life, social psychologist Douglas Kenrick fuses these two fields to create a coherent story of human nature. In his analysis, many ingrained, apparently irrational behaviors—one-night stands, prejudice, conspicuous consumption, even art and religious devotion—are quite explicable and (when desired) avoidable.
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Rather dated and self-aggrandizing
- By Laurie Frick on 07-21-11
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Ha!
- The Science of When We Laugh and Why
- By: Scott Weems
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Humor, like pornography, is famously difficult to define. We know it when we see it, but is there a way to figure out what we really find funnyand why? In this fascinating investigation into the science of humor and laughter, cognitive neuroscientist Scott Weems uncovers what’s happening in our heads when we giggle, guffaw, or double over with laughter. While we typically think of humor in terms of jokes or comic timing, in Ha! Weems proposes a provocative new model.
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Good place to start in the study of humor
- By Amazon Customer on 05-26-17
By: Scott Weems
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The Mind Club
- Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters
- By: Daniel M. Wegner, Kurt Gray
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Nothing seems more real than the minds of other people. When you consider what your boss is thinking or whether your spouse is happy, you are admitting them into the "mind club". It's easy to assume other humans can think and feel, but what about a cow, a computer, a corporation? What kinds of minds do they have? Daniel M. Wegner and Kurt Gray are award-winning psychologists who have discovered that minds - while incredibly important - are a matter of perception.
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Who is the self in me? Am I part of something bigger?
- By Philomath on 03-24-16
By: Daniel M. Wegner, and others
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About Behaviorism
- By: B.F. Skinner
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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About Behaviorism is about the controversial philosophy known as behaviorism, written by its leading exponent.
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Refreshing and concise
- By Autumn and Sam on 07-30-22
By: B.F. Skinner
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Mastermind
- How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
- By: Maria Konnikova
- Narrated by: Karen Saltus
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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No fictional character is more renowned for his powers of thought and observation than Sherlock Holmes. But is his extraordinary intellect merely a gift of fiction, or can we learn to cultivate these abilities ourselves, to improve our lives at work and at home? We can, says psychologist and journalist Maria Konnikova, and in Mastermind she shows us how. Beginning with the "brain attic", Konnikova unpacks the mental strategies that lead to clearer thinking and deeper insights.
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Mindless: How to Regurgitate Useless Information
- By CC on 02-12-13
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Super Mind
- How to Boost Performance and Live a Richer and Happier Life Through Transcendental Meditation
- By: Norman E. Rosenthal MD
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
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The noted research psychiatrist and New York Times best-selling author explores how Transcendental Meditation permanently alters your daily consciousness, resulting in greater productivity, emotional resilience, and aptitude for success.
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Infomercial
- By Amazon Customer on 11-22-16
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The Secret Life of Pronouns
- What Our Words Say About Us
- By: James W. Pennebaker
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
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We spend our lives communicating. In the last 50 years, we've zoomed through radically different forms of communication, from typewriters to tablet computers, text messages to tweets. We generate more and more words with each passing day. Hiding in that deluge of language are amazing insights into who we are, how we think, and what we feel.
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Sticks and Stones and Words Can Really Help You
- By Lynn on 09-24-12
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We've all seen the happiness on the face of a child while playing in the school yard. Or the blissful abandon of a golden retriever racing across a lawn. This is the joy of play. By definition, play is purposeless, all-consuming, and fun. But as Dr. Stuart Brown illustrates, play is anything but trivial. It is a biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition. We are designed by nature to flourish through play.
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Message and content great, professional reader too serious for a book called Play!
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What listeners say about Strangers to Ourselves
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- Adel D. Alghamdi
- 04-13-18
Great details
I enjoyed the research based facts and all the provided real life examples. Highly recommended !!
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- Anonymous User
- 05-22-21
pretty good
the narration is great, the subject is fascinating, but the overall book is good, but not the best. i do recommend it though.
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1 person found this helpful
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- TCope
- 09-01-22
Compelling Analysis
If you have ever consumed a mild dissociative and noted the percentage of your behavior that appears to be initiated outside of conscious intention, then this is the book for you my friend.
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- Behzad
- 07-19-17
Nice book to read
It was a nice book. Understanding the difference s between concious and subconscious mind very well described and the way that they can be identified. after finishing the book it is easy to unleash the traped power of boldness and understand why we are limiting ourselves.
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1 person found this helpful
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- spirit16
- 01-10-21
Understand Yourself
One of the most profound books on understanding yourself and creating a more meaningful and fulfilling self narrative. It elucidates the interplay between our conscious mind and the adaptive unconscious which must have a cohesive narrative that brings forth peace of mind. This book is packed with insightful anecdotes and impactful stories to bring it all together.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jazz Clubz
- 07-14-16
Great research report.
I learned about my personal biases and how to spot them. It's an interesting material to listen to in your free time.
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- M. Gusmao
- 01-29-23
Good book
I have truly enjoyed getting to know a little more about how our brains work.
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- peter fuller
- 11-25-16
eye opening book
listened to book two times back to back because it is very helpful. life application of content is pure gold.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Robert Hodson
- 01-23-18
must read. blink was inspired by this.
read this because Gladwell apparently read this and wrote Blink. he missed the mark. this is the rest of the story.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Shane Kaeo
- 12-23-19
Excellent listen and will have you thinking a lot
This book pairs well with "Thinkg fast and slow" by Daniel Kahneman if you want to go further down the rabbit hole. Enjoy
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1 person found this helpful