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Riku Sayuj's Reviews > It's a Jungle in There: How Competition and Cooperation in the Brain Shape the Mind
It's a Jungle in There: How Competition and Cooperation in the Brain Shape the Mind
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An attempt to "apply Darwin's theory of evolution and competition to cognitive psychology." To do this the author had to populate the mind with various species (gnomes, elves, etc) and have imagined competition/cooperation (coordination = competition + cooperation) between them to explain brain functioning. The whole metaphor falls pretty flat in my opinion, and the author uses up most of the book talking about known experiments about brain functioning. The ties to the original metaphor are weak and usually limited to a breezy statement or two at the beginning of each chapter.
Now, I am perfectly okay with the "coordination = competition + cooperation" model for how the brain functions. But to link it to Darwin's theory of evolution and Natural Selection is a bit of a stretch. If the author had been more consistent in his approach, it would have been fun, at the very least.
This book was provided by as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Riku Sayuj's review
bookshelves: arc, pop-science, pop-journ-type, science-neuro, sb-books-i-have-skimmed
Dec 03, 2014
bookshelves: arc, pop-science, pop-journ-type, science-neuro, sb-books-i-have-skimmed
An attempt to "apply Darwin's theory of evolution and competition to cognitive psychology." To do this the author had to populate the mind with various species (gnomes, elves, etc) and have imagined competition/cooperation (coordination = competition + cooperation) between them to explain brain functioning. The whole metaphor falls pretty flat in my opinion, and the author uses up most of the book talking about known experiments about brain functioning. The ties to the original metaphor are weak and usually limited to a breezy statement or two at the beginning of each chapter.
Now, I am perfectly okay with the "coordination = competition + cooperation" model for how the brain functions. But to link it to Darwin's theory of evolution and Natural Selection is a bit of a stretch. If the author had been more consistent in his approach, it would have been fun, at the very least.
This book was provided by as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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It's a Jungle in There.
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Reading Progress
December 2, 2014
–
Started Reading
December 3, 2014
– Shelved
December 3, 2014
– Shelved as:
arc
December 3, 2014
– Shelved as:
pop-science
December 3, 2014
– Shelved as:
pop-journ-type
December 3, 2014
– Shelved as:
science-neuro
December 3, 2014
– Shelved as:
sb-books-i-have-skimmed
December 3, 2014
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-9 of 9 (9 new)
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Praj
(new)
Dec 03, 2014 08:53AM
Intriguing! Especially the theory of evolution encompassing gnomes and elves.
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Praj wrote: "Intriguing! Especially the theory of evolution encompassing gnomes and elves."You didn't know that?
Riku wrote: "Praj wrote: "Intriguing! Especially the theory of evolution encompassing gnomes and elves."You didn't know that?"
Did not delve into that aspect.
Praj wrote: "Riku wrote: "Praj wrote: "Intriguing! Especially the theory of evolution encompassing gnomes and elves."You didn't know that?"
Did not delve into that aspect."
Shameful!
Riku wrote: "Praj wrote: "Riku wrote: "Praj wrote: "Intriguing! Especially the theory of evolution encompassing gnomes and elves."You didn't know that?"
Did not delve into that aspect."
Shameful!"
Isn't it? or Is it? I always liked the magical aspects of gnomes and Co.
Praj wrote: "Riku wrote: "Praj wrote: "Riku wrote: "Praj wrote: "Intriguing! Especially the theory of evolution encompassing gnomes and elves."You didn't know that?"
Did not delve into that aspect."
Shamefu..."
It is time to delve into the scientific aspects too.
Gnomes and elves? How exactly do they fit in, or is it some weird tribute to Middle Earth?
Cecily wrote: "Gnomes and elves? How exactly do they fit in, or is it some weird tribute to Middle Earth?"as in the different tendencies of the brain. instead of just right brain vs left brain or some parts vs other parts, here it is different personalities/tendencies within the brain competing with each other to influence final behavior. the names are just for fun, i guess.
Fun indeed (though gnomes wouldn't be my first choice).
