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Kluge: The Haphazard Construction Of The Human Mind (2008)

by Gary Marcus(Favorite Author)

3.73 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0618879641 (ISBN13: 9780618879649)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

review 1: "Kluge" is an entertaining book. It explains for the layperson how the evolution of the brain manifests in our thinking and behaviour. In particular, it describes the influence of what might be called evolutionary artifacts. Capabilities or characteristics that evolved but have been adapted to serve another purpose or are simply not optimal design. The author argues that the brain is essentially cobbled together over the great span of evolutionary history - not an expression of careful design but an expression of what has worked well enough to keep the genes alive.It is a compelling theory and the book is a very accessible introduction to the topic. At times, it covers similar material to "Thinking Fast and Slow" but is not as comprehensive or as compelling a read. Still,... more it is very good and worth four stars. This should be mandatory high school reading.
review 2: Reading this book is a bit like reading David Brooks -- while it's pretty interesting for those of us interested, at a shallow level, in sociology and psychology and evolutionary biology, I find myself disagreeing with a lot of what is said."In an ideal world...the parts of our brain that decide which activities are pleasurable would be extremely fussy, responding only to things that are truly good for us. For example, fruits have sugar, and mammals need sugar, so it makes sense that we should have evolved a "taste" for fruit."This is just plain old wrong. While the human brain needs glucose, the body can make its own glucose without getting the slightest little bit from fruit. While this is just one small example, I feel that this book is a bit carelessly written. Though I did enjoy the Radio New Zealand interview with the author back when it was first published, which is what made me pick up the book when I happened across it in the library. The word 'kluge' is a really useful one, and you might find yourself making use of it in everyday language -- I know I have. I'll upvote that word to be included in everyday language. I didn't need any convincing, though, that the human brain is a kluge. And imagining all the ways in which our brains might have been better is a fascinating exercise.Also, this version of the book could do with a thorough copy edit. Missing words and inversions kept jumping out at me. less

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