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The Pleasure Instinct: Why We Crave Adventure, Chocolate, Pheromones, And Music (2008)

by Gene Wallenstein(Favorite Author)

3.4 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0471619159 (ISBN13: 9780471619154)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Wiley

review 1: One thing I really appreciated was how accurate the information in this book was. I've read sooooo many books that incorporate studies which the authors then proceed to spin, so that the data supports whatever the thesis of their book is. That really steams my broccoli, because the golden rule of psychology, and any other science for that matter, is that correlation does NOT mean causation. It is foolhardy to infer causal relationships between two variables that may be totally unrelated--or caused by a third variable! But "maybe" doesn't make money, so I guess that's why so many people are eager to jump on the causation train....ANYWAYThis book is actually scientific, and since it's been published fairly recently, the data is not out-of-date (I remember a book I had as a k... moreid that said the tongue was divided into various sectors, each responsible for detecting a different taste. Even as a kid that sounded fishy, because no matter which part of the tongue I stuck my Oreo to, it always tasted sweet). The anecdotes about his wife and kid are a little annoying, but they're usually relevant to whatever point he's making.If you're after pop psychology books in the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell, this book is probably not for you. At times, the writing can be very dry, and Wallenstein uses a lot of terminology that would probably be unfamiliar to someone who hasn't taken a course in Psychobiology (although if you ARE currently taking a course in Psychobiology/Intro to Neuroscience/Perception, this book would probably make a handy study tool!). If you like nerding out to psychology and want a book that caters to your extensive knowledge, be like me: give your ego a pat on the head, and read this book!
review 2: It sounds like it might be interesting, right? No. Truly so very booooooooooooooooring. Mr. Wallenstein has the dubious talent of taking a subject that could have been intriguing and then spent (what felt like) hours explaining how pleasure receptors started in the brains of our first primitive ancestors. Every single chapter followed that line of thinking. Too scientifically wordy for the day to day reader. I'm not implying he needs to dumb it down, just try to inject some sort of intrest factor. Yawn. I'm going to take a nap now. less

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