Kluge

The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind

De: Gary Marcus

Narrado por: Stephen Hoye

Are we "noble in reason"? Perfect, in God's image? Far from it, says New York University psychologist Gary Marcus. In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed organ but a "kluge", a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption. He unveils a fundamentally new way of looking at the human mind - think duct tape, not supercomputer - that sheds light on some of the most mysterious aspects of human nature.

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 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Marcus educates the reader about mental flaws in a succinct, often enjoyable way." ( Publishers Weekly)
"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)

definitely worth reading

great book to gain insight about our mind and our flaws. the last chapter provides good pointers how to deal with them.

Enjoyable, informative, though provoking, and very interesting!

I have a layman’s affinity for Evolution Psychology and this didn’t let me down. I enjoyed it.

Mandatory Reading

A great overview to the challenges we face as thinking creatures. A totally delightful listen.

The Wonder mess of our Brain and Thought Process

It is amazing a system like us built through time by chance can do such marvel things as write this beautiful book.

Comforting theory of Brain Evolution on many levels.

I enjoyed Marcus’ arguments for a Brain evolved in fits and starts in incremental steps, correcting for errors, and building on previous solutions. This theory is so much more reasonable than that of the Supercomputer Brain created out of whole cloth by some Omniscient Creator.

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. ****

Why being absolutely bright in one things we act weird in others?

What if human brain is not a harmonized state-of-the-art biological intelligence engine, but actually a layered spaghetti code, parts of which are optimized for specific tasks but never design to be efficient together?

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.

Fascinating Book!

This is a wonderful book by an esteemed NYU psychology professor which discusses how our brains are constructed. His basic premise is that our brains evolved to be "just good enough" to accomplish a particular task. Kluge refers to an inelegant solution to a problem. Because of this we humans make many mistakes, etc. One of the most interesting books I have listened to in many years. I hope the author updates the book periodically as this book was published in 2008 or 11 years ago. Even so, the book's fundamental premise is true.

mostly good

gary doesn't know everything and is clueless on some of the stuff he talks about, but the main message, evolution is real and humans have flaws because of it, is awesome. if you are a creationist i suggest you don't buy this book

Elegant

Fascinating extension of the evolutionary psychology framework. Argues that our brains have evolved in often "klugy" ways, meaning that evolution favors what works (and what comes first) and not what is optimal. I learned a good deal about things like memory, emotions, and perception...and now I know why I can be so dumb sometimes. Well written....a fun read.

Captivating and humorous

The book was both entertaining and educational. A real winner. Not dull or boring in the least bit and very informative.