Take a photo of a barcode or cover
informative
reflective
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Proč jsme tak posedlí věcmi, po nichž toužíme, ale po jejich dosažení o ně rychle ztratíme zájem? Jak to, že se vášeň tak rychle mění ve lhostejnost? Z jakého důvodu tolik lidí upadá do pasti závislostí? A proč lidé neztrácejí naději ani v těch nejhorších časech a umí skvěle řešit obtížné situace? Odpověď skrývá jedna jediná chemická látka v našem mozku: dopamin. Daniel Z. Lieberman a Michael E. Long ve své knize rozebírají roli této zásadní molekuly v navazování vztahů a vzniku závislostí na drogách i sexu nebo její význam pro schopnost plánovat. Líčí také souvislost dopaminu s kreativitou a šílenstvím či jeho možnou spojitost s politickým přesvědčením. Dopamin podle autorů do značné míry definuje lidské chování a má rovněž zásadní podíl na evolučním úspěchu lidstva během posledních desítek tisíc let. Zároveň ale s nástupem nejnovějších technologií představuje pro náš druh i smrtelné riziko, pokud se nebudeme snažit z jeho pevného, avšak neodolatelně svůdného stisku alespoň částečně vymanit. Vychází ve spolupráci s nakladatelstvím Argo.
Fascinating book on neuroscience
A great book that explains what is happening in our brain and how shapes our lives and society. It was interesting to learn that even our political views can be boiled down to the chemical reactions in our brain.
A great book that explains what is happening in our brain and how shapes our lives and society. It was interesting to learn that even our political views can be boiled down to the chemical reactions in our brain.
One of the best books I've read this year. Everything the long title promises was delivered.
Lieberman weaves biology, evolution, mental illness, history / population dynamics, as well as what it means for humans as a collective.
Dopamine is a future-oriented, abstract thinking, anticipation molecule. It propels one to seek novelty and be achievement-oriented, but highly dopaminergic people also tend to be more emotionally detached.
It plays a role in creativity and innovation but also lies at the root of certain classes of mental illnesses like schizophrenia.
a healthy way to use the dopaminergic system is to attain mastery in skills.
Populations that have migrated long distances within recent history tend to have highest dopaminergic people. As a proxy, bipolar disorder is the most prevalent in the US (although imo it could potentially be underdiagosed in other countries)
notes from the books
- the buzz we get is from novelty "reward prediction error" no error no buzz
- dopamine is the anticipation molecule. to enjoy the things we have, as opposed to the things that are only possible, our brains must transition from future-oriented dopamine to present-oriented chemicals. a collection of neurotransmitters we call the Here and Now molecules, (H&Ns), serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins, endocannabinoids.
- early or "passionate" love only lasts for 12-18 months, then they need to develop a diff sort of love called companionate love.
- highly driven men and women tend to find it a significant challenge to turn off their thoughts and just experience the sensations of intimacy. to think less and feel more. denying sexual satisfaction actually enhances passion. passion deferred is passion sustained.
- enhanced dopamine circuit boosted impulsive behavior but not satisfaction. it boosted the wanting but not the liking.
- tenacity is affected to dopamine destruction. manipulated hunger or other sensory experience, affect the value but not the motivation
- the research participants were more likely to adopt a complementary posture rather than mirror the same posture. dominance triggered submission, and submission triggered dominance.
- participants who took the complementary posture liked the other person more and felt more comfortable with them.
- we unconsciously know when someone has a high expectation of success, and we get out of their way. we submit to their will, the overwhelming expression of their self-efficacy, powered by control dopamine. it's bad to get into fights you can't win.
- most relationships have both affiliative and agentic elements. agentic -> dopaminergic.
- direct relationship between receptor density and personal engagement. High density was associated with a high level of emotional detachment. People who had the highest social detachment scores described themselves as "cold, socially aloof, and vindictive in their relationships"
- the H&N neurotransmitters in play are responsible for generating empathy for others and will overwhelm dopamine's calculated reason in most people. the closer the situation, the more visceral (filled with different sensations) the more involved the H&N circuits. (explaining the trolley problem)
- Too much salience, or any salience at all at the wrong time, can create delusions. The trigger event rises from obscurity to important (schizophrenia)
- this time of jumping around in speech is called "tangentiality", leaping from one thought to another. it's a sign they're excited. desire dopamine gets revved up, and overwhelms control dopamine's more logical approach to communication
- when we are being creative, we behave a little bit like a person with schizophrenia. we stop inhibiting aspects of reality that we had previously written off as unimportant, and we attach salience to things we thought were irrelevant.
- waking up from a dream caught between two worlds, this is where many people experience their most creative thoughts
- high levels of dopamine suppress H&N functioning, so brilliant people are often poor at human relationships. we need H&N empathy to understand what's going on in other people's minds.
- highly intelligent, highly successful, and highly creative people, typically, highly dopaminergic people, often express that they are passionate about people but have little patience for them as individuals.
- highly dopaminergic people typically prefer abstract thinking to sensory experience.
- dopamine gives us the power to create, it's about the future and possibilities. it allows us to imagine the unreal and connect the seemingly unrelated. it allows us to build mental models for the world that transcends mere physical description, moving beyond sensory impressions to uncover the deeper meaning of what we experience.
- evolutionary forces that promote the survival of the species produce these special people. nature drives them to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of bringing into the world new ideas and innovations that benefit the rest of us.
- H&N emotion that was driving loss aversion.
- she told conservatives they had superpowers that made them invulnerable, subsequent answers leaned more liberal.
- abstract thinking is one of the primary functions of the dopamine system, abstract thinking allows us to go beyond sensory observation of events to construct a model that explains why the events are occurring. research on mice, boost to dopamine increases exploratory behavior
- people who have long form of DRD4 gene such as the 7R allele are more likely to take risks. among populations that remained near their origins, fewer people had a long DRD4 allele. bipolar disorder also has a dopaminergic component, it's linked to immigration. The US is populated almost entirely by immigrants, it also has the highest rate of bipolar disorder, twice the rate of the rest of the world. japan with very little migration has one of the lowest.
- hyperthymic temperament is not considered an illness. it doesn't occur in episodes like bipolar disorder. they. just have a "hyper" personality all the time.
- not all forms of new and novel are good for an individual, and the same is true for a species. Dopamine doesn't stop. it drives us ever onward into the abyss.
- too much dopamine can lead to productive misery, while too much H&N can lead to happy indolence.
- mastery is the ability to extract the maximum rewards from a particular set of circumstances. One might achieve mastery over pacman, racquetball, cooking, or debugging.
- mastery is the point where dopamine bows to the H&N. having done all it can do, dopamine pauses and allows H&N to have its way with our happiness circuit. for a short time, dopamine doesn't fight the feeling of contentment. it approves. the best basking is basking in a job well done. mastery creates a feeling of internal locus of control.
- when something interesting activates the dopamine system, we snap to attention. if we are able to activate our H&N system by shifting our focus outward, the increased level of attention makes the sensory experience more intense (meditation)
- in a novel situation sensory information is more vivid. that's the joy of travel. things are more "salient", low latent inhibition. in a high H&N situation, dopaminergic cognitive facilities in our brains work better too. complex environments are often natural ones.
- what if you don't care about happiness if you're so dopaminergic that the only thing you care about is achievement. it doesn't matter how brilliant, original, or creative you are, your dopamine circuits are going to achieve much without the raw material provided by the H&N circuits
- cooking, gardening, and playing sports are among many activities that combine intellectual stimulation and physical activity (dopamine & H&N)
Lieberman weaves biology, evolution, mental illness, history / population dynamics, as well as what it means for humans as a collective.
Dopamine is a future-oriented, abstract thinking, anticipation molecule. It propels one to seek novelty and be achievement-oriented, but highly dopaminergic people also tend to be more emotionally detached.
It plays a role in creativity and innovation but also lies at the root of certain classes of mental illnesses like schizophrenia.
a healthy way to use the dopaminergic system is to attain mastery in skills.
Populations that have migrated long distances within recent history tend to have highest dopaminergic people. As a proxy, bipolar disorder is the most prevalent in the US (although imo it could potentially be underdiagosed in other countries)
notes from the books
- the buzz we get is from novelty "reward prediction error" no error no buzz
- dopamine is the anticipation molecule. to enjoy the things we have, as opposed to the things that are only possible, our brains must transition from future-oriented dopamine to present-oriented chemicals. a collection of neurotransmitters we call the Here and Now molecules, (H&Ns), serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins, endocannabinoids.
- early or "passionate" love only lasts for 12-18 months, then they need to develop a diff sort of love called companionate love.
- highly driven men and women tend to find it a significant challenge to turn off their thoughts and just experience the sensations of intimacy. to think less and feel more. denying sexual satisfaction actually enhances passion. passion deferred is passion sustained.
- enhanced dopamine circuit boosted impulsive behavior but not satisfaction. it boosted the wanting but not the liking.
- tenacity is affected to dopamine destruction. manipulated hunger or other sensory experience, affect the value but not the motivation
- the research participants were more likely to adopt a complementary posture rather than mirror the same posture. dominance triggered submission, and submission triggered dominance.
- participants who took the complementary posture liked the other person more and felt more comfortable with them.
- we unconsciously know when someone has a high expectation of success, and we get out of their way. we submit to their will, the overwhelming expression of their self-efficacy, powered by control dopamine. it's bad to get into fights you can't win.
- most relationships have both affiliative and agentic elements. agentic -> dopaminergic.
- direct relationship between receptor density and personal engagement. High density was associated with a high level of emotional detachment. People who had the highest social detachment scores described themselves as "cold, socially aloof, and vindictive in their relationships"
- the H&N neurotransmitters in play are responsible for generating empathy for others and will overwhelm dopamine's calculated reason in most people. the closer the situation, the more visceral (filled with different sensations) the more involved the H&N circuits. (explaining the trolley problem)
- Too much salience, or any salience at all at the wrong time, can create delusions. The trigger event rises from obscurity to important (schizophrenia)
- this time of jumping around in speech is called "tangentiality", leaping from one thought to another. it's a sign they're excited. desire dopamine gets revved up, and overwhelms control dopamine's more logical approach to communication
- when we are being creative, we behave a little bit like a person with schizophrenia. we stop inhibiting aspects of reality that we had previously written off as unimportant, and we attach salience to things we thought were irrelevant.
- waking up from a dream caught between two worlds, this is where many people experience their most creative thoughts
- high levels of dopamine suppress H&N functioning, so brilliant people are often poor at human relationships. we need H&N empathy to understand what's going on in other people's minds.
- highly intelligent, highly successful, and highly creative people, typically, highly dopaminergic people, often express that they are passionate about people but have little patience for them as individuals.
- highly dopaminergic people typically prefer abstract thinking to sensory experience.
- dopamine gives us the power to create, it's about the future and possibilities. it allows us to imagine the unreal and connect the seemingly unrelated. it allows us to build mental models for the world that transcends mere physical description, moving beyond sensory impressions to uncover the deeper meaning of what we experience.
- evolutionary forces that promote the survival of the species produce these special people. nature drives them to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of bringing into the world new ideas and innovations that benefit the rest of us.
- H&N emotion that was driving loss aversion.
- she told conservatives they had superpowers that made them invulnerable, subsequent answers leaned more liberal.
- abstract thinking is one of the primary functions of the dopamine system, abstract thinking allows us to go beyond sensory observation of events to construct a model that explains why the events are occurring. research on mice, boost to dopamine increases exploratory behavior
- people who have long form of DRD4 gene such as the 7R allele are more likely to take risks. among populations that remained near their origins, fewer people had a long DRD4 allele. bipolar disorder also has a dopaminergic component, it's linked to immigration. The US is populated almost entirely by immigrants, it also has the highest rate of bipolar disorder, twice the rate of the rest of the world. japan with very little migration has one of the lowest.
- hyperthymic temperament is not considered an illness. it doesn't occur in episodes like bipolar disorder. they. just have a "hyper" personality all the time.
- not all forms of new and novel are good for an individual, and the same is true for a species. Dopamine doesn't stop. it drives us ever onward into the abyss.
- too much dopamine can lead to productive misery, while too much H&N can lead to happy indolence.
- mastery is the ability to extract the maximum rewards from a particular set of circumstances. One might achieve mastery over pacman, racquetball, cooking, or debugging.
- mastery is the point where dopamine bows to the H&N. having done all it can do, dopamine pauses and allows H&N to have its way with our happiness circuit. for a short time, dopamine doesn't fight the feeling of contentment. it approves. the best basking is basking in a job well done. mastery creates a feeling of internal locus of control.
- when something interesting activates the dopamine system, we snap to attention. if we are able to activate our H&N system by shifting our focus outward, the increased level of attention makes the sensory experience more intense (meditation)
- in a novel situation sensory information is more vivid. that's the joy of travel. things are more "salient", low latent inhibition. in a high H&N situation, dopaminergic cognitive facilities in our brains work better too. complex environments are often natural ones.
- what if you don't care about happiness if you're so dopaminergic that the only thing you care about is achievement. it doesn't matter how brilliant, original, or creative you are, your dopamine circuits are going to achieve much without the raw material provided by the H&N circuits
- cooking, gardening, and playing sports are among many activities that combine intellectual stimulation and physical activity (dopamine & H&N)
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
relaxing
slow-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
If you love science and love to learn why people think they way they do, why people have addictions, why some people have bipolar, etc this book is for you.
I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it!
I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it!