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inesjp_'s review
1.0
Spoiler alert: the "mistery" of mental suffering is that we cannot control which internal and/or external stimuli we focus on. Wow, it seems quite similar to what everyone already knew, right? I mean, that is how memory works. We create a connexion between X and Y and then we experience X when also Y. Anyone read Pavlov? Yes, good. But, what really annoys me is two things. First, that the author takes this perspective as his. He came up with this. And well, he did not, as every neuroscientist knows. It is okay to try to explain something to the non-scientific population, but don't sell it as your magnificent idea. And, second, if you are going to exemplify something, details about the underlying mechanism would be great. I don't expect much science, nor much psychology, but the "unravelling" took half a page. The rest of the book is just stories of people being "captured".
Oooooh, and, well. I should give credit to where credit is due: It does mention that the way to control our focus is to practice mindfulness. This is great because, well, it is true. And it should be known. So it is good that a book about mental suffering mentiones it.
PS. The book is not thaaaaaat bad. But it was sold as something that it is not. It is not science, and it is most definitely not a life-changing theory, nor it is a new idea. It is just a really long compilation of life stories.
Oooooh, and, well. I should give credit to where credit is due: It does mention that the way to control our focus is to practice mindfulness. This is great because, well, it is true. And it should be known. So it is good that a book about mental suffering mentiones it.
PS. The book is not thaaaaaat bad. But it was sold as something that it is not. It is not science, and it is most definitely not a life-changing theory, nor it is a new idea. It is just a really long compilation of life stories.
anrobe's review
3.0
I was really interested in the description of this book – Why do we think, feel and act in the ways we wished we did not. It focuses on the idea of capture which is “a process by which our attention gets hijacked and our brains commandeered by forces outside our control.” There are definitely interesting things explored in this book around the whys of mental illness, addiction, unhappiness, etc. I think my favorite part of the book was the exploration of each topic through the story of a person, many of whom are famous/well known. There was a great deal of information here about David Foster Wallace, for example. Given my curiosity about his life and his work, I found those sections to be very interesting.
I think that the author does a good job writing about the scientific concepts in a way that anyone can understand them. Yet, I was hoping for more than just a description of how we focus on things and how that focus can be obsessive and hurt us. It was case study after case study about how this happens. The concept of capture isn’t something I was unaware of … I was hoping this book would take the idea to the next level. And I feel like it never made it over the ‘here it is hump’. There is a great deal of theory here but it never goes beyond what I see as the obvious.
All in all, I enjoyed this book for what it was but I was hoping it would be of greater scope than it was in reality. Perhaps that’s just a matter of it not meeting my personal expectations but I really think it fell short of what it could have been. I wish there had been more than an introduction of the concept and a series of case studies. I wish there was more in terms of how to break free from capture, techniques or strategies to help, etc. The pacing felt a bit sluggish at times but the case studies is where this book excelled for me. They were so readable and interesting.
I think that the author does a good job writing about the scientific concepts in a way that anyone can understand them. Yet, I was hoping for more than just a description of how we focus on things and how that focus can be obsessive and hurt us. It was case study after case study about how this happens. The concept of capture isn’t something I was unaware of … I was hoping this book would take the idea to the next level. And I feel like it never made it over the ‘here it is hump’. There is a great deal of theory here but it never goes beyond what I see as the obvious.
All in all, I enjoyed this book for what it was but I was hoping it would be of greater scope than it was in reality. Perhaps that’s just a matter of it not meeting my personal expectations but I really think it fell short of what it could have been. I wish there had been more than an introduction of the concept and a series of case studies. I wish there was more in terms of how to break free from capture, techniques or strategies to help, etc. The pacing felt a bit sluggish at times but the case studies is where this book excelled for me. They were so readable and interesting.
adamantane's review against another edition
2.0
More philosophical than scientific, focusing more on scientific conjecture than objective research.
kwitshadie's review against another edition
4.0
Should have been a 5! The book gets off to a roaring start with the premise that we are all subject to "Capture;" that is, the experience of having one's attention "captured" by some stimulus we may not even be aware of, then feeling discomfort, having a change of affect (the emotional lens through which we view the world), a narrowing of attention, and then an automatic response discordant with conscious intentions leading to a feeling of loss of control. A simple example would be hearing laughter, wondering if the laughter is AT you, feeling shame, having it become all you can think about, then bursting into tears in a meeting/eating an entire box of cookies. Capture can be bad (hearing cellophane and then obsessing about junk food) or good (having that "last straw" inspire you to finally lose your excess weight). The author draws interesting connections between getting into a rut (focussing on the wrong things) and depression (currently treated with medications that keep you from focussing on anything whatsoever). However, the book gets into WAY too many examples -OK OK OK I GET IT - and doesn't fully explore the inspiring ideas that one can harness "Capture" to accomplish the dreams we never quite get around to, or perhaps even meditate (stand back from your thoughts) your way out of mental illness.
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