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[The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Lifeby Kevin Simler and Robin HansonDescription:Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains, therefore, are designed not just to hunt and gather, but also to help us get ahead socially, often via deception and self-deception. But while we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better – and thus we don’t like to talk or even think about the extent of our selfishness. This is “the elephant in the brain.” Such an introspective taboo makes it hard for us to think clearly about our nature and the explanations for our behavior. The aim of this book, then, is to confront our hidden motives directly – to track down the darker, unexamined corners of our psyches and blast them with floodlights. Then, once everything is clearly visible, we can work to better understand ourselves: Why do we laugh? Why are artists sexy? Why do we brag about travel? Why do we prefer to speak rather than listen?Our unconscious motives drive more than just our private behavior; they also infect our venerated social institutions such as Art, School, Charity, Medicine, Politics, and Religion. In fact, these institutions are in many ways designed to accommodate our hidden motives, to serve covert agendas alongside their “official” ones. The existence of big hidden motives can upend the usual political debates, leading one to question the legitimacy of these social institutions, and of standard policies designed to favor or discourage them. You won’t see yourself – or the world – the same after confronting the elephant in the brain.Editorial Reviews”Charles Darwin, Dan Kahneman and Malcolm Gladwell walk into a bar. . . It’s no joke! Reading The Elephant in the Brain is like eavesdropping on a fascinating conversation among a group of well-read and clever iconoclasts as they speculate on why we vote against our economic interests, spend too much on health care, give to the wrong charities and pray to gods we aren’t sure really exist.” –Steven Pearlstein, Columnist at The Washington Post; Pulitzer Prize Winner”If you want to know what makes people tick, read The Elephant in the Brain. Simler and Hanson have created the most comprehensive, powerful, unified explanation of human nature and behavior to date.” –Jason Brennan, Professor of Business, Georgetown University”This book will make you see the world in a whole new light.” –Tyler Cowen, Bloomberg columnist; author of The Great Stagnation”The Elephant in the Brain is a masterpiece.” –Scott Aaronson, Director, Quantum Information Center, University of Texas, Austin”In this ingenious and persuasive book, Simler and Hanson mischievously reveal that much of our behavior is for social consumption: we make decisions that make us look good, rather than good decisions.” –Hugo Mercier, Research Scientist, French Institute for Cognitive Sciences”A thoughtful examination of the human condition.” –David Biello, Science Curator at TED; author of The Unnatural World”Simler and Hanson have done it again- a big new idea, well told.” –Gregory Benford, Professor of Physics, University of California, Irvine; two- time Nebula Award Winner; author of The Berlin Project”Deeply important, wide- ranging, beautifully written, and fundamentally right.” –Bryan Caplan, Professor of Economics, George Mason University; author of The Case Against Education”This is the most unconventional and uncomfortable self- help book you will ever read. But probably also the most important.” –Andrew McAfee, Principal Research Scientist at MIT; coauthor of Machine”Thorough, insightful, fun to read, with the slight negative that everything is now ruined forever.” –Zach Weinersmith, author of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal”This book will change how you see the world.” –Allan Dafoe, Professor of Political Science, Yale University”A captivating book about the things your brain does not want you to know.” –Jaan Tallinn, Founder of Skype, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, and Future of Life Institute”It’s hard to overstate how impactful this book is.” –Tucker Max, author of I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell”An eye-opening look at how we deceive ourselves in order to deceive others.” –Ramez Naam, author of Nexus”A provocative and compellingly readable account of how and why we lie to our rivals, our friends, and ourselves.” –Steven Landsburg, Professor of Economics, University of Rochester”Simler and Hanson reveal what’s beneath our wise veneer–a maelstrom of bias and rationalization that we all must- for survival’s sake–help each other overcome.” –David Brin, two- time Hugo Award Winner; author of Existence”A thoughtful and provocative book.” –Andrew Gelman, Professor of Statistics, Columbia University”Simler and Hanson uncover the hidden and darker forces that shape much of what we say and do.” –William MacAskill, Professor of Philosophy, Oxford University; author of Doing Good Better”There are only a few people alive today worth listening to. Robin Hanson is one of them.” –Ralph Merkle, co- inventor of public key cryptography”Brilliantly written and entertaining on every page.” –Alex Tabarrok, author of Modern Principles of Economics”A disturbing and important book.” –Arnold Kling, author of The Three Languages of PoliticsDetails:Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (January 2, 2018)Language: EnglishISBN: 9780190496012Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Brain-Hidden-Motives-Everyday…