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General Information===================Title: How We DecideAuthor: Jonah LehrerRead By: David ColacciCopyright: 2009Audiobook Copyright: 2009Genre: Science & Technology, Psychology & The MindPublisher: Brilliance AudioSeries Name: n/aPosition in Series: n/aAbridged: NoOriginal Media Information==========================Media: DigitalSource: AudibleCondition: Enhanced – near CD QualityFile Information================Number of MP3s: 1Total Duration: 9:33Total MP3 Size: 394MBParity Archive: NoRipped By: hugmenotRipped With: SoundTaxiEncoded With: LAMEEncoded At: CBR 96 kbit/s 32000 HzID3 Tags: 2.3Book Description================Since Plato, philosophers have described the decision-making process as either rational or emotional: we carefully deliberate or we “blink” and go with our gut. But as scientists break open the mind’s black box with the latest tools of neuroscience, they’re discovering that this is not how the mind works. Our best decisions are a finely tuned blend of both feeling and reason – and the precise mix depends on the situation. When buying a house, for example, it’s best to let our unconscious mull over the many variables. But when we’re picking a stock, intuition often leads us astray. The trick is to determine when to lean on which part of the brain, and to do this, we need to think harder (and smarter) about how we think.Jonah Lehrer arms us with the tools we need, drawing on cutting-edge research by Daniel Kahneman, Colin Camerer, and others, as well as the real-world experiences of a wide range of “deciders” – from airplane pilots and hedge fund investors to serial killers and poker players. Lehrer shows how people are taking advantage of the new science to make better television shows, win more football games, and improve military intelligence. His goal is to answer two questions that are of interest to just about anyone, from CEOs to firefighters: How does the human mind make decisions? And how can we make those decisions better?©2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Audible Editor Reviews======================Jonah Lehrer’s How We Decide packs enough sugary anecdotes to make the medicines of neural research and histories of philosophy go down, and quite pleasantly at that. The entertaining tales of airplane pilots, poker players, football players, and lab monkeys all serve to highlight very serious analytical data of how humans — and more importantly, their brains — make decisions. Lehrer skims the surface of modern research throughout, digging down only deep enough so the average listener can clearly understand. There is some heady stuff in here (you’ll learn more about dopamine receptors than you ever thought possible), but the author deserves credit for giving clear-cut, colorful, and often engaging examples that fill in the shapes of the more complex ideas.David Colacci must too be credited for his talented read, breathing extra life into an already fascinating examination of the human mind. With a book like this, a narrator runs the risk of sounding like an elderly high school science teacher trying desperately to reach the younger generation. Colacci never falls into this trap. He consistently reads with an animated, alert tone, leading the listener to some very exciting conclusions. He sounds just as comfortable voicing the complicated details of scientific brain research as he does describing split-second decision making during a last-minute, game-winning Super Bowl drive. Colacci’s voice even lends itself to the nuances of scientific theory — he never sells an idea more than the evidence Lehrer provides to back that theory up. Once in a while he slips into awkward accents or ham-fisted voices when reading direct quotes of those interviewed and excerpted, but Colacci’s superb job of storytelling keeps listeners otherwise enthralled throughout. Deciding to listen to How We Decide should be a no brainer — take the plunge and you will literally understand why. —Josh RavitzWhat the Critics Say====================Expect to enjoy a literary investigation into the many decisions we make day-to-day, using examples from rescue workers, poker players, investment moguls, and health-care professionals. Some of the processes can be related to certain brain areas, while others cannot. The key information lies in how we can influence our choices to have better outcomes. American narrator David Colacci quotes Plato inexplicably with a British accent and recites other quoted material with a growl or faux woman’s voice. His attempts to make heavy ideas lighter work to a degree, but his speaking volume takes wide swings from strong to nearly inaudible, causing syllables and whole words to disappear at the nadirs. Colacci’s narrative technique of modulating volume to sound more conversational loses information and becomes a distraction. © AudioFile 2009Audible: