Book · 2018 · Psychology
The elephant in the brain
Hidden Motives in Everyday Life
Why people recommend it
The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson is an insightful exploration of human behavior, hidden motives, and the unconscious evolutionary reasons behind why people act the way they do. On Modern Wisdom, host Chris Williamson frequently referenced the book and its co-author Robin Hanson across multiple episodes, noting that the text examines secret motives and offers a way to navigate the world while avoiding pitfalls. Williamson mentioned the book during conversations with guests like Robert Greene and William Von Hippel to discuss topics ranging from human nature and signaling to the evolutionary origins of gossip and orthogonal thinking. Similarly, Scott Barry Kaufman and Paul Bloom touched upon the concepts within the book while discussing the science of self-actualization and human signaling dynamics. On Conversations with Tyler, Steven Pinker referenced Robin Hanson and Kevin Simler's work when analyzing instances of gentle benign hypocrisy and common pretense. Furthermore, Ali Abdaal brought up the title on The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett to explore hidden motives and human productivity behaviors. Across these various podcast appearances, speakers repeatedly drew upon the insights of the book to illuminate the complex, often subconscious drivers that shape everyday human interactions and societal structures.
Who recommended it
- Chris Williamson Discussed
- Steven Pinker Discussed
- Ali Abdaal Discussed
- Scott Barry Kaufman Discussed
Chris Williamson — 6 mentions
“and you know he's the man for signals the elephant the elephant in the brain right”
“I podcasted with Robin Hanson just after he released elephant in the brain and asked him about orthogonal thinking”
“I recently interviewed Robin Hanson author of elephant in the brain and most secret motives in the way that people behave was it is a way to expedite your movement through the world and and avoid pitfalls”
“the same as with my podcast I did with Professor Robin Hanson the elephant in the brain why we are the way we are nowadays is not due to the environment that we evolved in”
“I recently did a podcast with Professor Robin Hanson who wrote the elephant in the brain yeah it was a great podcast”
“so your book elephant in the brain hidden motives in everyday life it came out at the start of the year”
Steven Pinker — 1 mention
“I think a better a somewhat different case um other than an an outer lie would be a um a kind of um a gental benign hypocrisy where people where you have a common pretense and you're sometime collaborator Robin Hansen writes about that in his book with Kevin Similar where he gives some examples and I actually repeat them”
Ali Abdaal — 1 mention
“Have you have you come across a book called The Elephant in the Brain?”
Scott Barry Kaufman — 1 mention
“the elephant the elephant in the brain Right and Paul bloom had this great quote as well when I spoke to him”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 1
“Robin Hansen is the author of the elephant in the brain”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- Catching Fire
- Chasing Excellence
- Consciousness Genesis In Artificial Intelligence
- Digital Minimalism
- Enlightenment Now
- Extreme Ownership
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
“He is the co-author of a book titled "The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life," "The Age of Em: Work, Love, and Life When Robots Rule the Earth," and a fascinating recent paper I recommend on "Grabby Aliens," titled "If Loud Aliens Explain Human Earliness, Quiet Aliens Are Also Rare.”
“I should mention my book has a co-author Kevin similar an excellent co-author and we the two of us wrote this book together”
“well our book has a website elephant in the brain calm”