Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2020-10-04
Books mentioned on #129 – Lisa Feldman Barrett: Counterintuitive Ideas About How the Brain Works
Lisa Feldman Barrett is a neuroscientist, psychologist, and author. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Athletic Greens: https://athleticgreens.
Lex Fridman recommended How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett and Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett, and discussed Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett discussed The Evolution of Beauty by Richard O. Prum, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan, Livewired by David Eagleman, The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin, The System by Robert B. Reich, and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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How Emotions Are Made
How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett is a revolutionary neuroscience book exploring how the brain constructs emotions rather than merely reacting to them.
Recommended“she is the author of a book that revolutionized our understanding of emotion in the brain called how emotions are made and she's coming out with a new book called seven and a half lessons about the brain that you can and should pre-order now”
Where to get it
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Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain
Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett is an accessible and concise introduction to the human brain that explores neuroscience, emotions, and how the mind constructs reality.
Recommended“she is the author of a book that revolutionized our understanding of emotion in the brain called how emotions are made and she's coming out with a new book called seven and a half lessons about the brain that you can and should pre-order now”
Where to get it
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The Evolution of Beauty
The Evolution of Beauty by Richard O.
Discussed“so i think you're talking about the evolution of beauty the um book that was written recently by was it from um without his name richard from”
Where to get it
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Sapiens
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari is a sweeping exploration of how Homo sapiens evolved, dominated the planet, and constructed complex imaginary orders like religion, money, and nations.
Discussed“like the book sapiens and the fact that we're able to kind of connect like network our brains together like you write about”
Where to get it
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The Omnivore's Dilemma
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan is a celebrated non-fiction investigation into the modern American food chain, tracing the origins of what people eat from industrial agriculture to organic farms and foraged meals.
Discussed“so um i think it was michael pollan i don't remember if it was in the botany of desire but it was in one of his early books on um on botany and gardening where he wrote about um and he wrote about uh you know plants sort of utilizing humans for their own you know evolutionary purposes which is”
Where to get it
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The Botany of Desire
The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan is an insightful non-fiction book that explores the co-evolutionary relationships between humans and four key plants—the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato—satisfying human desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control.
Discussed“so um i think it was michael pollan i don't remember if it was in the botany of desire but it was in one of his early books on um on botany and gardening”
Where to get it
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The Dragons of Eden
The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book published in 1977 that explores the evolution of human intelligence and the structure of the human brain.
Discussed“or maybe that you will regret later that idea um became very popular was popularized by uh carl sagan in the dragons of eden which won a pulitzer prize in 1977”
Where to get it
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Livewired
Livewired by David Eagleman is a popular science book that explores the concept of neuroplasticity, detailing how the human brain constantly rewires itself and adapts to experiences throughout life.
Discussed“you um had a wonderful conversation with david eagleman who just published a book about this yeah and gave lots and lots of really very very cool examples”
Where to get it
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The Voyage of the Beagle
The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin is the celebrated travel memoir and scientific journal chronicling Darwin's five-year survey expedition that fundamentally shaped his theories on evolution and natural selection.
Discussed“darwin wrote in the origin of species about before darwin's book a species was thought to be a classical category where all the instances of dogs were the same had exactly the same features”
Where to get it
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The System
Discussed“really i was listening to robert reich's the system he was talking about oligarchy versus democracy”
Where to get it
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The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L.
Discussed“for sure when I start reading the rise and fall of the third reich and start thinking about nazi germany I can empathize with everybody involved”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (6) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“she is the author of a book that revolutionized our understanding of emotion in the brain called how emotions are made and she's coming out with a new book called seven and a half lessons about the brain”
“some of which i actually discussed in how emotions were made but not obviously to the extent that he did um in his book which it's a fascinating book”
“and they also appear somewhat in how emotions are made my first book they are not in the you know seven and a half lessons because that book is is really not pitched at that level of explanation”
“they are not in the you know seven and a half lessons because that book is is really not pitched at that level of explanation”
“i mean it is something i talk about in my in the book in seven and a half lessons about the brain i think it's really important”
“it's actually in the web notes to um seven and a half lessons but um social isolation loneliness will kill you earlier than you would otherwise die”