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39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
Sparkling, provocative science writing
Steven Pinker is Professor of Psychology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of the renowned books, 'The language instinct' (Penguin, 1995) and 'Words and rules: the ingredients of language' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000). In this book, described by one reviewer as 'the best book ever written on the human mind', he puts forward a general theory...
Published on 20 Jul 2001 by William Podmore
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30 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
Very interesting, but far too one-sided
Steven Pinker starts this book by informing us that we DON'T know how the mind works, and that he hasn't found out how the mind works either; which is perhaps a stab at irony (not covered in the part on humour), or simply a bad book title. Pithy comments aside, this is a long but engaging read, which covers not only a lot of theory but investigates many ideas thoroughly...
Published on 27 Oct 2000
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39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
Sparkling, provocative science writing, 20 Jul 2001
Steven Pinker is Professor of Psychology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of the renowned books, 'The language instinct' (Penguin, 1995) and 'Words and rules: the ingredients of language' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000). In this book, described by one reviewer as 'the best book ever written on the human mind', he puts forward a general theory about how and why the human mind works the way it does. Yet it is not a ponderous book; it is beautifully written and full of jokes and stories. Pinker marries Darwin's theory of evolution to the latest developments in neuroscience and computation. He shows in detail how the process of natural selection shaped our entire neurological networks; how the struggle for survival selects from among our genes those most fit to flourish in our environment. Nature has produced in us bodies, brains and minds attuned to coping intelligently with whatever our environment demands. Housed in our bodies, our minds structure neural networks into adaptive programmes for handling our perceptions. Pinker concludes, "The mind is a system of organs of computation, designed by natural selection to solve the kinds of problems our ancestors faced in their foraging way of life." Our beliefs and desires are information, allowing us to create meaning. "Beliefs are inscriptions in memory, desires are goal inscriptions, thinking is computation, perceptions are inscriptions triggered by sensors, trying is executing operations triggered by a goal." Pinker writes that the mind has a 'design stance' for dealing with artefacts, a 'physical stance' for dealing with objects, and an 'intentional stance' for dealing with people. "Causal and inferential roles tend to be in sync because natural selection designed both our perceptual and our inferential modules to work accurately, most of the time, in this world." With this down-to-earth kind of explanation, there is no need to invoke mysterious intangible powers: "We don't need spirits or occult forces to explain intelligence." Pinker sums up the recent amazing developments in neurobiology and cognitive science. This book, like those by his colleagues Daniel Dennett ('Darwin's dangerous idea' and 'Consciousness explained') and Richard Dawkins ('River out of Eden' and 'Unweaving the rainbow'), should be required reading. They are all Darwinians, but then why shouldn't they be? It is just like saying that all physicists are Einsteinians nowadays, or that all poets and playwrights are Shakespeareans, or that all osteopaths are Stillians. Their books make Karl Popper, so hostile to Darwin, and Californian gurus like Fritjof Capra, sadly outdated. By giving coherent, intelligible accounts of the ways in which our bodies and minds have evolved, writers like Pinker can help us to understand better how and why our bodies work in the ways they do.
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
A real page-turner of heavyweight ideas., 9 Mar 2001
The two leitmotifs of this stimulating book are "the computational theory of mind" and the theory that the mind is an array of "mental organs" that have evolved through natural selection. Kind of like Babbage and Turing meet Darwin and Dawkins. Pinker pulls together material from many sources to illustrate these theories and weaves them together into a compelling overview of the mind.The computational bits left me feeling out of my depth at several points, but also feeling reassured that this wasn't science lite. And while the evolutionary bits were less challenging - and easier to read - they offered more than enough food for thought. Apparently some people find the computation plus evolution theory controversial. Others find the ideas old hat. And Pinker himself seems to rub plenty of people up the wrong way for various reasons. Myself, I find the arguments fresh and convincing, and Pinker very enjoyable to read. He covers an awful lot of ground with great gusto, he packs the detail in and makes his points with wry humour. A book to read once to get the gist and a second time to get the detail.
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31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
The algorithmic mind, 17 Oct 2005
Unravelling the mechanisms of human thinking and emotions is garnering increased attention from dedicated scientists and thinkers. Old attitudes and preconceptions are being swept away by newer ideas based on firm research. Steven Pinker has assembled these results to provide an outstanding synopsis of cognitive studies. He refers to the old views of the mind's working as "mysteries." Pinker, as a good scientist, applauds the updating of mental "mysteries" to "problems" capable of resolution. He makes no claim to the problems all being solved, or, in a few instances, even being identified. His approach, however, is a refreshing and innovative one, aimed at anyone wishing to gain an understanding of what it means to be human. As might be expected from the man who wrote The Language Instinct, he's a master of illustrative example and with many anecdotes for teaching the reader.Pinker uses evolutionary roots as the foundation for his presentation. Like it or not, our genes carry a large part of our mental processes. The mind is not a "blank slate," but is born with vast supply of historical information on which to build as it matures. The "cultural environment" so dear to some commentators makes only a small contribution to who we become as adults. Even a child's peer groups influence its development more than does parental input, and by a huge margin. This situation arises because the mind is an algorithmic processor. It is essentially independent of an individual's environment, with a built-in learning capability to select from the wide spectrum of inputs. To Pinker, this essentially unconstrained process is part of the evolutionary path. Children's independence reflects the need of natural selection to sort among "what is" to arrive at what "will be" in the future. There are certainly no guarantees of how development will proceed over generations. The computational image is based on "problem-solving." When to take a step, avoid predators, seek a mate, find food. Clearly, as Pinker states, computational mind processes are as universal as brains. Therefore, in Pinker's view, each brain develops modules for dealing with these issues. Like any powerful computer, he stresses, the mind depends on parallel processing for flexibility. How else, for example, could the brain control breathing while also thinking about a Mozart string trio? As humans evolved, they either added new problem-solving modules, or improved on the inherited ones. This is an algorithmic process - adding small instructions over time as adaptations to changing conditions. It is clearly a universal evolutionary process that has achieved enormous expression in the human species. Each acquired "tactic" could be passed down through generations, with each successful transmission building on an inherited base. "The mind is not the brain, but what the brain does," is the key statement of the book. Pinker supports this image with numerous examples of mind/brain functions. Why our brain "sees" a three-dimensional image in a stereographic display when we know the photographs are two dimensional is but one of many instances he cites. The various factors he proposes must not be considered as independent entities, he stresses. The algorithmic processes form a whole, but not one based neither on conflicting elements nor particularly complementary ones. Weightings of importance take place continually, but even the expression of an idea is not a mental "victory" for that particular idea. The human mind's greatest attribute is its flexibility. As with any of the recent works on cognition, Pinker's analysis isn't the final word. Given the complexity of the mind, that is clearly an impossible goal. Yet Pinker has broached many new concepts in this book. All deserve further careful study. Pinker avoids dogmatism with his elegant treatment. This book is required in furthering your own thinking about our place in nature and deserves respect and attention. He welcomes serious studies in the subject, even if the work appears to refute his ideas. But he insists that the refutation must rely on solid science and not traditional dogmas. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
my favorite popular science writer, 2 Jan 2000
Like his previous book The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works is popular science at its best: clear, witty, and boldly committed to a specific position within the field, it makes the state of the art in the cognitive neurosciences available to the general public. How the Mind Works presents the most forcefully argued theory of the mind, its origins, and structure that I know of. Highly recommended!
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30 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
Very interesting, but far too one-sided, 27 Oct 2000
By A Customer
Steven Pinker starts this book by informing us that we DON'T know how the mind works, and that he hasn't found out how the mind works either; which is perhaps a stab at irony (not covered in the part on humour), or simply a bad book title. Pithy comments aside, this is a long but engaging read, which covers not only a lot of theory but investigates many ideas thoroughly. Unfortunately, the theories investigated remain of the cognitive/experimental/biological variety and little of the humanistic/social constructionist/etc perspectives are mentioned. Any alluding to these latter perspectives are single-sentenced; the arguments needed to actually be arguments, rather than simple dismissals. Much of his 'evidence' harks from assumptions of early man and hunter-gatherers - ancestors who have left few clues of their habits for us. However, Pinker's covering of human perception, neural networks, and other cognitive goodies is excellent and very well explained, and I believe that these, along with his humour, are the book's highlights. It is just a shame that he sought to explain the human mind and behaviour from the one viewpoint, with scant regard for any others.
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24 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
How the Mind Works - an analogy for a review, 22 April 2005
This is a book (also available in audio-book) which can best be described with an analogy:It is like a book titled "How a clock works". There are many details about gears, and the history of gears, and the idea behind the gear. There are some witty remarks and examination of the history of the STUDY of gears. There are a few off-hand remarks about springs and their uses in other devices. And there is a thoroughly dull discussion of the history of the study of the analysis of the evolution of the possible ideas about time and time-keeping, in the 4th person, removed twice. But it never tells you anything about how a clock works...
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14 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
FACINATING, 1 Jan 2003
By A Customer
This book is a facinating study of human nature on an individual psychological and physiological scale. Not to mention psychological. It is crammed with statistics and facts I never knew. Not boring ones, but really interesting ones. And it's funny. The guy has a sense of humor. If your looking to understand yourself and how your mind works, then get this book. Another book I would recommend that is along this genre is called, The Little Guide To Happiness. It too explores the psychology of how we work in a humorous and enlightened way. Plus it's funny too.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Worth the effort of concentrating to read., 28 Dec 2000
By A Customer
This book covers a lot of in depth scientific knowledge in a fairly accessible way, although it does take some effort to understand all of it. A great book to accompany a psychology course, or just for a good, thought provoking read.
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8 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
A Few Good Jokes, A Few Interesting Remarks - But That's All, 1 Jan 2000
By A Customer
The idea of Mr Pinker's book is brilliant. Who has never wondered about how it all works, the chemistry, the physics, perhaps even the METAphysics of the human mind.Therefore, it is really a shame that the author puts such an effort in spreading around humouristic references to make the reader keep going, that he often loses the point. It IS a good effect in the writing procedure to kick in some unexpectedly contra-academic examples from Calvin & Hobbes, from Woody Allen or from Monty Python - but the sad thing is that these humouristic kicks really are the PEAKS in »How The Mind Works«. The reader never really gets a fully reliable explanation of the mind's mystery attics, narrow paths, and dark alleys. Instead, the author refers to a lot of theories and then argues much too superficially and easily about which theory is likely to be right, according to him. »How The Mind Works« has a superb idea - an idea with a great potential and therefore enormous potential public... if it is developped further and into something more thoroughly, profoundly and reliable.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Great ideas , great style., 29 Nov 1998
By A Customer
I can't recommend this highly enough - Pinker argues persuasively, eclectically and best of all entertainingly that the human mind is the product of Darwinian natural selection. If his style weren't so readable and accessible, some of the ideas presented would make stuffy academic fare, but he draws his references so widely, from cultural touchstones to established bodies of research, that his ideas ring true on an intellectual and instinctive level. If you are a little jaded by society and cynical of people's motives, read this - then look at the world in a fresh paradigm. Will it make you a better person or change your life? Probably not. But it might change your mind.
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