Liars, Lovers, and Heroes: What the New Brain Science Reveals about How We Become Who We Are

Explaining the field of cultural biology and the evidence from neuroscience that supports it, the authors have written a book that is accessible to all readers, regardless of their background. Every page gives a fascinating look at the causes/motivations behind human behavior and the authors argue convincingly for their thesis that this behavior has both environmental and genetic origins. They also include ample references for the reader who wants to pursue the subject in more detail. The authors do not hesitate to embed their discussion of cultural biology in the historical backdrop in which it arose. As the authors report, some of the early research in the subject was met with harsh criticism, as for example the reaction against the book on sociobiology by E.O. Wilson. The vituperation leveled against Wilson by prominent intellectuals has no place in scientific debate and should not be engaged in under any circumstances. The ability to image the brain and to model it with sophisticated computational tools has led to more knowledge about it in the last ten years than all of previous history, the authors argue. Brain imaging techniques such as MRI, PET, and optical topography have given experimental support for theories of the brain, giving much more valuable information that is needed to understand various diseases and abnormalities of the brain. Philosophical speculation and rhetoric have been eliminated in favor of careful scientific analysis and measurements, fortunately. The book is packed full of interesting examples and surprises, and space does not permit a detailed review of these, but a few of them include: 1. The fact that the brain can detect and respond correctly to regular patterns in the environment without a person's conscious awareness of them. Experiments illustrating this are discussed in the book. 2. Neural network models of the basal ganglia indicate that it learns in essentially the same way as the brain of a bee. 3. The fact that the brain functions at different time scales, depending on the problem that it is presented with, from milliseconds all the way to minutes. This wide gap in processing time no doubt reflects evolutionary pressures that optimized the brain to prioritize some problems relative to others. 4. The suggestion that the anterior cingulate in humans may be the site of free will. 5. The suggestion that the "area 10" region in the front of the prefrontal cortex is the origin of our sense of self and our self-awareness. 6. The fact that half of the cortex is devoted to visualization. 7. The experimental evidence that indicates that environmental stimulation induces the maturing of brain cells in the hippocampus. 8. The fact that the brain is 90% of its final size at age five, and keeps growing until adolescence. 9. The rise of the "neural constructivist" view that the brain uses information from the world to build itself. Called "self-organization" by those who work in the field of dynamical systems,

This book has so far been the most insightful look into the evolution of the human mind I've ever encountered. These new discoveries will break the hold that "modern" theories have on you. You will find that survival of the fittest actually means survival of the most flexible. You will learn about how nature and nurture play a marvelous game crafting our mind by feeding back on each other. You will learn that components in your brain grow and adapt at different paces. And most important for me, I learned that the human mind is so flexible it can adapt throughout its lifetime beyond the years of childhood. This 'plasticity' of the brain can actually be stimulated by rich environments. You are more flexible than you think. I really recommend this book for parents with newborns. By exploring its pages you will get a peek into the wonder that your baby is experiencing. It might also help you along the way to find better way to teach your baby new and seemingly complex concepts.

This excellent new book tackles some of the oldest and most important questions about what it means to be human--who we are and how we came to be the way we are. The authors are prominent neuroscientists who know what they are talking about, and are able to write about it clearly and vividly. They set out to trace the findings and implications of a new science, cultural biology. The authors believe that cultural biology can "demystify the dynamic engagement between brain and world," and provide new insights into vital questions such as "why we live together, love, ..., and sacrifice ourselves for others." Cultural biology attempts to synthesize the contributions of biology--our genes, the course of development, and our brains--with the effects of environment and culture. In the authors hands, it often succeeds in breaking out of old dichotomies such as nature vs. nurture, genetic vs. cultural determinism, humans as fundamentally social or fundamentally selfish, to provide a new, significantly more balanced understanding of how our biological raw material interacts with the world throughout our lives. The book lives up to its promise to shed new light on the rich interplay between genes and environment throughout the course of development, the limits that our biology locks us into, and the potentials it provides. Although you may not agree with everything the authors say, Liars, Lovers, and Heroes will make you take a fresh look at the assumptions we all make about "human nature." You may walk away with genuinely new insights about why we humans love, hate and nurture. The book is important, informative and a pleasure to read.Robert Adler, author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation (Wiley, 2002).

This book was a real eye opener. I had read a bunch of evolutionary psychology books and thought they were on to something, then this book exposed all the gaps in that approach and showed how different things looked once you take the brain into account. I think it will revolutionize thinking about the mind and how it evolved. The authors also do a great job making their discussion relevant for issues today...

this is the book I've been waiting for. It's the first to look at who we are from the point of view of cutting edge brain science. The authors write in an enjoyable, engaging way and extend their discussions to include everyday events, news items, and provide an afterword on 9/11 that is more insightful than anything I've read in the media. I found myself learning something valuable about myself on just about every page--the discussion on happiness was especially interesting.