#38: “How We Decide” by Jonah Lehrer
I started reading this book because I have a celebrity crush on Jonah Lehrer. (I mean, he’s technically not a celebrity, but I can’t call it a “writer crush” because I wasn’t terribly into his style.) The guy is a Rhodes Scholar. And he looks like this. I made the mistake of reading the acknowledgments before I finished the book and learned that he’s married (“The best decision I’ve ever made,” he says), which dampened my reading experience.
Jokes, people.
I’m really interested in the way our brains work. Not in a I’m-going-to-quit-theatre-and-become-a-neuroscientist kind of way, but I find decision-making fascinating. As I read this book, I couldn’t help thinking about the biology of drugs class that I took as an undergrad. I’m no scientist, but I’d go so far as to say our brain goes through the same process when we make major decisions as when we take certain drugs. (I took the class several years ago; don’t persecute me for not remembering which drugs set our amygdala off.)
I enjoyed this book, but it’s not the best book on decisions I’ve read. (I’m behind on my reviews; there’s one of Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink” coming up.) The so-so writing style of this book won’t stop me from reading “Proust Was a Neuroscientist,” though. Gabe thinks it’ll be right up my alley.
