Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking
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- Create Date：2022-01-02 03:20:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Leonard Mlodinow
- ISBN：1524747599
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Reviews
Venky
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The ability to break down complicated topics to a degree of simplicity that succeeds in conveying their import but without diluting the underlying essence， is a rare trait。 Leonard Mlodinow is greatly invested with this wonderful gift。 A prolific author of Science， Mlodinow weaves his magic once again in the upcoming book， “Emotional”。 More often than not we are used to being admonished for engaging in conduct driven by emotion。 But are such rebukes warranted？ Is precedence of sentiment over rat The ability to break down complicated topics to a degree of simplicity that succeeds in conveying their import but without diluting the underlying essence， is a rare trait。 Leonard Mlodinow is greatly invested with this wonderful gift。 A prolific author of Science， Mlodinow weaves his magic once again in the upcoming book， “Emotional”。 More often than not we are used to being admonished for engaging in conduct driven by emotion。 But are such rebukes warranted？ Is precedence of sentiment over rationality such a bad thing after all？ Mlodinow in his thought provoking book juxtaposes empirical analysis with psychological factors to demonstrate how emotions play a leading role in our lives。 On the 26th of September 1983， at the peak of the Cold War， Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov was manning a graveyard shift whose mission was to constantly check for missile attacks emanating from the United States。 While he was monitoring the machines， he suddenly noticed five ominous red dots surfacing on the screen。 This meant that the United States had launched five Minuteman missiles at the Soviet Union。 Petrov’s protocol under such circumstances dictated an immediate reporting to his superiors so that the Soviet Union could also launch its own nuclear warheads even though such an act would invariably lead to a Mutually Assured Destruction of two global superpowers。 Petrov however hesitated， as his gut instincts told him there might have been a potential system malfunction。 At the cost of being branded a traitor – if the missile attack was genuine， his country would be annihilated without having a chance to fight back due to a delay in responding – Petrov decided to wait for a heart stopping twenty minutes before informing his superiors of a probable false alarm。 His assessment turned out to be bang on target: the warning system had failed due to some sort of extraneous interference。 No missile was launched against USSR。 Later， when queried on the reason for his reticence， Petrov famously remarked， “I refused to be guilty of starting World War III。” Pioneering developments in the world of medicine have resulted in a paradigm shift in our understanding and evaluation of emotions。 A whole new field of psychology called “affective neuroscience” threatens to upend entrenched dogmas that have informed us regarding the role played by emotions。 A technique referred to as “connectome” for instance， allows scientists to trace various connections among neurons， creating a sort of circuit diagram for the brain。 A connectome enables scientists to explore specific cells in different regions of the brain， and comprehend the electric signals that generate thoughts， feeling and behaviours。 Thus there is a ‘determination switch’ that when turned on， complements the physiological resolve leading to ordinary human beings accomplishing extraordinary feats。 When James Buster Douglas felled the seemingly invincible “Iron” Mike Tyson in what was， and is still， deemed to be the greatest upset in the history of boxing， he was channeling both his physical resilience as well as his psychological determination。 The death of his mother a mere three weeks before the bout， instead of driving him to despair， drove him to levels of concentration which he unfortunately never regained after his historic victory。 The Darwinian notion of emotion was based on a ‘triune model’。 This model contends that the human brain is made up of three successively more sophisticated layers。 The deepest layer is responsible for basic survival instincts， the middle or the limbic layer takes care of the emotional aspects and the outermost or the neocortex layer is the repository of rational thoughts。 However modern research in the domains of neuroscience have demonstrated that the layering is not as simple or elementary as it is made out to be。 There is a complex interaction between the layers， the existence of which was not observed earlier。 Mlodinow also illustrates how emotions guide the process of thinking。 The heart warming story of Nobel Laureate Paul Dirac whose introverted and apparently stone hearted life was transformed by Margit， a divorcee and the sister of a fellow physicist Eugene Wigner is a heart warming story。 The brilliant Dirac married Margit and they were together for fifty years before only death parted the couple。Mlodinow also in the latter half of the book provides his readers with an emotional questionnaire。 The reader upon answering a set of questions can determine their scores based on various emotions such as anger， love， aggression， anxiety and grief。 With a view to dovetail our emotions in setting us onto the right path， Mlodinow recommends a regimen of physical activity combined with the practice of mindfulness。 He also draws on research done by Sonja Lyubomirsky， A Russian born American Professor of Psychology。 According to Lyubomirsky， conscious acts such as optimistically pondering over one’s future， devoting time to family and friends， engaging regularly in acts of kindness towards others， striving to live life in the present moment， committing to lifelong goals etc would go a long way in making emotion a faithful and reliable ally。 Mlodinow also devotes some space in informing the viewers about his personal experience involving the application of emotions。 Both his parents were Holocaust survivors。 In fact his father owed his life and survival to an inexplicable moment of emotional reaction。 Deciding at the last second not to get inside a truck that had a band of resistance friends， Mlodinow’ s father watched with stupefaction as a band of SS soldiers intercepted the truck and gunned down all its occupants。 Mlodinow’ s mother who died at the ripe old age of ninety eight carried the emotional scars of a concentration camp all through her life。 The final Chapter in which Mlodinow described her passing， after contracting the COVID-19 virus， but not before putting up a grand fight， is both heart breaking as well as life affirming。Next time anybody reprimands you for being too very emotional or acting without reason， please do not get bogged down。 Instead use the three techniques alluded to by Mlodinow in assessing and reassessing your thought， word and deed。 First develop a sense of stoic attitude。 Learn to accept things that cannot be changed and instead plan on how acceptance can be turned to your advantage。 Second， inculcate an attribute of reappraisal。 When confronted with a difficult situation， try to discover an element of optimism and then reappraise your odds。 Finally， express your emotions。 At the heat of the moment， put down every thought that assails you in writing。 There is no need to share what you have written with anyone。 Expressing your thoughts and feelings at the moment of occurrence and getting back to them later makes you feel and become more sanguine。 More than anything else， please get yourself a copy of “Emotional”！ （Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking by Leonard Mlodinow is published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and will be available for sale on the 11th of January 2022）Thank You， Net Galley for the Advance Review Copy 。。。more
David Wineberg
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The learning curve to understand how humans work has gone parabolic。 In the just the past few years， scientists have finally discovered there are brain systems that manage pleasure， that are separate from systems that manage desire。 There is an actual cacophony going on in our bodies， 24 hours a day， as everything communicates in its own channel， to its own audience， and acts accordingly。 They are discovering the locations of things like anxiety， happiness， disgust， guilt and shame。 Mostly they The learning curve to understand how humans work has gone parabolic。 In the just the past few years， scientists have finally discovered there are brain systems that manage pleasure， that are separate from systems that manage desire。 There is an actual cacophony going on in our bodies， 24 hours a day， as everything communicates in its own channel， to its own audience， and acts accordingly。 They are discovering the locations of things like anxiety， happiness， disgust， guilt and shame。 Mostly they are discovering that none of these things works in isolation。 They only work in concert， in consultation， in combination。 Leonard Mlodinow explores some of these discoveries using his delightful and addictive storytelling style in his latest book Emotional。Personally， the most compelling finding is that last one， that nothing works by itself alone。 Isolating and triggering a trait gives you nothing but a dysfunctional person。 You can’t have the full effect of any function without the input and effects of several others。 This is part of the reason why brain functions have been so difficult to nail down， and why nailing them down has produced so little for science。 We have been vainly searching for the controller， the seat of the mind and a soul， continuously ignoring the evidence that results。 There is no controller。 We are interacting systems。 Every system plays its part and the result is a person， a personality， a mind。 There is a command network， but it works with numerous other networks to collectively present who we are to the world， and to ourselves。 Emotions color those factors， and are colored by them。 Everything is a two way street。The degree of determination or drive makes a difference。 It is filtered and affected by other control systems。 The sunny or cloudy outlook makes a difference。 Bad experiences do too。 The matrix nature of us makes it hard to put everything in its own place， much less make it predictable or changeable。 But then， we’re not meant to do that。 We are instead complex beings， the products of an infinite number of factors， permutations and combinations。 That’s precisely what makes humans different from other beings。 We have a “core affect” that is the net of all these inputs。In a series of dazzling stories， Mlodinow traces discoveries， both on purpose and accidental， and what impact they have had on our understanding of ourselves。 In this book， he employs himself and his family。 His parents， both Holocaust survivors， were two completely different people， whose scarring led to totally different personalities for them。 His siblings and children fit into some of the stories， and of course Mlodinow himself is hyper sensitive to his own actions， attitudes and thought processes， which factor into several of the tales， if only because he was writing this book。 It makes for a fast paced and varied read， far more autobiographical than readers have come to expect of him。 During the course of the book， Mlodinow’s mother， who starts out in her 90s， is profiled as a young mother with her own unique take on the world and raising her children。 She ages as the book progresses， ending up in a nursing home where he cannot visit her because of Covid-19。 She isn’t the backbone of the book， but her personality is relevant at several points， causing emotional reactions in Mlodinow as she declines。The brain/body connection is more central here。 Who we are affects our bodies in ways that often affect others and how they perceive and experience us。 There are even several personality tests towards the end， that might or might not help readers see how others see them。 Mlodinow says there are no right or wrong answers， just potential insights。 A lot is quite recent: “It wasn’t until 2015 that， fueled by recent advances in genetics， scientists began to uncover the true roots of such illnesses （like bipolar and schizophrenia）。 Much more work needs to be done， but we now know that they arise in patients having fewer genes involved in signaling between neurons and more genes related to neuro-inflammatory cells， which leads to low-level but chronic brain inflammation。 An excess of dopamine production， related to the reward system， also seems to play a role but in a more complex and subtle manner。” We are beginning to see what makes people different， and why， from a physiological standpoint。 One of the non-emotions common in humans is the need to categorize。 Everything must fit in a bucket somewhere。 So emotions are classified as positive or negative: “The sum of all the research on positive emotion is that people who have plenty of positive emotion in their lives tend to be healthier and more creative and to get along well with others。 Positive emotion makes us more resilient， strengthening the emotional resources needed for coping， and broadens our awareness， allowing us to see more options when faced with a problem。” （Maybe so， but it reads like a horoscope。）And negative emotions serve to keep people on their toes。 He gives the example of financial traders who must make split second decisions that could make or lose hundreds of millions of dollars – all day long。 Being affable is not an asset here。 Those with more negative outlooks and attitudes are more successful in trading。 The bottom line is there is no “correct” way to be a human。Scientists have discovered， quite by accident at first， that motivation is not the same as desire or pleasure。 Rats can be seen not to eat their favorite foods unless motivation is triggered as well as desire， and not enjoy their favorite foods but eat them just to stay alive if the pleasure function is missing。 This is more evidence of multiple systems interacting to produce a functioning being。So with humans。 Various faults and failings in the interconnected networks can make some seem unemotional， lacking the key functions of self-preservation， or empathy。 Their very presence can be offputting to fully functioning people and therefore make it difficult for them to have fully operational relationships。 All this is fine insight scientists are only now assembling。For all that， I fought the book as I read it。 A book called Emotional， at least to me， should be or at least contain， stories of outbursts， dysfunction， gaining self-control， learning to accept others， self-editing， manipulation and life-changing adjustments。 Self control and self awareness are key factors when examining emotions， I would have thought。 It should examine gender differences and the leveraging of emotions in manipulative fashions。 What does too little mean？ What about too much？ The book actually contains none of this: nothing about what most readers would consider emotions。 It is only and all about this broader span of functions that most people would not consider emotions eg。 guilt， shame， determination， motivation and disgust:t“Hunger （a Primordial emotion） is an emotion that helps us decide whether to eat something available （walk away from free food） rather than just employ a series of rules。” He says there are five states distinguishing emotions from reflexes， but readers will find that doesn’t bridge the gap。He says some emotions are “social emotions” like guilt， shame， jealousy， indignation， gratitude， admiration， empathy and pride。 As I read， I kept thinking – that’s not an emotion！ It’s a mood， or a state， a reflex， a trigger or a reaction – but not an emotion as I know them。 It’s not a good way to read a fine book。 It really needs some explaining right up front。 Or a better title。 Maybe Expanding Emotions。It concludes with three ways to gain control of emotions: acceptance， appraisal and expression。 We’re probably most familiar with the last one， where talking it out or writing it down defuses the emotion， such as anger or hurt。 So it’s not just a physiology book。 It is very much an affective psychology journey as well。Mlodinow takes great pains to describe it all and make it understandable with his always-appropriate stories。 But I have a two sentence shortcut for regaining control over emotions。 It’s old but still quite trustworthy: Don’t sweat the small stuff。 And: It’s all small stuff。 That’s a key life lesson that should be front and center。 Just by itself， it explains most of what you need to know about emotions。David Wineberg 。。。more
Angie Boyter
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