Product Description
"Provocative enough to make you start questioning your each and every action."—Entertainment Weekly

The brain's power is confirmed and touted every day in new studies and research. And yet we tend to take our brains for granted, without suspecting that those masses of hard-working neurons might not always be working for us. Cordelia Fine introduces us to a brain we might not want to meet, a brain with a mind of its own. She illustrates the brain's tendency toward self-delusion as she explores how the mind defends and glorifies the ego by twisting and warping our perceptions. Our brains employ a slew of inborn mind-bugs and prejudices, from hindsight bias to unrealistic optimism, from moral excuse-making to wishful thinking—all designed to prevent us from seeing the truth about the world and the people around us, and about ourselves.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 26 reviews)

A disturbing book

The earlier reader reviews (of the paperback and hardcover editions) are quite accurate about the content and tone of this book. It is very lively and easy to read. Fine presents a thorough survey of the various devices that that the subconscious uses to keep us on an even keel in an unsettling world. But those devices are devious and deceptive, and reading about them is deeply unsettling for the picture it gives of how completely at the mercy of this deviousness we are. We end up feeling that nothing is at it seems, that nothing is quite what we believed it to be, not our thoughts, not our idea of ourselves. I have read many books, both fiction and nonfiction, over the years, but I cannot remember one that so materially changed my outlook on myself and on other people. Read it at the risk of your own peace of mind!
September 01, 2008

Well worth the price; great staring place

If you are at all interested in how the mind works and what is going on behind the scenes in the thought process, then this is a very good place to start. Ms. Fine takes you on an excursion into the various emotions and convictions that shape our lives in a digestible way that is informative yet not unduly clinical. Her style is friendly and smooth and does a nice job of piquing your curiosity to delve even deeper. If you are already a student of this field of interest, you may find the book a little too tame, but for the novice, you will be drawn in quickly with this book.
July 21, 2008

Best of both worlds

In the world of brain science and psychology, there seems to be opposing camps. When the subject is geared toward general audiences, it is said to be "pop" and without substance. When written with much scientific evidence, though, the text gets laden and not especially readable. Cordelia Fine is one of those rare talents who knows her subject and knows how to write. I found A Mind of Its Own to be a best-of-both-worlds page turner. Each topic was rounded out by vignettes which made some very conceptual ideas tangible. I laughed out loud a few times in seeing others' fallability. She illustrates that we are so enamoured with our own brain power that we overlook - or refuse to look at - the ways our brains trick us. The fact that she used snippets from her own life is a courageous offering. With someone so willing to show her own vulnerabilities -- and she studies this stuff for a living -- how can you not look at your own life and the ways you may be deluding yourself? Otherwise, it's a tough pill to swallow to accept that our brains are -- according to Fine's categorizations -- Vain, Emotional, Immoral, Deluded, Pigheaded, Secretive, Weak-Willed and Bigoted. My favorite take-away is the effect of schema priming -- that we all have pictures of life (whether tested as accurate or not) which color and influence perception and decision-making. While all of this may make you want to join another species, she holds out hope: "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding."

June 22, 2008

Great book for former hostages of "Religion"....

It's simply amazing how our minds can fool us into believing things that simply are not supported by facts.
For longer than I care to admit, I was involved with Mormonism; this book is helping me see beyond the lens that occluded my views of life & others.
May 15, 2008

Entertaining and informative - a "must read"

This is a reasonably short book but it packs a lot of entertainment and a lot of insight into its pages.

The common theme is that your brain doesn't work the way you think it does. Cordelia Fine makes the case for this very strongly. With many interesting examples and case studies from psychology research we learn the many ways we deceive ourselves.

This book shows just how far psychology has progressed in the last 30 years. There are many powerful insights into human behavior. This is not a self-help book, but with a little imagination you can easily apply these insights to everyday life.

What I most liked about the book is that it actually convinced me that these things apply to me as well. So, for example, I am now aware that I am blind to my own faults and that I exaggerate those of others. I can take this into account and live more harmoniously with those around me.

I have probably read 300 books in the last 5 years and this is the best. I can't recommend it highly enough.
May 02, 2008

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