Sunday, November 15, 2020

Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior, by Mark Leary (author, narrator)

The Great Courses, July 2013

Most of us want to understand human behavior, but it's often a puzzle. Why do siblings, born and raised in the same family, turn out so different? Why do identical twins have noticeably different personalities--and yet, also share some personality traits and preferences, even if they were adopted out and raised in different families? How different are men and women really? Why do we have behaviors that, in modern society, seem wildly maladaptive?

There's a lot of interesting material here, well-organized, and well-presented. There were a few occasions when I wanted to shout, "Have you met human beings?" A notable one: when he cited conflicts over football games as "unimportant." Seriously? Whether it's American football or the kind the rest of the world plays, surely everyone agrees that's life or death! Um, well, yes, that's a joke. But only a little one. Don't diss someone's chosen team!

But seriously, the subject matter is interesting, and the presentation is entertaining and absorbing.

Recommended.

I bought this audiobook.

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