Payback: Why We Retaliate, Redirect Aggression, and Take Revenge Review

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Payback: Why We Retaliate, Redirect Aggression, and Take Revenge ReviewBasically, though neither of the husband-and-wife team of authors uses the phrase, this book is a backgrounder evolutionary psychology done right, with a full course of social psychology, on why people usally act back ... in one of three ways ... when attacked either physically or verbally/emotionally.
The "ev psych done right"? Briefly, the authors note that many animals either retaliate against aggression or else redirect it lower down the food chain while we (and chimpanzees) are the only ones so far known to also use revenge. From there, they look at how this affects/relieves stress, in both humans and other animals.
Then it's on to the human social psychology. They ask how this affects ideas of "justice" and more. The chapter on justice, with its looks at retributive and rehabilitative aspects of justice in light of humans' built-in payback propensities, could become a book by itself were the authors of a mind to do so.
Both in humans and animals, besides stress issues, the authors note aggression, and the various ways of dealing with it, relate closely to social status issues. they suggest this is part of why simple apologies often don't satisfy victims. Rather, whether consciously or not, victims are looking for a restoration of lost status, and perhaps a diminution of the aggressor's status. That doesn't happen after a few words.
Finally, the authors look at various religious traditions, as well as modern psychology, to suggest some ideas for forgiveness, for development of better non-retaliation skills and more.
Finally, don't just take my word for it. Any book with good blurbs by Robert Sapolsky and Frans de Wall ... another "Recommend" right there. So dive in!Payback: Why We Retaliate, Redirect Aggression, and Take Revenge Overview

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Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy Review

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Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy ReviewAt a time when we have serious concerns over unemployed and underemployed, about regulation that strangles or stifles business, and taxation and tariff rates that drive prices through the roof, this fascinating little gem grabs you from the start with stories and data about the 'real' economy around the world, where currently fifty percent (and moving towards sixty percent) of the billions of working people in the world are doing so in the 'informal' economy, below the radar, off the official record, not part of world GDP. Neuwirth cites an estimate that this 'informal' economy amounts to about $10 trillion dollars annually, or about one-eighth of the world economy. Why so many people and so little economic impact? Because the margins in this business are razor-thin, where unfettered and, yes, in some cases, illegal, immoral and unscrupulous business better expresses capitalism than does the image of the multi-billion dollar global corporation.
Working his way through South America, China and Africa, Neuwirth meets and understands the people, their motives, and their practices. He is not writing about the darkest side of the economy, i.e., sex, drug and nuclear weapons trade, but rather the basic human element of survival, where entrepreneurs with a real flair for business work deals between Nigeria and China, dealing only in cash, bribing and smuggling, and providing a living for tens of millions of people. One can't decide if this is the solution to world economic problems, the 'real' economic problem itself, or just a grey underground world of questionable practices. Yet as scholars and over the years have noted over the years, the practice of these entrepreneurs are not that morally different from that of the established corporations. While I am not ready to go that far, read it and decide for yourself.Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy Overview

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Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain Review

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Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain ReviewThe deep enigma of consciousness has been explored from many directions, including contributions by neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers and a few physicists (both quantum and complex systems scientists). An important study area consists of injuries or diseases that destroy specific brain structures; these clinical events are often closely correlated to nuanced effects on selective aspects of consciousness. Professor Damasio's book makes good use of these data to describe many known neural correlates of consciousness. For purposes of this book, he adopts the working hypothesis that mental states and brain states are essentially equivalent. While many (including this reviewer) find this idea questionable, such tentative hypothesis is quite appropriate for a book of this kind. In science we often adopt useful, if highly oversimplified, models in the early stages of our studies with no illusions that they are perfectly accurate. In this manner "Truth" is (hopefully) approached in a series of successive approximations. Thankfully, Damasio does not claim to "explain" consciousness.
The book's title is based on Damasio's suggestion that our evolutionary history reveals many simple creatures with active "minds" (defined broadly), but only much later did self (awareness) develop; in other words the human self is built in steps grounded in the so-called "protoself." An essential step is the development of homeostatis (life regulation needed to survive) in single cell creatures like bacteria, followed by progressively more complex "societies of cells" in more complex creatures like insects, reptiles, and mammals. Thus consciousness, rooted in our evolutionary past, helps to optimize our responses to the environment so that we may continue our existence. Damasio also describes the self in terms of stages: the protoself, core self and autobiographical self, along with specific brain structures that may support these distinct stages. He concludes that conscious minds emerge from the brain's nested hierarchy of neural networks operating at multiple spatial scales (levels); I will expand on this last point later.

Several chapters consider brain structures that are most essential to mind and consciousness, providing more status to the brain stem and its sub structures than is normally acknowledged by neuroscientists. Damasio's arguments here are based on observations of children born without a cerebral cortex and on several evolutionary considerations. The book cites quite a bit of detailed brain anatomy so non experts should probably read the excellent Appendix on brain structure before tackling any material beyond chapter 2. Normally this suggestion would be offered in a Preface, but this book has none.
I gave the book four stars based on my evaluation of both the good and not so good features: 1) the nice development of a number of important ideas on conscious correlates, 2) the fluff, e.g., some unnecessary technical jargon and the belaboring of obvious points, 3) important omissions. In an example of the latter, I found the memory chapter inadequate given its central role in consciousness. I would have liked to read more about how, where, and at what spatial scales are various kinds of memory stored, or at least given some sense of which parts of the memory puzzle have actually been solved. By loose analogy, if I ask how a TV works, I am unsatisfied by explanations of how to dial in specific channels. Rather, I want to hear about electromagnetic fields and electron guns.
Many readers avoid Endnotes; this may be a mistake. Here is one shining gem involving an interchange between Damasio and Francis Crick, who pointed to several provocative definitions in the International Dictionary of Psychology (1996), providing both these guys quite a laugh. I will not spoil the story by relating the dictionary's definition of "consciousness," but here is this dictionary's definition of "love," "A form of mental illness not yet recognized by any of the standard diagnostic manuals." (Note to my wife, I do not endorse this definition.)
The apparent critical importance of the brain's nested hierarchy to consciousness seemed to me to be substantially understated in Damisio's book. I say this because nested hierarchy is a hallmark of many if not most complex systems, and brains are considered by most to be the pre-eminent complex systems. Think of social systems, for example. They typically consist of persons, neighborhoods, cities, states and nations; their observed dynamic behaviors are fractal-like (scale dependent) and the essence of their behaviors is rooted in the nested hierarchy of interactions at multiple scales, both top-down and bottom-up, the so-called "circular causality" of Synergetics, the science of cooperation and self organization (see books by Hermann Haken). The brain's nested hierarchy and its apparent critical importance to consciousness are discussed in Todd Feinberg's From Axons to Identity: Neurological Explorations of the Nature of the Self (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) and my new book Brain, Mind, and the Structure of Reality, 2010, which also explores the possible fundamental role of information in both the physical and mental realms. This latter topic is also covered in a series of essays edited by Paul Davies and Neils Gregersen Information and the Nature of Reality: From Physics to Metaphysics, 2010.
An alternate view of Damasio's book by Steven Rose was posted February 16, 2011 on this site (an excellent read for those interested in the hard problem).Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain Overview

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Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind Review

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Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind ReviewThe intrepid team of Cheney and Seyfarth has done it again. Their work has a long-standing and deserved reputation for being both pioneering and sensible, a rather rare combination. This book traces implications for human evolution of their research on baboons in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. I have had my camps in the Delta raided by baboons who must be close relatives of Cheney and Seyfarth's friends. I formed a healthy respect for their intelligence. They can bring off a raid with military precision and scientific thoroughness, taking advantage of the least opportunity to steal everything usable and wreck everything else.
The title comes from Darwin: "he who understands baboon would do more towards metaphysics than Locke." Of course, we don't really learn about the baboons' metaphysics here; we learn how their behavior can change our metaphysics, as Darwin intended. (I don't know if baboons have metaphysics or not, but if they do, they surely believe that God is a huge dominant male baboon who mercifully sends endless parties of humans with crackers and bacon and peanuts.)
This book describes baboon social behavior and communication, and then goes on to show how it is and is not similar to human equivalents. They argue, convincingly, that human communication, complex thought, and high intelligence could and did evolve from primate social interaction. We need our smarts for our social life more than for toolmaking or feeding or avoiding predators. Their discussion of language is particularly good--a really thoughtful, excellent, up-to-date discussion of how human language differs from animal communication, and how this might have come about.
The authors also compare baboons with dogs, jays, and other highly social creatures. This leads them to many of their best insights.
I have three minor criticisms. First and worst, they take philosophy too seriously. We hear a lot about "theory of mind," "consciousness," "concept of the self," and other ineffable and "metaphysical" entities. The authors do as well as anyone could with these concepts, but one can go only so far in making a plate of cooked spaghetti stand up straight. Daniel Dennett's book CONSCIOUSNESS EXPLAINED pretty well devastated philosophers' talk about consciousness, as opposed to the good old testable folk notion that contrasts being conscious with being knocked out, drunk, or asleep. And how do you really assess what an animal knows? I have spent thousands of hours listening to mockingbirds and still have no idea whether they actually think of or remember a jay or killdeer when they imitate one. I suspect they think only "This is a fun sound to work into my song." I suppose we will never know. At least we can know that they do NOT merely repeat mindlessly; they subtly change the imitations to fit their song patterns, such that the imitations change over time, according to a real if rudimentary plan. Cheney and Seyfarth try bravely to make operational science out of "theories of mind" and "the self," and say some very important things in the process, but one can go only so far in applying abstract, debatable, mentalistic concepts to animals, or even to humans.
Conversely, it seems to me that the real difference between people and baboons (and other animals) is that people can form deep hierarchic plans. We can go from tactics to strategy to goals, or from words to sentences to books to life work to whole literary genres. A baboon has trouble with "to be," and could never discuss how "to be or not to be, that is the question" fits with Shakespeare's oeuvre and the history of western drama. Baboons have tactics, strategy, and goals, but only at a quite simple level. They can raid camps and manage troops brilliantly, but can't do much beyond that. In communication and foraging, their plans are excellent but simple.
Second, somewhat related: The authors are somewhat primate-centric, and a bit unaware of how different other animals' communication and "consciousness" may be. Dogs, notably, live in a world of scent that is closed to humans. Dogs are alleged to have "no self-concept" because they don't make a big deal of mirror images of themselves. But, if you put a dog in front of a mirror for the first time, you learn why: the dog is startled by the strange dog in the mirror, sniffs it, and immediately loses interest--realizing that this is a trick of the light rather than a real dog. Similarly, when dogs meet, they don't communicate just by barking or whining; they interact by visual displays (which are exceedingly complex in their own right) and by pheromone releases. These latter are not detected by humans, so humans don't usually realize how complex the interaction really is.
Third, the baboons' very real abilities get somewhat short-counted here, because the interest is so much on humans. If baboons could talk (and read), they would surely say: "All very well for these stupid humans to talk about what we can't do, but let's see them execute a perfect campsite raid! Let's see them get into a 'guaranteed animal-proof' container in five minutes! Let's see them give up their fancy gear and still detect and escape lions, leopards and crocodiles!" Evolution gives us the minds we need, and documenting that is more interesting to this reviewer than trying to make sense of theories of "theories of mind" and self-consciousness about "consciousness of self."
That said, this is a totally delightful book. Cheney and Seyfarth write well; no dry scientific dullness here. You will find yourself getting fascinated with even the most arcane matters of baboon social life.Baboon Metaphysics: The Evolution of a Social Mind Overview

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Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives Review

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Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives ReviewAs much as we rely on our brains to navigate the complex world before us, anyone who has ever forgotten someone's name, or misread a situation, or made a poor decision in the heat of the moment knows that the brain does not always work as we would want. In his new book `Brain Bugs', neurobiologist Dean Buonomano explores the brain's many pitfalls and mistakes (and how and why it makes them), and also offers up some advice on how we can best manage these so called `brain bugs' in our everyday lives.
Buonomano identifies 3 major sources whence brain bugs originate. The first has to do with the fact that our brains are the product of evolution, and have evolved as they have to answer the specific challenges that we faced in our evolutionary history; therefore, while our brains may be well adapted to perform functions that were particularly important in our survival and reproduction in the environment in which our species evolved, they may not do as well at functions which, though handy, did not figure as prominently in our evolutionary past (remembering names seems to fall under this category). The second source of our brain bugs may be attributed to the fact that while evolution has brought us a host of useful mental abilities that have allowed us to survive and thrive, it is still a rather clumsy process, and as such does not always offer up perfect, or even optimal solutions; thus the mental systems that we have are sometimes prone to error and quirky behaviour (hence optical illusions, the ever raging and somewhat awkward battle between our reason and our impulses, and a number of other interesting effects). Finally, the third source of our brain bugs stems from the fact that while many of the brain systems that we have inherited were well adapted to the environment in which our species evolved, this environment has changed considerably in the recent past, to the point where some of the adaptations themselves may be ineffective and even counter-productive today (our craving of sugary, fatty foods, for instance, would have been very useful in the environment in which we evolved--where starvation was much more of a threat than heart disease, but can be positively disastrous in the modern world, where the opposite is more often the case). For a more elaborate summary of the main argument of the book, as well as some of the juicier details to be found therein, visit my blog: it's called nonfictionforum at the wordpress site, and read the article entitled "On `Brain Bugs'".
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The Intuitive Compass: Why the Best Decisions Balance Reason and Instinct Review

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The Intuitive Compass: Why the Best Decisions Balance Reason and Instinct ReviewRead the downloadable version, and I have to say, it's so interesting!
Though this book is technically geared for those in "business", I think it's really for everyone. This book challenges your ideas about how you make decisions (are you incredibly logical? Do you base everything on feeling?) and then shows you how to make better ones by incorporating your whole self. Before reading this, I never really thought about how I make decisions for my home, my life, my family. But after reading it, I don't think I'll ever do it the same way again.
Francis Cholle is incredibly insightful, and the Intuitive Compass is designed with everyone in mind.The Intuitive Compass: Why the Best Decisions Balance Reason and Instinct Overview

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The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us Review

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The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us ReviewJames Pennebaker studies words. Originally interested in the beneficial effect of writing about personal trauma, he and his students developed software to analyze this writing. Their investigation soon expanded to include spoken conversations, emails, political speeches, and other language samples. They discovered that much can be learned from the short "stealth words" that we barely notice, but that make up more than half of our speech. "Pronouns (such as I, you, we, and they), articles (a, an, the), prepositions (e.g., to, for, over), and other stealth words broadcast the kind of people we are."
Pennebaker summarizes his trauma research, noting that "people who benefit from writing express more optimism, acknowledge negative events, are constructing a meaningful story of their experience, and have the ability to change perspective as they write." Searching for reliable linguistic indicators of these processes identified writing style rather than more substantive content words. The resulting LIWC software works well regardless of a text's content.
Using both research findings and representative everyday examples, Pennebaker reviews what he has learned. Topics addressed include gender, status and social class, personality, leadership style, deception, interpersonal attraction, and group solidarity. The author not only presents conclusions from his own research, but links to supporting findings using non-linguistic methods. Specific findings include:
-LIWC correctly identifies an author's gender 72% of the time using writing style. This increases to 76% when content words are included. (Human guesses range from 55 to 65%.)
-On detecting depression: "Sadness generally causes people to focus inwardly. Pronouns tend to track people's focus of attention, and when in great emotional or physical pain, they tend to use I-words at high rates. Sadness, unlike most other emotions, is associated with looking back into the past and into the future. In other words, people tend to use past- and future-tense verbs more when they are sad or depressed compared to other strong emotions."
- "No system has ever been shown to reliably catch liars at rates higher than 65 percent. And even those with hit rates in that neighborhood (including me) have done so in highly controlled and artificial circumstances."
- "Linguistic style matching" across nine categories of function words occurs within the first 15 to 30 seconds of an attentive conversation. It is generally beyond conscious awareness. LSM profiles can predict a number of things better than chance, including whether a "speed dating" couple will pursue a further relationship after their initial four-minute discussion.
Pennebaker clearly wants to share, not just his insights, but the methods used to achieve them. Much of his research was done collaboratively, not just with students and fellow researchers, but with public figures, professionals in other fields, and anyone else with interesting documents. Readers are pointed to web sites that let them experiment with Pennebaker's techniques and a version of his LIWC software is available for more in-depth investigations. An appendix includes "A Handy Guide for Spotting and Interpreting Function Words in the Wild."
This book is an accessible summary of James Pennebaker's work with helpful citations of similar research by others. It serves as a guide to more technical discussions of text analysis through an extensive Bibliography and References section--and pointers to downloadable research reports from the author's web site. Interested readers might also enjoy Roderick Hart's Campaign Talk or one of the other related books the author mentions.The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us Overview

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Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World's Least Sustainable City Review

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Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World's Least Sustainable City ReviewAbsolutely superb.
Whether in corporations, government or one's personal life, nothing matches an intelligent outsider's perceptive view of strengths, weaknesses and potentials of any enterprise. Phoenix has long typified mindless urban sprawl, which makes it an ideal candidate for a study of potential pathways to sustainability.
As a resident since 1972, I can vouch for Ross's conclusions. Compared to earlier histories, this is a gem that offers rare insight into why Phoenix is the nation's second hardest hit city in the Great Recession. However, it's not a Phoenix only book; his observations relate to every urban area. Fortunately, most readers may console themselves, "Well, at least we're not THAT bad."
In Southwest terms, this is a gem dropped into a patch of 'Teddy Bear' cholla (that's the "Jumping Cactus"). People stay clear of it because its barbs will cling to anyone who brushes past. Ross's "barbs" are very real, which is why Phoenix decision-makers will read, lament, denounce and stay clear of this book.
Why? The Phoenix elite have a very good life, and see no need to change. The one-in-six residents for whom hunger is an issue (according to local billboards) have no means to change or to be heard. Every week, a 53-foot trailer loaded with free food from St. Mary's Food Bank is parked in a church lot near my South Phoenix neighborhood. The downtown is overrun with homeless beggars who pack the main library and new trolley system to find some cool comfort in the summer.
The debilitating weakness of Phoenix is its uncaring government. Non-violent crime is among the highest in the nation; the Phoenix police, dubbed "cash registers" by others, tell victims, "We don't take reports of burglaries ... call your insurance company." More than a billion dollars a year is spent on prisons; virtually nothing on rehabilitation, except for private charities.
Until local government cares about more than the comfort, wealth and status of the elite, nothing will change. Ross cites the myriad problems that made Phoenix "the world's least sustainable city" and in so doing cites Phoenix as an abject (sic) lesson for cities everywhere. It makes this an invaluable book for everyone, anywhere, who is interested in a better community.
In Phoenix, any and every problem has one answer, "It's a dry heat!" It doesn't solve anything, but it lets people imagine life in Phoenix -- despite its problems -- is better than anywhere else.
In brief, 'Bird on Fire' is a superb and thus frightening look at what an urban area can become when the elites don't care and good people are ignored. In other words, "Don't try the Phoenix example in your hometown."
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The Hidden Connections: Integrating The Biological, Cognitive, And Social Dimensions Of Life Into A Science Of Sustainability Review

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The Hidden Connections: Integrating The Biological, Cognitive, And Social Dimensions Of Life Into A Science Of Sustainability ReviewIf you are looking to save the world via fiction, see Daniel Quinn. If you are looking to save the world via non-fiction, look no further than Hidden Connections. This book will provide you with everything you need (including a new mind and new conception of self) to get right with the ecosphere and the damage we have all helped inflict upon her. (Don't think the world is in trouble, see Lester Brown's ECO-ECONOMY).
Not a science buff, chapter one didn't blow my doors, although I was interested by what Capra had to say and (luckily) was able to wrap my head around all the concepts. In this chapter, he traces the evolution of life on the planet, and therewith provides a novel definition of life. A good place to start any book, I suppose, but certainly one about the future prospects of life on this planet.
Chapter two deals with mind and consciousness. In this chapter, Capra bridges the ancient Cartesian chasm between mind and body, defines cognition and consciousness, and explains the meaning of language. He even throws out some theories about the origin and evolution of all the above.
Chapter three breaks from the previous two chapters, as Capra delves into social reality. In this chapter he gives meaning to the world "meaning," explains social theory from Max Weber to Habermas, discusses human freedom, explains the three forms of power (coercive, compensatory, and conditioned power, or education), and talks about technology and culture.
For me, the book really picks up with chapter four, "Life and Leadership in Organizations." This chapter, Capra discusses what the definition of life means when applied to the corporate business world. Issues such as managment, labor rights, and the role of creativity are sure to please. It is this chapter that gets the ball rolling, which doesn't stop until the very last page.
Chapter seven almost left me breathless. Here Capra provides a thoroughgoing critique of the globalization. Books like THE CASE AGAINST THE GLOBAL ECONOMY are much longer and more detailed, but that is exactly what gives Capra's presentation unique: As with every subject, he synthesizes his argument into concise, lazer-like prose, drawing upon the work of hundreds of scholars, all well-documented in an A++ index.
Chapter eight deals with biotechnology, perhaps the defining charadcteristic of 21st century. This chapter covers a lot of ground: He explains genes, advances the freewill-determinism argument (freewill wins), gives a concise history of the Green Revolution, genetically modified organisms, the silent organic revolution, biopiracy, ecodesign, and biomimicry. As with the chapter on the global economy, this chapter is written in stunning prose that will not disappoint.
The last chapter is called "Changing the Game". In this chapter, Capra outlines the ecocide we are inflicting on the planet (again, a subject discussed singularly and to great satisfaction in ECO-ECONOMY), and what we can do to fix it. In this chapter, he gives a coherent definition of sustainability, outlines ecolitery, explains solar power, hypercars, converstion to a zero-waste hydrogen economy, and green tax shift that supports employment and taxes non-sustainable practices.
The way in which Capra weaves the concept of the network throughout the whole of this book is facinating, a subject which harkens back to his last book, THE WEB OF LIFE. Throughout HIDDEN CONNECTIONS, you will be exposed to many of networks with subtle power that is revolutionizing human culture and the fate of the planet as a whole: including academic networks, social protest networks and political networks. You will not finish this volume without feeling completely changed - and informed. No doubt, ecoliteracy can save the planet. I highly recommend this book.
A quote to wet your whistle: "Whereas the extraction of resources and the accumlation of waste are bound to reach their ecological limits, the evolution of life has demonstrated for more than three billion years that in a sustainable Earth houshold, there are no limits to development, diversification, innovation, and creativity."The Hidden Connections: Integrating The Biological, Cognitive, And Social Dimensions Of Life Into A Science Of Sustainability Overview

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Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling (Princeton Studies in Complexity) Review

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Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling (Princeton Studies in Complexity) ReviewJosh Epstein's new Opus is a landmark publication in the emerging field of multiagent-based simulation of dynamic social systems. Since Josh is not only one of this still nascent (though burgeoning) field's ablest and most creative practitioners, but also among its most thoughtful critics, the reader of has two treats in store: (1) a generous, and wide-ranging, sampling of case studies (including social networks and evolution, population growth, emergence of economic classes, civil unrest, timing of retirement, the dynamics of adaptive organizations and the spread of infectious disease), and (2) a cogent "meta" discussion of what multiagent models ARE, ARE NOT and how (when their properties and limitations are *not* properly taken account of) they can easily be MISAPPLIED.
Far from suggesting that multiagent-based models are a panacea solution to all (or most) social dynamical systems, Josh's book carefully articulates the conditions for which such an approach IS (and is NOT) appropriate; an approach rarely taken by other, similar, overviews of the field. Indeed, the cogent philosophical discussion in Chapter One - alone! - in which the generativist's position is defined and put into a broader modeling/simulation context, is worth the price of admission; I have not seen a better "manifesto" of multiagent-based modeling elsewhere.
Finally, without taking away any of the inherent "beauty" (in the technical sense) of the often exaggerated concept of "emergence," Josh succeeds admirably in both defining the term, and de-mystifying it, stripping it of some of its unnecessary "quasi-mystical" baggage (at least as it is often portrayed in lay publications).
Anyone who is interested in understanding how agent models may be used to help explore the dynamics of social dynamical systems, should have this book firmly on top of their "must read" list! Josh has generously provided future generations of agent explorers their go-to source of both inspiration and ideas. Well done Josh!Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling (Princeton Studies in Complexity) Overview

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Making the Social World: The Structure of Human Civilization Review

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Making the Social World: The Structure of Human Civilization ReviewMaking the Social World is a thorough explication of John Searle's theory of how status functions create our social reality.
Searle is refreshing because, unlike other philosophers, his ideas make sense even after you put away the text. Other philosophers weave a web of coherence that makes sense while they shape the alternatives of your thought through clever rhetoric. Searle is a clever writer, but he also makes sense when you apply his theories to your everyday life. For example, postmodern theory makes a lot of sense when the text you are reading limits the constraints of your thinking, but when you step outside of the text and just live you find it to be insufficient for explaining life as it is lived. Searle's discussions on duties, obligations, direction of fit, status functions, etc are easily understandable because they actually exist in the way you experience the world. These are not counter-intuitive ideas, but rather they are ideas that fit.
I also highly recommend listening to Searle's Philosophy 138 podcast from his Berkeley lectures. Listening to this course enabled me to unpack the dense and precise ideas found in Making the Social World. I found this book to be even more robust than the arguments put forth in The Construction of Social Reality. Obviously, Searle has listened to the criticisms of that work and responded with a stronger theory.
This is a work worthy to be read, considered, and applied to other texts and one's own lived experience. I highly recommend Making the Social World.
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Networks of the Brain Review

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Networks of the Brain ReviewThe label "networks" in the title of this impressive book may fail to fully capture the incredible richness of intricate (multi-scale) brain structure depicted here. Perhaps an added adjective like "genuine" might serve to contrast this work with the many "toy" neural networks illustrated in other publications. To get some idea of the complexity of the genuine brain networks discussed here, picture your living room fully packed top to bottom with centimeter scale worms representing (scaled up) axons linking 100 billion cell bodies. Your worm visitors occupy multiple intricate paths; many are short and form local worm societies (modules), but some cross the entire room and allow remote worm modules to interact non-locally.
Sporns asks what network science might tell us about the brain. He begins with a non mathematical overview of graph theory, "graphs" being mathematicians' abstract label for "networks." Sporns considers both structural (fixed wiring) and functional (dynamic) interactions between brain network nodes and modules. "Modules" are defined here as communities of nodes with large numbers of internal interconnections that may, in some cases, be viewed as "super nodes" or nodes defined at larger scales. To adopt the metaphor of human social networks, neurons are analogous to persons and the modules at various scales are analogous to neighborhoods, cities, and nations.
Like social systems, brain networks exhibit a striking (nested) hierarchical modularity, essentially small networks within larger networks within still larger networks, much like nested Russian dolls. This multi-scale structure may account for much of the brain's complex behavior. I quote the famous neuroscientist Vernon Mountcastle with Sporns' provocative suggestion added in brackets, "the dynamic interaction between brain subsystems [organized in modular hierarchies] lies at the very essence of brain function." Sporns emphasizes this point by pointing out that descriptions of the brain at large scales should not be regarded as poorly resolved approximations of an underlying microscopic order; rather different scales offer parallel and complementary views of brain organization. Failure to appreciate this critical issue and focus only on a single favored level of organization may be labeled "scale chauvinism" (my words).
One important idea emerging from graph theory is that of "small world" networks, illustrated in social networks by strangers (perhaps living on opposite sides of the world) linked by a few acquaintances. The high density of short-range brain connections coupled with a small admixture of long-range connections favors small world behavior. Small worlds also promote high complexity; they appear to be quite abundant in brain structural networks, across systems, scales, and species. Network disruptions, perhaps due to lesions of network hubs, are believed to be associated with mental disturbances or other diseases.
A later chapter focuses on the neural complexity issue addressed in several earlier chapters. While there is no agreed upon rigorous measure of neural (or any other system) "complexity," many complex systems have certain common features, including the hierarchical modularity evident in brain tissue. Sporns argues that system complexity is high when order and disorder coexist. For example, the molecules in a gas exhibit (random) disorder, whereas the molecules in a crystal are ordered, but neither system qualifies as a complex system. Rather, organizational mixtures of order and disorder are hallmarks of complexity. Another common feature of complex systems is that segregation and integration of structure and dynamic activity coexist. Different parts of the brain do different things; yet they work together to produce a uniform behavior and consciousnes, a condition greatly facilitated by small world networks.
This book should have broad appeal among many neuroscientists working in disparate areas of brain science. The writing is clear with many useful figures (including beautiful color plates) and directed examples absent even a single equation. The latter feature will evidently broaden the book's appeal, although some may wish for some mathematical support in an Appendix. In any case, one can confidently predict that Sporns' book will become an essential reference on many neuroscientists' bookshelves well into the future.
The material in this book overlaps several other books aimed at broad audiences. Earlier in his career, Sporns worked closely with Gerald Edelman and Giulio Tononi; their book A Universe Of Consciousness How Matter Becomes Imagination (1995) provides and nice introduction to Sporns' conceptual framework in "Networks of the Brain." My own book, Brain, Mind, and the Structure of Reality (2010) emphasizes the critical importance of nested hierarchy in brain tissue, and also speculates in the wider world of intra and extra cranial information and its possible fundamental role in the production of consciousness.
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