Books

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BEHAVE - The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

By Robert Sapolsky

A masterwork by a professor of biology, neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford.

Sapolsky analyses some of the determinants of human behaviour according to timing, starting with what happens in the milliseconds before an action through to things that have taken many thousands of years to evolve. We are far less in control of our behaviour then we like to think.

Packed with fascinating quirks and profound revelations about why we do what we do, he covers a vast number of fascinating topics including power dynamics, sex differences, pleasure and reward, aggression and attachment.

The early chapters are something of a struggle, even for someone with a degree in Psychology. But you can just skip chunks of the more detailed neurophysiological stuff and jump ahead to the behavioural implications.