Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose write by Deirdre Barrett. This book was released on 2010-02-22. Supernormal Stimuli: How Primal Urges Overran Their Evolutionary Purpose available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. A Harvard psychologist explains how our once-helpful instincts get hijacked in our garish modern world. Our instincts—for food, sex, or territorial protection— evolved for life on the savannahs 10,000 years ago, not in today’s world of densely populated cities, technological innovations, and pollution. We now have access to a glut of larger-than-life objects, from candy to pornography to atomic weapons—that gratify these gut instincts with often-dangerous results. Animal biologists coined the term “supernormal stimuli” to describe imitations that appeal to primitive instincts and exert a stronger pull than real things, such as soccer balls that geese prefer over eggs. Evolutionary psychologist Deirdre Barrett applies this concept to the alarming disconnect between human instinct and our created environment, demonstrating how supernormal stimuli are a major cause of today’s most pressing problems, including obesity and war. However, Barrett does more than show how unfettered instincts fuel dangerous excesses. She also reminds us that by exercising self-control we can rein them in, potentially saving ourselves and civilization.
Supernormal Stimuli
Supernormal Stimuli - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Supernormal Stimuli write by Deirdre Barrett. This book was released on 2010-01-26. Supernormal Stimuli available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Our instincts--for food, sex, or territorial protection-- evolved for life on the savannahs 10,000 years ago, not in today's world of densely populated cities, technological innovations, and pollution. We now have access to a glut of larger-than-life objects, from candy to pornography to atomic weapons--that gratify these gut instincts with often-dangerous results. Animal biologists coined the term "supernormal stimuli" to describe imitations that appeal to primitive instincts and exert a stronger pull than real things, such as soccer balls that geese prefer over eggs. Evolutionary psychologist Deirdre Barrett applies this concept to the alarming disconnect between human instinct and our created environment, demonstrating how supernormal stimuli are a major cause of today's most pressing problems, including obesity and war. However, Barrett does more than show how unfettered instincts fuel dangerous excesses. She also reminds us that by exercising self-control we can rein them in, potentially saving ourselves and civilization.
Waistland: A (R)evolutionary View of Our Weight and Fitness Crisis
Waistland: A (R)evolutionary View of Our Weight and Fitness Crisis - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Waistland: A (R)evolutionary View of Our Weight and Fitness Crisis write by Deirdre Barrett. This book was released on 2007-06-17. Waistland: A (R)evolutionary View of Our Weight and Fitness Crisis available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett tackles the obesity and fitness crisis from an evolutionary standpoint. In the modern jungle of burgers, couches, and remote controls, obesity is an enormous and growing epidemic. Weight-loss books and diet gurus urge us to "listen to our bodies," but our instincts are designed for the African savannah, not food courts. The sugary and fatty foods that we, as hunter-gatherers, are programmed to forage used to be hard to come by. Now they're as close as the vending machine down the hall. Radical changes are necessary and, fortunately, are biologically easier than small or gradual changes in diet. Barrett tells us how to reprogram our bodies, break food addictions, and ignore our attraction to "supernormal stimuli"—artificial creations that appeal to our instincts more than the natural objects they mimic. Barrett delves into scientific research—from animal ethology to evolution—to show the disastrous direction in which our instincts have led us, and how, using our intellect, we can get back on course.
The Big Book of Hacks
The Big Book of Hacks - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Big Book of Hacks write by Doug Cantor. This book was released on 2012-11-13. The Big Book of Hacks available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Ingenious (and hilarious) projects that aspiring makers will love, brought to you by the tinkerers at Popular Science magazine. From useful, doable gadgets to outlandish contraptions that you’d likely be wise to avoid, this showcase of ingenuity is an entertaining tribute to the inventive spirit. In this book from the science and technology magazine that’s been inspiring everyday people for nearly 150 years, you’ll discover: Geek Toys: Be the life of any party with rad gaming hacks, amazing pyrotechnics, quirky DIY robots, wow-inducing projectiles, and lots of ways to make beer even better. Home Improvements: Pimp out your pad with a laser-security system, an improvised sous-vide cooker, and a life-sized cardboard display of anyone you want. Gadget Upgrades: Want to stash a flash drive in an old cassette? Use a DIY stylus on a touchscreen? Improvise a fisheye lens for your camera? With this book, you can. Things That Go: Give your motorbike a Tron vibe, deck out your car with an action-figure hood ornament, and keep gadgets charged on the go with a solar-powered backpack. …and much more!
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior
The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior write by Lance Workman. This book was released on 2020-03-19. The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. The transformative wave of Darwinian insight continues to expand throughout the human sciences. While still centered on evolution-focused fields such as evolutionary psychology, ethology, and human behavioral ecology, this insight has also influenced cognitive science, neuroscience, feminist discourse, sociocultural anthropology, media studies, and clinical psychology. This handbook's goal is to amplify the wave by bringing together world-leading experts to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of evolution-oriented and influenced fields. While evolutionary psychology remains at the core of the collection, it also covers the history, current standing, debates, and future directions of the panoply of fields entering the Darwinian fold. As such, The Cambridge Handbook of Evolutionary Perspectives on Human Behavior is a valuable reference not just for evolutionary psychologists but also for scholars and students from many fields who wish to see how the evolutionary perspective is relevant to their own work.
