The phrase "know thyself" - attributable to at least 11 Greek sages - turns out to be a lot harder than any of them apparently realized. In this book, University of Virginia cognitive scientist, Timothy Wilson goes into great detail explaining some of the many reasons why that's the case.

1. The Enchanted Loom
Teasing sturdy threads from
neuroscience masterworks

2. Teasing 10
threads from
Timothy
Wilson’s…

3. Thread 1:
Humans
possess
a collection
of brain
modules
that have
evolved over
time and
operate outside
of consciousness.
(pg. 7)

4. Thread 2:
We know less
and exert less
control over
our own
minds than
we think
we do.
(pg. 48)

5. Thread 3:
We take in
11 million
pieces of
information
per second,
but process
only 40
pieces
consciously.
(pg. 24)

6. Thread 4:
People whose
brains can
spot dangers
and oppor-
tunities fast-
est are at a
huge cultural
advantage.
(pg. 35)

7. Thread 5:
Personality researchers have uncovered five
basic traits: extraversion, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, emotional stability,
and openness to experience.
(pg. 69)

8. Thread 6:
We are often blind to the way unconscious
processes influence our behavior.
(pg. 97)

9. Thread 7:
The real action
in the brain is
mental
processing
that produces
feelings,
judgments
and behaviors.
(pg. 105)

10. Thread 8:
The Durability
Bias tends to
make us over-
estimate how
long feelings
arising in
response to
future
emotional
events will last.
(pg. 138)

11. Thread 9:
Deliberate attempts at thought suppression
is a losing proposition.
(pg. 178)

12. Thread 10:
The so-called
Fundamental
Attribution
Error over-
looks situational
influences on
behavior in
favor of
internal drivers.
(pg. 207)

13. Image Credits:
Title Page: http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/23193-personality-traits-brain-scans
Slide 3 - http://www.nature.com/srep/2014/140313/srep04312/fig_tab/srep04312_F1.html
Slide 12 - http://bit.ly/1JvOxyq
Slide 2 - http://avillage.web.virginia.edu/Psych/Faculty/Profile/Timothy-D-Wilson
Slide 6 - http://bit.ly/1H3Mmnf
Slide 5 - http://bit.ly/1JS5LrS
Slide 11 - http://bit.ly/1GE8iiV
Slide 10 - http://friendshelpingothers.org/blog/?p=112
Slide 14 - http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/23193-personality-traits-brain-scans
Slide 9 - http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/the-crow-vs-edward-scissorhands-676123/
Slide 8 - http://www.dominicanajournal.org/face-blindness/
Slide 7 - http://bit.ly/1HxdsEf
Slide 4 - http://creepbay.com/i-didnt-do-it-alien-mind-control-half-mask/

14. Mark Brady, PhD
TheEnchantedLoom@gmail.com
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