Name: Heiki Riesenkampf's review of The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler
Item: The Elephant in the Brain
Rating: 2
Author: Heiki Riesenkampf

Kevin Simler

Robin Hanson

Human beings are primates, and primates are political animals. Our brains, therefore, are designed not just to hunt and gather, but also to help us get ahead socially, often via deception and self-deception. But while we may be self-interested schemers, we benefit by pretending otherwise. The less we know about our own ugly motives, the better - and thus we don't like to talk or even think about the extent of our selfishness. This is "the elephant in the brain." Such an introspective taboo makes it hard for us to think clearly about our nature and the explanations for our behavior. The aim of this book, then, is to confront our hidden motives directly - to track down the darker, unexamined corners of our psyches and blast them with floodlights. Then, once everything is clearly visible, we can work to better understand ourselves: Why do we laugh? Why are artists sexy? Why do we brag about travel? Why do we prefer to speak rather than listen? Our unconscious motives drive more than just our private behavior; they also infect our venerated social institutions such as Art, School, Charity, Medicine, Politics, and Religion. In fact, these institutions are in many ways designed to accommodate our hidden motives, to serve covert agendas alongside their "official" ones. The existence of big hidden motives can upend the usual political debates, leading one to question the legitimacy of these social institutions, and of standard policies designed to favor or discourage them. You won't see yourself - or the world - the same after confronting the elephant in the brain.

Hidden Motives in Everyday Life

The Elephant in the Brain

Kyler Phillips

Heiki Riesenkampf

The book covers hidden motives in a wide variety of different topics ranging from religion to donations. It served more as a fun read about different biases we have in life, without offering a lot of theory behind why we might be so biased around certain topics. An interesting read, but I would have preferred a bit more depth.

Once read, it can’t be unread. I know live versed in my own and others secret motivations and self deception: hooray. 

Adam Scharf

Gavin

The best synthesis of the study of human nature (cognitive psychology, interactionist sociology, primatology, and economics) I've ever seen. Freud done right ("although the explanations in this book may seem Freudian at times, we follow mainstream cognitive psychology in rejecting most of Freud's methods and many of his conclusions"). It's introductory, laced with illustrative anecdotes but with much deeper scholarship underneath.

The 'elephant in the brain' is our unwitting selfishness. We compete without knowing or admitting it, for we are social animals seeking power or status, and thereby sex.

 Modeling the world accurately isn't the be-all and end-all of the human brain. Brains evolved to help our bodies, and ultimately our genes, get along and get ahead in the world—a world that includes not just rocks and squirrels and hurricanes, but also other human beings. And if we spend a significant fraction of our lives interacting with others (which we do), trying to convince them of certain things (which we do), why shouldn't our brains adopt socially useful beliefs as first-class citizens, alongside world-modeling beliefs? Wear a mask long enough and it becomes your face. Play a role long enough and it becomes who you are. Spend enough time pretending something is true and you might as well believe it.

 Incidentally, this is why politicians make a great case study for self-deception. The social pressure on their beliefs is enormous. Psychologically, then, politicians don't so much 'lie' as regurgitate their own self-deceptions. Both are ways of misleading others, but self-deceptions are a lot harder to catch and prosecute. 

Simler undertook the book in lieu of a PhD, and his work is a welcome modification of Hanson's usual relentlessly lucid style: he is more concrete, chattier, more personable.

 Information is sensitive in part because it can threaten our self-image and therefore our social image. So the rest of the brain conspires—whispers—to keep such information from becoming too prominent, especially in consciousness. In this sense, the Freuds were right: the conscious ego needs to be protected. But not because we are fragile, but rather to keep damaging information from leaking out of our brain and into the minds of our associates. 


You can probably skip this if you're familiar with Overcoming Bias / LessWrong / Econlog - but even then it's a pleasant read. I'm going to give this to every teenager I know. Armour and key.

Ivaylo Durmonski

The Elephant in the Brain is a provocative book that a lot of people will surely reject. After all, as mentioned inside, we strategically hide our real motives and it’s a common human trait to act hostile against people trying to bring these dark motives to light. Yet, I believe it’s worth checking even if you feel threatened.

The main argument in The Elephant in the Brain is quite simple: We always behave selfishly. However, we don’t realize we do so. We self-deceive ourselves, and we cover this egoistic behavior, for us as well for others, with a good narrative about ourselves.

Sometimes we might sense that others are doing things just for their own good, but we can’t directly prove that. Why? First, because it’s often nicely covered by seemingly noble deeds. And secondly, because we also do it and calling out on their narcissistic intentions will make others observe our own intentions under a loop.

The book is separated into two parts. In part 1, the authors uncover why this narcissistic behavior exists in our brains and why we’re all victims of self-deception. In part 2, the authors portray our selfish behavior in our day to day life – in various situations.

Personally, I find the work done by Kevin Simler & Robin Hanson enlightening. You’ll not only understand how our society works. But also equip yourself with the right tools to get ahead in the competitive environment.

That’s why reading The Elephant in the Brain should be a must. Not only because you’ll better sense what others are up to. But also because you’ll better understand your own desires and motives. This will give you a 360-degree view of yourself and of your interest. Thus, help you mold an image worthy of respect and admiration.

The key takeaway:

Use your selfish desires to do good things. We all want to attract attention even if we don’t always admit it. Sadly, a lot of times we focus too much on ourselves without acknowledging the needs of the group. The best way to gain recognition and therefore feed your ego is by using your skills for the public good.

The full summary:
https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/...

Kyler Phillips &
The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler

Reviews

Join the club

Kyler Phillips &The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler

Reviews

Join the club

Kyler Phillips &
The Elephant in the Brain by Kevin Simler