Mind Within the Brain

MIND WITHIN THE BRAIN: HOW
WE MAKE DECISIONS AND HOW
THOSE DECISIONS GO WRONG
by A. David Redish.
Oxford University Press,
2013 (377 pages)

OUTLINE OF BOOK'S
FACTS & IDEAS
1-20-16

PREFACE (ix-xi)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (xiii)

PART 1 — DECISIONS AND THE BRAIN (1-40)

1) WHAT IS A DECISION? (1-8)

2) THE TALE OF THE THERMOSTAT (9-13)

3) THE DEFINITION OF VALUE (15-22)

4) VALUE, EUPHORIA, AND THE DO-IT-AGAIN SIGNAL (23-34)

5) RISK AND REWARD (35-40)

PART 2 — THE DECISION-MAKING SYSTEM (41-124)

6) MULTIPLE DECISION-MAKING SYSTEMS (43-59)

7) REFLEXES (61-64)

8) EMOTION AND THE PAVLOVIAN ACTION-SELECTION SYSTEM (65-74)

9) DELIBERATION (75-86)

10) THE HABITS OF OUR LIVES (87-96)

11) INTEGRATING INFORMATION (97-105)

12) THE STORIES WE TELL (107-112)

13) MOTIVATION (113-124)

14) THE TRADEOFF BETWEEN EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION (125-132)

15) SELF-CONTROL (133-141)

PART 3 — THE BRAIN WITH A MIND OF ITS OWN (143-202)

16) THE PHYSICAL MIND (145-160)

17) IMAGINATION (161-170)

18) ADDICTION (171-183)

19) GAMBLING AND BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS (185-185)

20) POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (193-197)

21) COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHIATRY (199-202)

PART 4 — THE HUMAN CONDITION (203-236)

Note = see and use pages (205-209)

23) THE SCIENCE OF MORALITY (211-226)

24) THE CONUNDRUM OF ROBOTICS (227-236)

EPILOGUE (237-238)

APPENDICES (239-268)

[A] Information processing in neurons (241-246)

[B] Gleaning information from the brain (247-257)

[C] Content-addressable memory (259-268)

BIBLIOGRAPHY (269-363)

INDEX (365-377)

AUTHOR NOTE &
BOOK DESCRIPTION

AUTHOR NOTE = David Redish is a professor of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota. He was trained in computational, theoretical, and experimental neuroscience and has contributed to the understanding of decision making and cognition. He has a dual-degree BA in the writing seminars, poetry and plays, and computer science from the Johns Hopkins University. Also he has a PhD in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University.

SUMMARY = This book details the science behind decision-making in humans.

BOOK DESCRIPTION = Understanding how the human decision-making system works has enormous implications for understanding who we are, what we do, and why we make the choices we make. By bringing together the tremendous work that has been done by many scientists researching brains, decision-making, and machines over the last few decades, we can begin to get an understanding of ourselves. In this book, with humor, science, and poetry, David Redish discusses what is known about how brains work, what is known about how we make decisions, and what is known about how that decision-making machinery can break down under certain conditions to explain irrationality, addiction, and other strange behavior.

The primary thesis of this book is that humans are animals that make decisions through computations engaged in by a decision-making machine. This book brings together the new technological breakthroughs that have appeared in the last few decades, the new theoretical progress that has been made in the neuroscience of decision-making in the last decade, and new revelations concerning how decision-making systems fail in both human and non-human mammals, to create a unified theory of decision-making and its vulnerabilities.

BOOK REVIEW

LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW = What makes me, me, and you, you? If humans are supposed to be rational creatures, then why do we make irrational decisions? These are some of the questions Redish (neuroscience, Univ. of Minnesota; Beyond the Cognitive Map) poses in his new book about the science behind human decision-making.

Using relatable, humorous examples from across subjects within psychology, Redish explains that the mind exists within the brain. Similar to Robert Burton's A Skeptic's Guide to the Mind, Redish's work looks at how motivation, emotion, morals, and perception factor into the decision-making process and examines what ultimately determines our choices and, thus, our actions.

Focusing on tough issues and controversial topics such as addiction and consciousness, Redish attempts to answer some of the most pertinent questions facing society today.

VERDICT = Recommended for enthusiasts of neuroscience and the mind's workings, Redish's book flows nicely and is easy to read but does require a basic knowledge of well-known psychological theories. The author excels at considering all aspects of the topic while keeping to his original point: to prove that the mind does in fact exist within the brain. -- Jill Morningstar.

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