Explains what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and ponder the mysteries of life.

"A model of scientific writing: erudite, witty, and clear." —New York Review of Books In this Pulitzer Prize finalist and national bestseller, one of the world's leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness? How the Mind Works synthesizes the most satisfying explanations of our mental life from cognitive science, evolutionary biology, and other fields to explain what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and contemplate the mysteries of life. This edition of Pinker's bold and buoyant classic is updated with a new foreword by the author.

What makes us human and unique among all creatures is our brain. Conciousness, perception, emotion, memory, learning, language and intelligence all originate in, and depend on, the brain. During the 20th century, our understanding of the brain has revealed many of the mechanisms by which the brain creates mind and consciousness.

Why do we generate thoughts and emotional reactions which drive us to sabotaging behaviors and emotional drama? Making life altering changes requires more than just telling yourself to think happy thoughts. Learning to understand and shift your point of view, your beliefs and even your language, can end much of the emotional suffering you create for yourself and in relationships. MindWorks offers a simple guide for understanding the complexities of your mind's inner workings and a step by step practice to facilitate change. Whether your transformation is large or small, you will surely look at yourself and the world in a completely new way.

Describes recent scientific understanding of how the brain gets built, providing insight into human behavior and the effects of nature and nurture; and discusses how the brain gets damaged by environmental, internal, and external influences.

A companion book to the National Geographic TV series uses brain teasers and optical illusions to shed light on the workings of the human brain.

2022 KIDS' BOOK CHOICE AWARDS WINNER FOR BEST INFO MEETS GRAPHICS! Readers are welcomed to the Lobe Labs and Dr. Brain activities in this brightly illustrated, highly engaging book that uses science to answer interesting questions that kids have about the brain and human behavior. This is a fun primer on psychology and neuroscience that makes complex psychological phenomenon and neural mechanisms relatable to kids through illustrations, interesting factoids, and more. Chapters include: What is the brain made up of and how does it work? Why can’t I tickle myself? Why do they shine a light in my eyes when I hit my head in the game? Answers draw from both psychology and neuroscience, giving ample examples of how the science is relevant to the question and to the reader’s life experiences.