The Mind Is Flat

The Remarkable Shallowness of the Improvising Brain

By: Nick Chater

Narrated by: Nick Chater

In a radical reinterpretation of how the mind works, an eminent behavioral scientist reveals the illusion of mental depth.

Psychologists and neuroscientists struggle with how best to interpret human motivation and decision making. The assumption is that below a mental "surface" of conscious awareness lies a deep and complex set of inner beliefs, values, and desires that govern our thoughts, ideas, and actions, and that to know this depth is to know ourselves.

In this profoundly original book, behavioral scientist Nick Chater contends just the opposite: Rather than being the plaything of unconscious currents, the brain generates behaviors in the moment based entirely on our past experiences. Engaging the listener with eye-opening experiments, the author first demolishes our intuitive sense of how our mind works, then argues for a positive interpretation of the brain as a ceaseless and creative improviser.

©2018 Nick Chater (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Slightly repetitive, but remarkably insightful

Like other reviewers have pointed out, the author repeats himself quite a bit. However the repetition is effective in drilling in a counterintuitive way of viewing our own minds. Although the premise is admittedly speculative (based largely on comparisons to vision), it's fairly convincing and its implications are very far reaching.

Engrossing

Fascinating narrative of how your mind fools you. Couldn't wait to turn the vocal "page".