What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite

This is a fascinating, and practical exploration into why the things that make our brains "happy" are not always what we really need. Why do we routinely choose options that don't meet our short term needs and undermine our long-term goals? Why do we insist we're right even when evidence contradicts us? Why are we prone to assigning meaning to statistically common coincidences? "What Makes Your Brain Happy" reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. In fact, much of what makes our brains "happy" leads to errors, biases, and distortions, which make getting out of our own way extremely difficult. Drawing on research into social psychology, cognitive science, neurology and even marketing and economics, this volume draws out insights that we can use to identify our brains' foibles and turn our awareness into edifying action.