On Intelligence, Hate Crimes, Overcoming Adversity and More
SELF-HELP
WHY SMART PEOPLE CAN BE SO STUPID
Yale University Press, $29.95
During the Clinton- Lewinsky scandal, the question everyone asked
was, “How could such an intelligent man do something so
stupid?” Here, Robert Sternberg, Ph.D., professor of psychology and
education at Yale and American Psychological Association president-elect,
has gathered a group of intelligence experts to ponder why smart people
sometimes do incredibly stupid things. The proposed explanations include
mistaken beliefs, lack of “street smarts,” failure to
self-regulate and mindlessness, among others. Though the title sounds
frivolous, in fact this book is a serious attempt to understand a common
phenomenon. Students of human behavior should find it appealing and may
even learn how to avoid doing stupid things.
NOVICE TO MASTER: AN ONGOING LESSON IN THE EXTENT OF MY OWN
STUPIDITY
Wisdom Publications, $19.95
Popular books on Zen Buddhism often dish out insights like
McDonald's serves up burgers. In contrast, author Soko Morinaga begins by
reminding us, “Only you can piss for yourself.” Morinaga, the
abbot of a Buddhist monastery until his death in 1995, deals as much with
the nitty-gritty of life as with the ethereal, thus demonstrating that
the two are inseparable. Translated from Japanese by Belenda Yamakawa,
this short, humorous, autobiographical book is Zen for people who know
you can't get caviar at McDonald's.
CALCULATED RISKS: HOW TO KNOW WHEN THE NUMBERS DECEIVE YOU
Simon & Schuster, $25
Should you have mammograms or prostate exams? Should you take the
medication your doctor prescribes? Should you vote for conviction based
on DNA evidence when serving on a jury? Starting with the premise that
nothing is certain but death and taxes—first espoused by Benjamin
Franklin—German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer, Ph.D., shows how
statistical thinking is fundamental to everyday life. An award-winning
author, Gigerenzer offers practical suggestions for improving decision
making that anyone who can calculate a 15 percent tip will easily
understand.
ADVERSITY
DELLA RAYE: A GIRL WHO GREW UP IN HELL AND EMERGED WHOLE
Pelican, $22
When Della Raye Rogers was four years old, her uncle committed her
and her mother, aunt and brother to the Partlow State Asylum for Mental
Deficients in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Though bright, Della remained at the
institution for 20 years where she was beaten, degraded and denied an
education. Yet after leaving Partlow, she was able to become a
beautician, marry and raise a family. Most remarkably, she managed to
forgive the people who treated her so cruelly and offered company and
comfort to some of them when they were, years later, confined to
hospitals or nursing homes. Author Gary Penley, a geologist and novelist,
has written a compelling story about one person's remarkable struggle to
overcome adversity.
HATE CRIME: THE STORY OF A DRAGGING IN JASPER, TEXAS
Pantheon, $24
When in June 1998, white racists in a small East Texas town killed
James Byrd Jr., a black man, by dragging him behind a pickup truck, they
established a new bottom to the depths of human cruelty. Going beyond the
horror of that event, journalist Joyce King looks for the origins of the
racism behind it. One source of that racism turns out to be prisons
where, to survive, whites band together for protection. The book is a
study of racist psychology that reads like a novel.
HUMAN NATURE
DEMONS OF THE MODERN WORLD
Prometheus, $32
Millions of Americans believe that extraterrestrial aliens live
among us, that ghosts haunt houses, that angels look over their
shoulders. How can so many people in the world's most technically
advanced nation believe such rubbish? Easy, says Malcolm McGrath, a
doctoral candidate in political philosophy at Oxford. McGrath traces our
superstitious beliefs to the fantasy literature and play of childhood,
which teach us that “there is a world of demons that is trying to
break into our world and wreak havoc.” McGrath's pessimistic
conclusion: No matter how sophisticated and scientific our society,
adults will be superstitious so long as they have enchanted memories of
childhood.
MAD IN AMERICA: BAD SCIENCE, BAD MEDICINE AND THE ENDURING
MISTREATMENT OF THE MENTALLY ILL
Perseus, $27
Our treatment of the mentally ill is one of the more shameful
chapters in American history. And we are not moving forward, suggests
Robert Whitaker, science writer for the Boston Globe. Indeed, the
men-tally ill were treated far better and with superior results in the
19th century during the era of Moral Therapy—which emphasized
respect, gentleness and the rewarding of appropriate behavior—than
today, with all of our sophisticated psychoactive drugs. Indeed, Whitaker
cites studies showing that nations such as India, too poor to provide
“modern” treatments, achieve better outcomes than we do. A
disturbing book; it should be carefully studied by those who care for, or
about, the mentally ill.
Tags:
american psychological association,
association president,
autobiographical book,
buddhist monastery,
clinton lewinsky scandal,
dna evidence,
hate crimes,
intelligence experts,
intelligent man,
overcoming adversity,
president elect,
prostate exams,
robert sternberg,
serving on a jury,
simon schuster,
soko morinaga,
street smarts,
wisdom publications,
yale university press,
zen buddhism
