Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind

Gary Marcus

Jun 2008 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Stephen Hoye

About this audiobook

Are we "noble in reason"? Perfect, in God's image? Far from it, says New York University psychologist Gary Marcus. In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed organ but a "kluge," a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption. He unveils a fundamentally new way of looking at the human mind-think duct tape, not supercomputer-that sheds light on some of the most mysterious aspects of human nature. Taking us on a tour of the fundamental areas of human experience-memory, belief, decision making, language, and happiness-Marcus reveals the myriad ways our minds fall short. He examines why people often vote against their own interests, why money can't buy happiness, why leaders often stick to bad decisions, and why a sentence like "people people left left" ties us into knots even though it's only four words long. He also offers surprisingly effective ways to outwit our inner kluge-for example, always consider alternative explanations, make contingency plans, and beware the vivid, personal anecdote. Throughout, he shows how only evolution-haphazard and undirected-could have produced the minds we humans have, while making a brilliant case for the power and usefulness of imperfection.

About the author

Gary Marcus is a professor of psychology at New York University and the author of the Norton Psychology Reader.

Actor Stephen Hoye is a graduate of London's Guildhall and a veteran of London's West End. An award-winning audiobook narrator, he has won thirteen AudioFile Earphones Awards and two prestigious APA Audie Awards.