Dylan Evans

Imagine you have survived an apocalypse. Civilization as you knew it is no more. What will life be like and how will you cope?In 2006, Dylan Evans set out to answer these questions. He left his job in a high-tech robotics lab, moved to the Scottish Highlands and founded a community called The Utopia Experiment. There, together with an eclectic assortment of volunteers, he tried to live as if global society had collapsed. No modern technology. No creature comforts.Within a year, Evans found himself detained in a psychiatric hospital, shattered and depressed, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. In The Utopia Experiment he tells his own extraordinary story, and in the process learns some hard lessons about himself and about life today.

The Utopia Experiment

علم النفس التطوري 

We must make judgments all the time when we can’t be certain of the risks. Should we have that elective surgery? Trust the advice of our financial adviser? Take that new job we’ve been offered? How worried should we be about terrorist attacks? In this lively and groundbreaking book, pioneering researcher Dylan Evans introduces a newly discovered kind of intelligence for assessing risks, demonstrating how vital this risk intelligence is in our lives and how we can all raise our RQs in order to make better decisions every day. Evans has spearheaded the study of risk intelligence, devising a simple test to measure a person’s RQ which when posted online sparked a storm of interest and was taken by tens of thousands of people. His research has revealed that risk intelligence is quite different from IQ, and that the vast majority of us have quite poor risk intelligence. However, he did find some people who have very high RQs. So what makes the difference? Introducing a wealth of fascinating research findings, Evans identifies a key set of common errors in our thinking that most of us fall victim to and that undermine our risk intelligence, such as “ambiguity aversion,” overconfidence in our knowledge, the fallacy of mind reading, and our attraction to worst-case scenarios. We are also regularly led astray by the ways in which information is provided to us. Citing a wide range of real-life examples— from the brilliant risk assessment skills of horse race handicappers to the tragically flawed evaluations of risk that caused the financial crisis—Evans illustrates that sometimes our most trusted advisers, including the experts and analysts at the top of their disciplines, don’t always give us the best advice when it comes to risk evaluation. Presenting his revolutionary test that allows readers to evaluate their own RQs, Evans introduces a number of simple techniques we can use to build our risk assessment powers and reports on the striking results he’s seen in training people to develop their RQs. Both highly engaging and truly mind-changing, Risk Intelligence will fascinate all of those who are interested in how we can improve our thinking in order to enhance our lives.

How to Live with Uncertainty

Risk Intelligence

From Darwin to "Star Trek", Evans offers a lively look at the science of emotions and finds that whether we live in the shadow of Times Square or in the depths of the rain forest, all humans feel disgust, joy, surprise, anger, fear, and distress. 20 halftones.

The Science of Sentiment

Emotion

Oscar Zarate

Evolutionary psychologists are beginning to piece together the first truly scientific account of human nature.

Introducing Evolutionary Psychology

This book outlines some of the latest scientific ideas about the emotions in an accessible and exciting way. Dylan Evans shows that emotions are not just luxuries, but help us to live more successful lives. Drawing on research in psychology, biology, and artificial intelligence, he provides a stimulating introduction to a topic relevant to us all.

Emotion: A Very Short Introduction

An introductory dictionary of Lacanian psychoanalysis

Psikanalize Giris Sözlügü

Lacanci

Can we really cure ourselves of disease by the power of thought alone? Faith healers and alternative therapists are convinced that we can, but what does science say? Contrary to public perception, orthodox medical opinion is remarkably confident about the healing powers of the mind. For the past fifty years, doctors have been taught that placebos such as sugar pills and water injections can relieve virtually any kind of medical condition. Yet placebos only work if you believe they work, so the medical confidence in the power of the placebo effect has provided scientific legitimacy to popular claims about the healing power of the mind. In this intriguing exploration, Dylan Evans exposes the flaws in the scientific research into the placebo effect and reveals the limits of what can and cannot be cured by thought alone. Drawing on new ideas in immunology and evolutionary biology, Evans proposes a new theory about how placebos work, and asks some searching questions about our concepts of health and disease

Mind Over Matter in Modern Medicine

Placebo

This text gives an explanation of how the body's natural healing mechanisms work and how they can be triggered in non-chemical ways via the placebo effect. The placebo effect is central to the way medicine works, but is very little understood. In this book, the author shows how it works scientifically, and how thoughts and feelings work on our brain cells and affect our chemical make-up.

The Belief Effect

Was love invented by European poets in the Middle Ages or is it part of human nature? Will winning the lottery really make you happy? Is it possible to build robots that have feelings? In this Very Sort Introduction Dylan Evans explores these and many other intriguing questions in this guide to the latest thinking about the emotions. Drawing on a wide range of scientific research, from anthropology and psychology to neuroscience and artificial intelligence, Evans takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the human heart, discussing the evolution of emotions and their biological basis, the science of happiness, and the role that emotions play in memory and decision making. Greeted by critics as a pop science classic when it was first published in 2001, the book has now been thoroughly revised and updated to incorporate new developments in our understanding of emotions, including new sections addressing the neural basis of empathy and the emotional impact of films. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Was love invented by European poets in the Middle Ages or is it part of human nature? Will winning the lottery really make you happy? Is it possible to build robots that have feelings? These are just some of the intriguing questions explored in this guide to the latest thinking about the emotions. Drawing on a wide range of scientific research, from anthropology and psychology to neuroscience and artificial intelligence, Emotion: The Science of Sentiment takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the human heart. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The author of Placebo: The Belief Effect draws on real-life examples and detailed research findings to counsel readers on how to make appropriate decisions based on accurate assessments of risk, revealing common flaws in human thinking processes that compromise personal judgment. 40,000 first printing.

Atheism is becoming increasingly popular and it sometimes feels that much of the western world is now post-religious. But now the initial charge of Richard Dawkins and the new atheists has past, what does atheism really mean? This is the question that Dylan Evans addresses in Atheism: All That Matters, providing a thoughtful and engaging atheist manifesto. What values can atheists share with believers?How can a belief that something doesn't exist still be a belief?Is modern atheism new or just a new form of an old system of values? Building on the work of atheist philosophers and psychologists, he shows how the history of atheist thought has developed and offers fresh ideas for how life has meaning from an atheist perspective. All That Matters about atheism. All That Matters books are a fast way to get right to the heart of key issues.

Atheism: All That Matters

Jacques Lacan's thinking revolutionised the theory and practice of psychoanalysis and had a major impact in fields as diverse as film studies, literary criticism, feminist theory and philosophy. Yet his writings are notorious for their complexity and idiosyncratic style. Emphasising the clinical basis of Lacan's work, An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis is an ideal companion to his ideas for readers in every discipline where his influence is felt. The Dictionary features: * over 200 entries, explaining Lacan's own terminology and his use of common psychoanalytic expressions * details of the historical and institutional context of Lacan's work * reference to the origins of major concepts in the work of Freud, Saussure, Hegel and other key thinkers * a chronology of Lacan's life and works.

An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis

Howard Selina

In 1859, Charles Darwin shocked the world by proposing his radical theory of evolution by natural selection. A hundred and fifty years later, Darwin's theory still challenges our most precious beliefs. Introducing Evolution explains 'Darwin's dangerous idea' and shows how it has been developed and confirmed in recent years. Drawing on genetics, ecology and animal behaviour, this book brings Darwin up to date, exploring the profound consequences of the latest scientific discoveries. Introducing Evolution is the ideal modern guide to the most important idea ever to appear in the history of science.

Introducing Evolution

Ali Smith

John Sutherland

Martin Rowson

Nicola Barker

David Flusfeder

Rosalind Porter

Alex Clark

Todd McEwen

DIV We live with the idea of sin every day – from the greatest transgressions to the tiniest misdemeanours. But surely the concept was invented for an age where divine retribution and eternal punishment dominated the collective consciousness? In this lively collection of new writing, Nicola Barker, Dylan Evans, David Flusfeder, Todd McEwen, Martin Rowson, John Sutherland and Ali Smith go head to head with the capital vices to explore what we really mean when we talk about sin. The resulting mixture of erudite and playful essays and startling new fiction might not make you a better person, but it will certainly give you pause for thought when you’re next laying the law down or – heaven forfend – about to do something beyond the pale yourself. /div

A Celebration of Virtue and Vice

The Seven Deadly Sins

As read on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week. Imagine you have survived an apocalypse. Civilization as you knew it is no more. What will life be like and how will you cope? In 2006, Dylan Evans set out to answer these questions. He left his job in a high-tech robotics lab, moved to the Scottish Highlands and founded a community called The Utopia Experiment. There, together with an eclectic assortment of volunteers, he tried to live out a scenario of global collapse, free from modern technology and comforts. Within a year, Evans found himself detained in a psychiatric hospital, shattered and depressed, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. In The Utopia Experiment he tells his own extraordinary story: his frenzied early enthusiasm for this unusual project, the many challenges of post-apocalyptic living, his descent into madness and his gradual recovery. In the process, he learns some hard lessons about himself and about life, and comes to see the modern world he abandoned in a new light. 'A gripping, slow-motion car crash. You can't take your eyes off it' Julian Baggini, Financial Times 'It radiates an intense intelligence and a candour that is never less than touching and, sometimes, downright heartrending' Daily Mail 'Extraordinary . . . both frightening and compelling' GQ

Dylan Evans

Books

Your next favorite book is out there