Leonard Mlodinow
Leonard Mlodinow
Leonard Mlodinowis an American popular science author and screenwriter...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPhysicist
CountryUnited States of America
conscious humans social transcend understood
Language is handy, but we humans have social and emotional connections that transcend words and are communicated - and understood - without conscious thought.
consciousness occur threshold
By subliminal, I mean things that occur in our world that are below the threshold of consciousness but do have a psychological effect on us.
conscious critical effects experience minds respond role shaping truth
The truth is that our unconscious minds are active, purposeful, and independent. Hidden they may be, but their effects are anything but, for they play a critical role in shaping the way our conscious minds experience and respond to the world.
architecture arise conscious due forces mental mind motivational operate outside portions processes rather subject
Our subliminal mental processes operate outside awareness because they arise in these portions of our mind that are inaccessible to our conscious self; their inaccessibility is due to the architecture of the brain rather than because they have been subject to Freudian motivational forces like repression.
aware bonds connect conscious form grooming hours society spend touching
Non-human primates spend hours a day grooming each other. And with humans, touching is also important. It's a way to form bonds and connect in modern society. But you can also speed up the use of conscious purposes once you're aware of that, and it can be manipulated.
events belief conscious
Our inner weighing of evidence is not a careful mathematical calculation resulting in a probabilistic estimate of truth, but more like a whirlpool blending of the objective and the personal. The result is a set of beliefs - both conscious and unconscious - that guide us in interpreting all the events of our lives.
employ fill image people record tricks unaware
Just as our brains fill in the details of an image our eyes record only roughly, so, too, do our brains employ tricks we are unaware of to fill in details about people we don't know intimately.
comfort numbers people realize strength
People intuitively realize that there is strength in numbers and take comfort in the company of others, especially in times of anxiety or need.
annual books products reports
We unwittingly judge products by their boxes, books by their covers, and even corporation's annual reports by their nice glossy finish.
communication developed highly life mode remains throughout touch year
Touch is our most highly developed sense when we are born, and it remains a fundamental mode of communication throughout a baby's first year and an important influence throughout a person's life.
along connection cooperation enhancing evolved feelings physical route seems social special tool touch travel
Touch seems to be such an important tool for enhancing social cooperation and affiliation that we have evolved a special physical route along which those subliminal feelings of social connection travel from skin to brain.
box combine following office similar sports stocks three
I think the fun of following the movie box office and stocks is very similar to the fun of sports - all three combine passion and unpredictability.
attacks cause companies warming
The attacks on global warming are no different than the attacks the cigarettes companies used to use to say that cigarettes don't cause cancer.
certainly chance feat hard likely talent work
Intentionality and talent always matter. An extraordinary feat is certainly made more likely by someone's focus, hard work, etc. But chance also matters.