If Nietzsche Were A Narwhal

Download or read book If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal written by Justin Gregg and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This funny, "extraordinary and thought-provoking" (The Wall Street Journal) book asks whether we are in fact the superior species. As it turns out, the truth is stranger—and far more interesting—than we have been led to believe. If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal overturns everything we thought we knew about human intelligence, and asks the question: would humans be better off as narwhals? Or some other, less brainy species? There’s a good argument to be made that humans might be a less successful animal species precisely because of our amazing, complex intelligence. All our unique gifts like language, math, and science do not make us happier or more “successful” (evolutionarily speaking) than other species. Our intelligence allowed us to split the atom, but we’ve harnessed that knowledge to make machines of war. We are uniquely susceptible to bullshit (though, cuttlefish may be the best liars in the animal kingdom); our bizarre obsession with lawns has contributed to the growing threat of climate change; we are sexually diverse like many species yet stand apart as homophobic; and discriminate among our own as if its natural, which it certainly is not. Is our intelligence more of a curse than a gift? As scientist Justin Gregg persuasively argues, there’s an evolutionary reason why human intelligence isn’t more prevalent in the animal kingdom. Simply put, non-human animals don’t need it to be successful. And, miraculously, their success arrives without the added baggage of destroying themselves and the planet in the process. In seven mind-bending and hilarious chapters, Gregg highlights one feature seemingly unique to humans—our use of language, our rationality, our moral systems, our so-called sophisticated consciousness—and compares it to our animal brethren. Along the way, remarkable tales of animal smarts emerge, as you’ll discover: “A dazzling, delightful read on what animal cognition can teach us about our own mental shortcomings.” —Adam Grant The house cat who’s better at picking winning stocks than actual fund managers Elephants who love to drink Pigeons who are better than radiologists at spotting cancerous tissue Bumblebees who are geniuses at teaching each other soccer What emerges is both demystifying and remarkable, and will change how you look at animals, humans, and the meaning of life itself. San Francisco Chronicle bestseller • BOOKRIOT Best Books of the Year • Next Big Idea Book Club Best Science Books of the Year “I love the book, and everyone should read it.” —Ryan Holiday "Undeniably entertaining." —TheNew York Times

Download or read book Summary of Justin Gregg's If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal written by Everest Media, and published by Everest Media LLC. This book was released on 2022-09-09T22:59:00Z with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Mike is a day trader who was wrong about the stock market in 2009. He lost everything and had to quit trading full-time. He continued to dabble in stocks, betting on long-shot stocks that could potentially make him a millionaire, until he found GameStop. #2 Mike was not prescient. He just got lucky. He was not prescient because he was not a professional. He was a day trader who had lost everything in 2009 and continued to dabble in stocks until he found GameStop in 2020, which he then bought options on and made $25 million. -> The story of Mike is not that it takes serious smarts and years of experience studying the stock market to correctly predict why and when stock prices will rise and fall. It just takes luck. #3 The stock market is a crapshoot. Some people are lucky and make big profits, while others are not. #4 Humans are the why specialist species. We have a burning desire to understand cause and effect, which distinguishes us from other animals. But this ability did not give us an edge when it came to stock price predictions.

Download or read book If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal written by Justin Gregg and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY WATERSTONES AND THE TIMES 'Nothing less than brilliant' Wall Street Journal 'Entertaining and original' Guardian 'Accessible and insightful, it's a thought-provoking read' Observer 'Highly readable' The Times __________ What's it like to be a bat, a bee, or a bed bug? From narwhals to slugs, Dr Justin Gregg offers a window into the minds of other creatures and debunks many of the myths of human exceptionalism. With the latest research on animal minds and cognitive psychology, he shows us what animal minds can teach us about humanity's shortcomings. Mind-bending, humbling and hilarious, If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal will change how you think about animals, humans, and the meaning of life itself. __________ 'Provides real insight into how we think' Financial Times 'Witty and instructive' New Statesman

Download or read book If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal written by Justin Gregg and published by . This book was released on 2023-01-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if human intelligence is actually more of a liability than a gift? After all, the animal kingdom, in all its diversity, gets by just fine without it. At first glance, human history is full of remarkable feats of intelligence, yet human exceptionalism can be a double-edged sword. With our unique cognitive prowess comes severe consequences, including existential angst, violence, discrimination, and the creation of a world teetering towards climate catastrophe. What if human exceptionalism is more of a curse than a blessing? As Justin Gregg puts it, there's an evolutionary reason why human intelligence isn't more prevalent in the animal kingdom. Simply put, non-human animals don't need it to be successful. And, miraculously, their success arrives without the added baggage of destroying themselves and the planet in the process. In seven mind-bending and hilarious chapters, Gregg highlights features seemingly unique to humans - our use of language, our rationality, our moral systems, our so-called sophisticated consciousness - and compares them to our animal brethren. What emerges is both demystifying and remarkable, and will change how you look at animals, humans, and the meaning of life itself.

Download or read book Are Dolphins Really Smart? written by Justin Gregg and published by . This book was released on 2013-09-26 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Justin Gregg weighs up the claims made about dolphin intelligence and separates scientific fact from fiction.

Download or read book The Emotional Lives of Animals (revised) written by Marc Bekoff and published by New World Library. This book was released on 2024-04-09 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A seminal exploration of animal emotion, sentience, and cognition, revised and expanded to incorporate a surge of new science When award-winning scientist Marc Bekoff penned the first edition of this book in 2007, he predicted that over time our understanding of animal cognition and emotion would grow “richer, more accurate, and possibly different.” Since then, not only has the field seen an explosion of new and startling research, but the popular interest in the subject has grown as well, spawning countless podcasts, articles, and bestselling books. Bekoff skillfully blends extraordinary stories of animal joy, empathy, grief, embarrassment, anger, and love with the latest scientific research confirming the existence of emotions that common sense and experience have long implied. Filled with light humor and compassion, The Emotional Lives of Animals is a clarion call for reassessing both how we view and how we treat animals.

Download or read book Wild Chorus written by Brenda Peterson and published by Mountaineers Books. This book was released on 2024-04-01 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book is beautiful, brave, and important." -- Sy Montgomery In Wild Chorus, award-winning author Brenda Peterson draws on her lifelong relationship with animals to explore the wisdom we humans can glean from them. Looking beyond the companionship we enjoy with domesticated animals, Peterson explores how wild animals can become our guides and fellow travelers, helping us navigate the stresses of daily life and a rapidly changing planet. From beluga whales to wolves, raccoons to bears, elk to herons, the stories in this collection offer insights into the intricacies of animals’ intuitive communication, compassionate attention, and peaceful adaptation. Featuring vivid, visionary stories, Wild Chorus reveals a world filled with inspiring lessons of kinship, connection, and living in the present. Join Peterson on an incredible journey as she speaks for animals as both an artist and an activist to discover the power of learning from the natural world.