kelseyraerussell's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastically interesting look at an array of topics in behavioral biology.
ben_smitty's review against another edition
4.0
"Being healthy, it has been said, really consists of having the same disease as everyone else."
Robert M. Sapolsky's The Trouble with Testosterone wrestles with the question of what makes humans who/what they are; where is the line which distinguishes who a person is from his biology? Are we just a product of different chemical reactions? Can we really be held responsible for the crimes we commit from a biological standpoint? What if all the traits we thought were only personal to us are "nothing more than a not-terribly-unique form of primate?"
Sapolsky does not answer the question for us, but he does bring some very fascinating research and anecdotes which point to how much biology plays a role in shaping who we are as human beings. With that said, I found his last chapter on how religious communities were formed by schizotypal individuals and their need for structure horrendous. Of course if you ignore the metaphysical dimension behind rituals, you will see the repetitiveness as what weird people do as an OCD thing to comfort themselves. Sapolsky does admit at the end that science won't answer all the questions, which I am thankful for because it shows that he is not completely submerged in the worldview of scientism just yet.
Robert M. Sapolsky's The Trouble with Testosterone wrestles with the question of what makes humans who/what they are; where is the line which distinguishes who a person is from his biology? Are we just a product of different chemical reactions? Can we really be held responsible for the crimes we commit from a biological standpoint? What if all the traits we thought were only personal to us are "nothing more than a not-terribly-unique form of primate?"
Sapolsky does not answer the question for us, but he does bring some very fascinating research and anecdotes which point to how much biology plays a role in shaping who we are as human beings. With that said, I found his last chapter on how religious communities were formed by schizotypal individuals and their need for structure horrendous. Of course if you ignore the metaphysical dimension behind rituals, you will see the repetitiveness as what weird people do as an OCD thing to comfort themselves. Sapolsky does admit at the end that science won't answer all the questions, which I am thankful for because it shows that he is not completely submerged in the worldview of scientism just yet.
urszulka's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.75
It's a bit outdated, there are examples taken from popular culture of the 90s that younger readers might not know, but still an interesting read
spilled's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars, really. Written by a guy that studies baboons, the whole book serves as a reminder that we're not as unique as we think we are, that every action we take might have less to do with our worldview or the decisions we think we're making freely and everything to do with the way certain parts of us are wired. Sapolsky does a good job, though, of finding the beauty in our humanity anyway, refusing to fall into defeatism or general grumpiness.
The final essay, which wonders about the similarities between the way religions work and the way the minds of people with schizophrenia and OCD work, was extraordinarily interesting. It made me think a lot.
The final essay, which wonders about the similarities between the way religions work and the way the minds of people with schizophrenia and OCD work, was extraordinarily interesting. It made me think a lot.
trogdor19's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book of essays by one of my favorite science writers. It is well-written, each essay neatly organized, informative and entertaining. A few of the first essays went over facts and ideas I was already familiar with, but as the book goes on, the essays just get better and better, bringing up novel ideas, and new supporting information about them. The essays about the fallacies about testosterone and the one about some of the unforeseen results of westernization were my favorites.
dsamorodnitsky's review against another edition
5.0
I mean, finding a scientist who can both write well and communicate science well is rare enough to deserve ten stars.