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Mismatch: hoe we dagelijks worden misleid door ons oeroude brein
‘Onze supermarkten puilen uit van calorierijk voedsel vol suikers en vet. Onze smaakvoorkeur naar vet en zoet stamt uit ons biologische verleden, toen het vergaren van calorieën een overlevingsmechanisme was voor slechte tijden. Tegenwoordig zijn er geen slechte tijden meer, en daarom is obesitas inmiddels gezondheidsvijand nummer één.’
Onze hersenen zijn voor een belangrijk deel nog net zo geprogrammeerd als die van onze prehistorische voorouders. Toch ziet de moderne omgeving er heel anders uit. Het gevolg
is ‘mismatch’.
Mismatch verklaart waarom er zoveel mensen rondlopen met rugklachten, hart- en vaatziekten, diabetes en overgewicht, depressies en burn-outs. Maar de invloed van mismatch reikt veel verder dan onze gezondheid. Ook in ons liefdesleven, opvoeding, politiek, werk, geloof en milieu komt het veelvuldig voor, zonder dat we ons ervan bewust zijn.
In dit fascinerende populair-wetenschappelijke boek laten Ronald Giphart en Mark van Vugt zien hoe mismatch ons beïnvloedt en hoe we er in het dagelijks leven beter mee om kunnen gaan.
Ronald Giphart (1965) schreef bestsellers als Ik ook van jou, Phileine zegt sorry, Ik omhels je met duizend armen, Troost en Harem. Hij is al jaren vaste columnist van het populair-wetenschappelijke blad KIJK en ook schreef hij Ten liefde!, over de wetenschap van de liefde.
Mark van Vugt (1967) is professor in de Evolutionaire Psychologie aan de de VU en onderzoeker aan de Universiteit van Oxford. Hij schrijft ook voor Management Team en de Volkskrant en publiceerde eerder De natuurlijke leider en Gezag.
Onze hersenen zijn voor een belangrijk deel nog net zo geprogrammeerd als die van onze prehistorische voorouders. Toch ziet de moderne omgeving er heel anders uit. Het gevolg
is ‘mismatch’.
Mismatch verklaart waarom er zoveel mensen rondlopen met rugklachten, hart- en vaatziekten, diabetes en overgewicht, depressies en burn-outs. Maar de invloed van mismatch reikt veel verder dan onze gezondheid. Ook in ons liefdesleven, opvoeding, politiek, werk, geloof en milieu komt het veelvuldig voor, zonder dat we ons ervan bewust zijn.
In dit fascinerende populair-wetenschappelijke boek laten Ronald Giphart en Mark van Vugt zien hoe mismatch ons beïnvloedt en hoe we er in het dagelijks leven beter mee om kunnen gaan.
Ronald Giphart (1965) schreef bestsellers als Ik ook van jou, Phileine zegt sorry, Ik omhels je met duizend armen, Troost en Harem. Hij is al jaren vaste columnist van het populair-wetenschappelijke blad KIJK en ook schreef hij Ten liefde!, over de wetenschap van de liefde.
Mark van Vugt (1967) is professor in de Evolutionaire Psychologie aan de de VU en onderzoeker aan de Universiteit van Oxford. Hij schrijft ook voor Management Team en de Volkskrant en publiceerde eerder De natuurlijke leider en Gezag.
325 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 26, 2016
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April 25, 2025
I don’t quite know why exactly but I didn’t want to like this book, it could have been that there were random interjections of sexist remarks which made it a less pleasant read throughout [and I take a serious stand against censorship and political over correctness that would not allow me to say this unless I was encountered with bluntly misogynist somewhat offensive comments]. However, the premise was indeed brilliant and timely and the book was in all honesty, entertaining.
A brilliant premise with average execution
This book is not a critical reading in the topic of the impact of evolutionary biology and psychology on our modern times, Sapiens -which is often quoted in the book rightfully so- and Human Kind offer a much better viewpoint on the clashes between biological evolution and the sociological evolution. What upset me a little, is that it had so much potential. It could have offered us a critical comparative assessment of our neurological development and how it limits us in light of the unexpected trajectory of the development of civilisation. More so, it could have focused on the mismatch between our Stone Age brain and our post digital revolution brain, it confined the mismatch comparison between the Stone Age era and the agricultural era with the exception of the last chapter. The examples throughout the book were also limited to the Netherlands and Germany for the most part which again, made it feel like an account or a deep case study on the region alone.
The mismatch vision and the dimensions under investigation
One of the most insightful assessments of the book was when the authors introduced the four most critical mismatch cues. Stating that our evolved brian is first and foremost adapted to living in the Savannah (our environment of evolutionary adaptedness), so from a biological perspective, we never really moved past that and all our decisions are drawn to be compatible with that environment.
They mention some key traits of the pre-historic brain:
* We respond to dangers we sense physically (see, smell, hear, feel, taste)
* Our self interest predominates that of the greater population except when it comes to our genetically related family members
* Short-sightedness: our brains live in the present, the here and now
* We excel at mimicking one another: we’re basically copy cats
* We are status oriented, we will do anything and everything to advance our genetic pool
The psychological mechanisms:
Drawn from the insights of evolutionary psychologists, they reduce the human psychological driving mechanisms to TWO exactly, which dictate our perception, thoughts, feelings and behaviour on both a conscious and subconscious level: to survive and reproduce, but you know psychologists, everything has to come down to reproduction, so not sure I’ll be taking these as facts. So what they’re suggesting is that every decision we make, goes through a simple heuristic: IF it will help me in 1 SURVIVE - AND OR- 2 REPRODUCE, than I shall.
The Cues:
So our decision making rules are activated by a few, FILTERED, external and internal cue. The argument they put forward is that MISMATCH, or our faulty ill driven decisions and behaviours that result from our lack of adaptability to the modern era, occurs from modern cues that can be categorised as:
1) Exaggerated cues: we evolved to look for ripe fruit thus we crave sugar, so our sugar addiction results from a mismatch between excess unexpected supply provided by civilisation and brains that maximise the demand for survival purposes
2) Obsolete cues: cues we’re wired to respond to but don’t have to anymore like preferring a physically stronger leader in a highly intellectual society
3) Fake cues: cues that mimic reality but are not real like social media friendships. We think we’re strengthening our social survival instinct but we’re not gaining the benefits of protection and group micro societies.
4) Absent cues: cues we need for survival like strengthened social structures but have been disappearing as a ‘benefit’ of a self sufficient individualistic driven society leading to radical mental health issues that stem from ‘loneliness’ for example.
Note: they do suggest that sometimes there are positive mismatches that lead to evolutionary advantages as a result from the need to adapt providing examples from the animal kingdom.
So why didn’t we die out from our mismatches? Cultural Evolution
They suggest that one of the core human evolutionary advantages was that we have culture: ideas, norms and values which are substantiated through observation, learning behaviour and social interaction. The evolutionary information passed down from our genetic code is supplemented from MEMES, so vertical and horizontal informational transmission happens through peers, discussions, exposure where language and imitation play a large role. It’s also critical to note that our social or cultural evolution surpasses our biological evolution. Biology and culture are so ingrained that there is even support from our DNA structure where two variants of DRD4 are associated with different characteristic traits: shortDRD4 denotes altruism and conscientiousness and longDRD4 is associated with the adventure gene and risky behaviour. Our ability to thrive through our cultural development comes down to the fact that we are not limited by our biology, but it is extremely inefficient to pretend like our brains have not lagged throughout this development.
Examples of Matches/Mismatches
Prehistoric Bodies: Hair baldness helps us avoid parasites, beard growth demonstrates masculinity, small jaws that require braces, independent children fostered through cooperative commune breeding, outdoor play, early exposure to the outside world caused less crying, women live longer to meet the ‘Grandmother hypothesis’ of prosperity, the need to nap as a result of two shift prehistoric sleeping, dyslexia is due to the nonexistence of writing and reading at the time, ill informed modern perceptions of natural activity like ADHD, sugar greed, excessively long lives, THE INVENTION of fatty and sweet [NO STOP EATING cue], Jetlag, genetic in-breeding, mental illnesses due to an unnatural lonely and isolated existence are all examples of mismatches between prehistoric bodies and modern living. So eat better, cycle and exercise more, breastfeed and foster your child correctly, avoid avoidable malnutrition triggered diseases, don’t stray from the tribe for your mental health.
Prehistoric Relationships: Monogamy is natural, mainly due to prehistoric scarcity and maintaining the peace, the peacock tail theory stands and both parties will do whatever it takes to ensure optimal mating, female oppression resulted from tyrannical post agriculture possessive idiots who wanted to ensure that women were ‘contained’, women seek intelligence, wit and humour to naturally protect a better human population and men just want to spread their genes as far as possible, the allure of passionate relations results from nature’s sneaky intention to populate the earth regardless of convenience.
Prehistoric Work: hierarchy is not natural, working for someone is not natural, the idea of ‘management’ is not natural. We are optimally better off as entrepreneurs, unspecialised with a vast variety of skills, working with teams that have ‘leadership figures’ and no managers. The economy however seems to be a naturally evoked concept as we crave and desire trading, even Adam Smith notions to the fact that we gain some pleasure from exchanging goods and services so while the idea of money is foreign and that’s why its so difficult to manage money, preserve it and make more of it as we are not evolutionary prone to associate any value to it, the sharing and exchange of goods and services and these cycles of trading patterns just working out mysteriously on their own -INVISIBLE HAND-IDLY- is not an imposed concept or a feature of modern society.
Prehistoric Politics: STOP WARS, they are not natural and kingdoms and politics are a modern post agricultural invention. However, there is much insight here on how our tribalism is triggered through collective patterns so subscribing to a nationality, an army or even a football team seems to alert the tribal traits within us and forces us into conformity that we are naturally prone to and the protection of those who are like us. In the past it also seems that we valued physical strength over anything else in the leader, however that has gone to obsolete cue territory today. We might be better off with more women in management positions nowadays as they are more prone to ensure peace and empathise with ‘enemies’.
Prehistoric Religion: This was nicely written and summarises the relationship with religion in the modern era quite well. Bottom line though that religion also comes naturally to us as we were likely to be very superstitious throughout the Stone Age and actually favoured believing in a supreme creator or at least spiritual guiding beings. This mainly results from the rituals, sacrifices, shared beliefs and systematic codes of conduct to keep everyone in check and organise the group in a chaotic environment filled with unexpected dangers.
The rest of the chapters discuss our relationship to war, the evolution of language, our dysfunctional relationship with nature and sustainability and that it’s actually a myth to think that we were attuned with nature as a result of our love for nature and the environment, the impact of nonexistent entities with a pseudo presence that convince us that TV characters or social media stars are part of our lives even though they are not as we cannot process and fully grasp non physical presence, our relationship to celebrity, our relationship with animals. The Virtual Reality chapter was particularly fascinating as it even mentions why we were naturally inclined to create art, sing and verbalise our emotions.
The Mismatch Commandments:
Eat more fruits and nuts, breastfeed, play outside, invest in children, demolish managers and invest in leaders, do not idolise celebrity, look people in the eyes, recycle, read more books, expose yourself to more scientific knowledge.
Overall:
I would like to iterate that I enjoyed the book, I did not dislike it. There are so many anecdotes, shrewd observations and fascinating insights about how we’ve adapted to the modern age and what we lack to ensure that our brains harmonise with social progress. I just think that it shouldn’t be on top of anyone’s list, especially those who have not yet read Sapiens and Human Kind. Reading the first 50 pages and the last 50 pages may be a much better use of your time than reading the entire book.
A brilliant premise with average execution
This book is not a critical reading in the topic of the impact of evolutionary biology and psychology on our modern times, Sapiens -which is often quoted in the book rightfully so- and Human Kind offer a much better viewpoint on the clashes between biological evolution and the sociological evolution. What upset me a little, is that it had so much potential. It could have offered us a critical comparative assessment of our neurological development and how it limits us in light of the unexpected trajectory of the development of civilisation. More so, it could have focused on the mismatch between our Stone Age brain and our post digital revolution brain, it confined the mismatch comparison between the Stone Age era and the agricultural era with the exception of the last chapter. The examples throughout the book were also limited to the Netherlands and Germany for the most part which again, made it feel like an account or a deep case study on the region alone.
The mismatch vision and the dimensions under investigation
One of the most insightful assessments of the book was when the authors introduced the four most critical mismatch cues. Stating that our evolved brian is first and foremost adapted to living in the Savannah (our environment of evolutionary adaptedness), so from a biological perspective, we never really moved past that and all our decisions are drawn to be compatible with that environment.
They mention some key traits of the pre-historic brain:
* We respond to dangers we sense physically (see, smell, hear, feel, taste)
* Our self interest predominates that of the greater population except when it comes to our genetically related family members
* Short-sightedness: our brains live in the present, the here and now
* We excel at mimicking one another: we’re basically copy cats
* We are status oriented, we will do anything and everything to advance our genetic pool
The psychological mechanisms:
Drawn from the insights of evolutionary psychologists, they reduce the human psychological driving mechanisms to TWO exactly, which dictate our perception, thoughts, feelings and behaviour on both a conscious and subconscious level: to survive and reproduce, but you know psychologists, everything has to come down to reproduction, so not sure I’ll be taking these as facts. So what they’re suggesting is that every decision we make, goes through a simple heuristic: IF it will help me in 1 SURVIVE - AND OR- 2 REPRODUCE, than I shall.
The Cues:
So our decision making rules are activated by a few, FILTERED, external and internal cue. The argument they put forward is that MISMATCH, or our faulty ill driven decisions and behaviours that result from our lack of adaptability to the modern era, occurs from modern cues that can be categorised as:
1) Exaggerated cues: we evolved to look for ripe fruit thus we crave sugar, so our sugar addiction results from a mismatch between excess unexpected supply provided by civilisation and brains that maximise the demand for survival purposes
2) Obsolete cues: cues we’re wired to respond to but don’t have to anymore like preferring a physically stronger leader in a highly intellectual society
3) Fake cues: cues that mimic reality but are not real like social media friendships. We think we’re strengthening our social survival instinct but we’re not gaining the benefits of protection and group micro societies.
4) Absent cues: cues we need for survival like strengthened social structures but have been disappearing as a ‘benefit’ of a self sufficient individualistic driven society leading to radical mental health issues that stem from ‘loneliness’ for example.
Note: they do suggest that sometimes there are positive mismatches that lead to evolutionary advantages as a result from the need to adapt providing examples from the animal kingdom.
So why didn’t we die out from our mismatches? Cultural Evolution
They suggest that one of the core human evolutionary advantages was that we have culture: ideas, norms and values which are substantiated through observation, learning behaviour and social interaction. The evolutionary information passed down from our genetic code is supplemented from MEMES, so vertical and horizontal informational transmission happens through peers, discussions, exposure where language and imitation play a large role. It’s also critical to note that our social or cultural evolution surpasses our biological evolution. Biology and culture are so ingrained that there is even support from our DNA structure where two variants of DRD4 are associated with different characteristic traits: shortDRD4 denotes altruism and conscientiousness and longDRD4 is associated with the adventure gene and risky behaviour. Our ability to thrive through our cultural development comes down to the fact that we are not limited by our biology, but it is extremely inefficient to pretend like our brains have not lagged throughout this development.
Examples of Matches/Mismatches
Prehistoric Bodies: Hair baldness helps us avoid parasites, beard growth demonstrates masculinity, small jaws that require braces, independent children fostered through cooperative commune breeding, outdoor play, early exposure to the outside world caused less crying, women live longer to meet the ‘Grandmother hypothesis’ of prosperity, the need to nap as a result of two shift prehistoric sleeping, dyslexia is due to the nonexistence of writing and reading at the time, ill informed modern perceptions of natural activity like ADHD, sugar greed, excessively long lives, THE INVENTION of fatty and sweet [NO STOP EATING cue], Jetlag, genetic in-breeding, mental illnesses due to an unnatural lonely and isolated existence are all examples of mismatches between prehistoric bodies and modern living. So eat better, cycle and exercise more, breastfeed and foster your child correctly, avoid avoidable malnutrition triggered diseases, don’t stray from the tribe for your mental health.
Prehistoric Relationships: Monogamy is natural, mainly due to prehistoric scarcity and maintaining the peace, the peacock tail theory stands and both parties will do whatever it takes to ensure optimal mating, female oppression resulted from tyrannical post agriculture possessive idiots who wanted to ensure that women were ‘contained’, women seek intelligence, wit and humour to naturally protect a better human population and men just want to spread their genes as far as possible, the allure of passionate relations results from nature’s sneaky intention to populate the earth regardless of convenience.
Prehistoric Work: hierarchy is not natural, working for someone is not natural, the idea of ‘management’ is not natural. We are optimally better off as entrepreneurs, unspecialised with a vast variety of skills, working with teams that have ‘leadership figures’ and no managers. The economy however seems to be a naturally evoked concept as we crave and desire trading, even Adam Smith notions to the fact that we gain some pleasure from exchanging goods and services so while the idea of money is foreign and that’s why its so difficult to manage money, preserve it and make more of it as we are not evolutionary prone to associate any value to it, the sharing and exchange of goods and services and these cycles of trading patterns just working out mysteriously on their own -INVISIBLE HAND-IDLY- is not an imposed concept or a feature of modern society.
Prehistoric Politics: STOP WARS, they are not natural and kingdoms and politics are a modern post agricultural invention. However, there is much insight here on how our tribalism is triggered through collective patterns so subscribing to a nationality, an army or even a football team seems to alert the tribal traits within us and forces us into conformity that we are naturally prone to and the protection of those who are like us. In the past it also seems that we valued physical strength over anything else in the leader, however that has gone to obsolete cue territory today. We might be better off with more women in management positions nowadays as they are more prone to ensure peace and empathise with ‘enemies’.
Prehistoric Religion: This was nicely written and summarises the relationship with religion in the modern era quite well. Bottom line though that religion also comes naturally to us as we were likely to be very superstitious throughout the Stone Age and actually favoured believing in a supreme creator or at least spiritual guiding beings. This mainly results from the rituals, sacrifices, shared beliefs and systematic codes of conduct to keep everyone in check and organise the group in a chaotic environment filled with unexpected dangers.
The rest of the chapters discuss our relationship to war, the evolution of language, our dysfunctional relationship with nature and sustainability and that it’s actually a myth to think that we were attuned with nature as a result of our love for nature and the environment, the impact of nonexistent entities with a pseudo presence that convince us that TV characters or social media stars are part of our lives even though they are not as we cannot process and fully grasp non physical presence, our relationship to celebrity, our relationship with animals. The Virtual Reality chapter was particularly fascinating as it even mentions why we were naturally inclined to create art, sing and verbalise our emotions.
The Mismatch Commandments:
Eat more fruits and nuts, breastfeed, play outside, invest in children, demolish managers and invest in leaders, do not idolise celebrity, look people in the eyes, recycle, read more books, expose yourself to more scientific knowledge.
Overall:
I would like to iterate that I enjoyed the book, I did not dislike it. There are so many anecdotes, shrewd observations and fascinating insights about how we’ve adapted to the modern age and what we lack to ensure that our brains harmonise with social progress. I just think that it shouldn’t be on top of anyone’s list, especially those who have not yet read Sapiens and Human Kind. Reading the first 50 pages and the last 50 pages may be a much better use of your time than reading the entire book.
November 13, 2020
Slack banter and many of the cultural references are incorrect. For example, it was James Carville that coined the phrase 'it's the economy stupid!' not Bill Clinton. Also, 'The Four Wedding and a Funeral" scenario described just didn't happen. Humour is shite, kind of geography teacher trying to be funny shite. Maybe it's the translation, maybe Dutch people just aren't funny, who knows?
It's an interesting idea for a book but executed very badly.
It's an interesting idea for a book but executed very badly.
September 23, 2023
The basic premise of this book is that there is a mismatch between our human brains, unchanged in evolutionary terms since we were nomadic tribes thousands of years ago, and the demands of the modern world.
This allowed the author free rein to muse on a wide range of subjects using a sometimes very tenuous link to this mismatch. There were certainly some interesting and thought provoking passages but a greater number of rather dumbed down parts which seemed to state the obvious.
Two and a half stars.
This allowed the author free rein to muse on a wide range of subjects using a sometimes very tenuous link to this mismatch. There were certainly some interesting and thought provoking passages but a greater number of rather dumbed down parts which seemed to state the obvious.
Two and a half stars.
June 8, 2025
Op een humoristische (en niet alleen maar wetenschappelijk) wijze leer je over hoe de oermens met een sneltrein in de 21e eeuw terecht is gekomen. Op veel dingen hebben we ons nog niet kunnen aanpassen, al helemaal niet op hedendaagse ontwikkelingen. Heel actueel boek en lekker leesbaar. Aanrader!
February 11, 2024
Ik zou hem het liefst 3,5 ster willen geven. Goed te lezen vorm over de evolutionaire psychologie. Veel interessante inzichten over hoe we als mensen onze omgeving hebben veranderd en hoe dit voor evolutionaire mismatches kan zorgen en waarom. Komt langzaam op gang en bevat veel voorbeelden. Mooie aanvulling op Sapiens.
April 28, 2020
Lekker geschreven, heel veel inzichten die je (onbewust) wel had, maar waar je even fijntjes aan herinnerd wordt.
Benieuwd of dit boek veel overeenkomsten gaat hebben met ‘ Sapiens’ .
Benieuwd of dit boek veel overeenkomsten gaat hebben met ‘ Sapiens’ .
July 10, 2018
Sıkılmadan okunan bilgilendirici bir kitap.
September 23, 2018
Interesting, easy read
Good examples, lots of repetition of ides. Good examples to illustrate ideas. Nice practice ways to think about mismatches. Well worth the read
Good examples, lots of repetition of ides. Good examples to illustrate ideas. Nice practice ways to think about mismatches. Well worth the read
January 9, 2021
As an idea this was interesting, and there were lots of interesting bits of research sprinkled throughout, but I didn't like the style of a lot of the writing and I felt this was a little bit too watered down from the original findings, as the conclusion was often given without the evidence from the study source.
The general idea was to discuss the ways in which our brains, formed when humans lived on the savannah, lead us to subconsciously favour certain behaviours which are not beneficial for us. At times I wasn't sure what thetwo authors were arguing as they talked about evolutionary benefits but also an inherent sense of 'good' for the human race in general. For example, they talked about plastic surgery tricking the brain into thinking that older women might be seen as young and fertile, but also that man-made climate change was bad. In a modern society, what is beneficial for an individuals' genes seems irrelevant, but there were a few times this was talked about, as well as 'greater good' arguments like global warming.
This was a shame as I found a lot of the book interesting. The authors were willing to point out the errors of the paleo diet (modern natural foods have still been cultivated such that they are not our same as our traditional foods) or the idea that our ancestors cared for the environment (there were just too few people to make an impact). More contentious opinions were acknowledged and the authors did not shy from discussing the differences between men and women on a population level. But like Gladwell and his ilk, they summarised the findings without necessarily quoting the original source so we just had to take their word for it. The supporting evidence for women trying to seduce gay men was a fictional short story one of them had written. And there was a sense of humour I found annoying, lots of exclamation marks and euphemisms for sex. I don't know to what extent this was humour that didn't translate, or just wasn't very funny, but it did grate with me.
The end result was a book that must have had a lot of thought and research put into it, but could have done with a bit more science and a bit less casual humour. The suggestions for a better fit between our modern world and our old brains were also a bit trite, and could have been thought through better.
The general idea was to discuss the ways in which our brains, formed when humans lived on the savannah, lead us to subconsciously favour certain behaviours which are not beneficial for us. At times I wasn't sure what thetwo authors were arguing as they talked about evolutionary benefits but also an inherent sense of 'good' for the human race in general. For example, they talked about plastic surgery tricking the brain into thinking that older women might be seen as young and fertile, but also that man-made climate change was bad. In a modern society, what is beneficial for an individuals' genes seems irrelevant, but there were a few times this was talked about, as well as 'greater good' arguments like global warming.
This was a shame as I found a lot of the book interesting. The authors were willing to point out the errors of the paleo diet (modern natural foods have still been cultivated such that they are not our same as our traditional foods) or the idea that our ancestors cared for the environment (there were just too few people to make an impact). More contentious opinions were acknowledged and the authors did not shy from discussing the differences between men and women on a population level. But like Gladwell and his ilk, they summarised the findings without necessarily quoting the original source so we just had to take their word for it. The supporting evidence for women trying to seduce gay men was a fictional short story one of them had written. And there was a sense of humour I found annoying, lots of exclamation marks and euphemisms for sex. I don't know to what extent this was humour that didn't translate, or just wasn't very funny, but it did grate with me.
The end result was a book that must have had a lot of thought and research put into it, but could have done with a bit more science and a bit less casual humour. The suggestions for a better fit between our modern world and our old brains were also a bit trite, and could have been thought through better.
July 12, 2023
I just found an amazing book that I think you'll absolutely love! It's called "Mismatch" by Ronald Giphart and Mark van Vugt, and it's seriously mind-blowing.
So, here's the deal: "Mismatch" takes us on a mind-bending journey into the fascinating world of evolutionary psychology. It's not like other boring non-fiction books. Instead, it explores human behavior and uncovers the hidden reasons behind our quirks and odd behaviors. It's like discovering the missing pieces of the puzzle that make us who we are.
Have you ever wondered why we're attracted to certain people or why we sometimes make weird decisions? Well, "Mismatch" reveals the secret evolutionary forces behind those everyday puzzles. It's like getting a backstage pass to understand ourselves better.
The best part is that "Mismatch" covers a bunch of interesting topics like love, leadership, and politics. The authors are great storytellers, so they bring these concepts to life in a way that makes you question everything you thought you knew about human nature. It's like going on a thrilling adventure through the twists and turns of our own minds.
I highly recommend picking up "Mismatch". It's an invitation to explore the complexities of our nature and embrace the beautiful mismatches that make us unique. 🚀💫
So, here's the deal: "Mismatch" takes us on a mind-bending journey into the fascinating world of evolutionary psychology. It's not like other boring non-fiction books. Instead, it explores human behavior and uncovers the hidden reasons behind our quirks and odd behaviors. It's like discovering the missing pieces of the puzzle that make us who we are.
Have you ever wondered why we're attracted to certain people or why we sometimes make weird decisions? Well, "Mismatch" reveals the secret evolutionary forces behind those everyday puzzles. It's like getting a backstage pass to understand ourselves better.
The best part is that "Mismatch" covers a bunch of interesting topics like love, leadership, and politics. The authors are great storytellers, so they bring these concepts to life in a way that makes you question everything you thought you knew about human nature. It's like going on a thrilling adventure through the twists and turns of our own minds.
I highly recommend picking up "Mismatch". It's an invitation to explore the complexities of our nature and embrace the beautiful mismatches that make us unique. 🚀💫
February 25, 2021
Als je wilt snappen waarom mensen zich gedragen zoals ze doen, moet je dit boek lezen. Bijvoorbeeld als je niet snapt waarom mensen niks doen tegen klimaatverandering. Heel veel gedrag dat zinnig was toen we nog over de savanne renden, is nu zinloos. En andersom. Vooruit denken heeft niet veel zin, als je dagen er allemaal ongeveer hetzelfde uitzien. Je alleen drukmaken over dingen die je kunt zien is juist weer handig, want daar zit op de savanne het acute gevaar in. Onzichtbare gifwolken of hoge CO2-concentraties bestonden er toen nog niet, dus je overlevingskansen werden ook niet groter als je die kon opsporen. Maar ook zoetigheid eten is iets dat 10.000 jaar geleden slim was, hoe meer des te beter, maar met in elke wijk een supermarkt is het nogal riskant. Autoriteit (leiderschap) betekende ook iets heel anders in de steentijd. Je krijg alleen gezag als je iets goed kon (jagen) en alleen maar voor zo lang dat belangrijk was (totdat de mamoet was opgevreten). Nu is gezag gekoppeld aan vaste posities en niet per se gebaseerd op een bijzonder talent.
Nou, zo gaat het 320 pagina's door. Lezen!
Nou, zo gaat het 320 pagina's door. Lezen!
June 11, 2020
A fabulous and eye-opening book. We have developed much faster than we have evolved and this has resulted in a number of mismatches between how we behave and how we are built to behave. These mismatches can cause tension, unhappiness and mental and physical ill health. The authors explore these areas of mismatch in an insightful and entertaining way. This is a book that will make you think differently about your life and will lead you to seek change.
The authors are Dutch, and the book has a Dutch leaning that I found refreshing. Okay, I admit I'm something of a Netherlanderphile (if that's a word). I've long admired the Dutch sense of balance and perspective, as well as their cultural approach to cycling, so I was half way there even before the first page. But don't take my word for it. I heartily recommend this book, filled with aha! moments and explanations about why we behave the way we do.
The authors are Dutch, and the book has a Dutch leaning that I found refreshing. Okay, I admit I'm something of a Netherlanderphile (if that's a word). I've long admired the Dutch sense of balance and perspective, as well as their cultural approach to cycling, so I was half way there even before the first page. But don't take my word for it. I heartily recommend this book, filled with aha! moments and explanations about why we behave the way we do.
December 22, 2024
Evrim ile ilgili kitapları severim zira evrim insan doğasını anlamakta diğer tüm kuramlardan daha çok işe yarar bilgi sunuyor. Mesela din insanı anlamakta evrimin fersah fersah gerisinde kalıyor. Zira din insan doğasını mükemmelleştirdiği için birçok soruyu cevapsız bırakır. Ama evrim insan doğasının en derinlerine inerek günümüzde bile yapmış olduğumuz şeyleri neden yaptığımızı daha açıklayıcı olaraktan anlatıyor.
Bu kitap insan doğasının izlerini Serengeti çöllerinden modern yaşamlarımıza kadar sürüyor ve de insanların sahip olduğu kadim beyinlerin nasıl modern yaşamlarımızda uyumsuzluklarla başetmeye çalıştığını ve de zorlandığını anlatıyor. Bu kitap insanı nerdeyse her yönden anlatıyor aslında. Bence kendisini, kendi doğasını, davranışlarının nedenlerini anlamak isteyen herkesin mutlaka okumalı olduğu ve de kolay okunan harika bir kitap..
Bu kitap insan doğasının izlerini Serengeti çöllerinden modern yaşamlarımıza kadar sürüyor ve de insanların sahip olduğu kadim beyinlerin nasıl modern yaşamlarımızda uyumsuzluklarla başetmeye çalıştığını ve de zorlandığını anlatıyor. Bu kitap insanı nerdeyse her yönden anlatıyor aslında. Bence kendisini, kendi doğasını, davranışlarının nedenlerini anlamak isteyen herkesin mutlaka okumalı olduğu ve de kolay okunan harika bir kitap..
July 4, 2022
Interesting and important premise, to which justice is not done. The writing is sloppy, the editing is baggy, and the quality of insight is diluted as a consequence. The blokey authorial voice is a bit of a turn-off. It put me in mind of reading literature that came out of the Transactional Analysis movement in the late 60s and early 70s - say, Eric Berne and Thomas Harris - who have good points to make but do it with a casual sexism that is off putting.
Two and half stars, really.
Two and half stars, really.
August 18, 2022
2.5⭐️
Mijn gevoel bij dit boek is heel wisselvallig. Wat wetenschappelijk is bewezen (en hoe/wat/waar) is vermengd met wat de auteurs zelf vinden. Daardoor lijkt het soms alsof een mening wordt gepresenteerd als een feit. Het boek las voor mij chaotisch, zonder rode draad en ik vond de toon af en toe raar of niet passend.
Waarom niet 1 ster? Er staan wel veel losse leuke feitjes in. Daar moet je van houden, en zelfs dan zijn er daarvoor leukere en betere boeken beschikbaar.
Mijn gevoel bij dit boek is heel wisselvallig. Wat wetenschappelijk is bewezen (en hoe/wat/waar) is vermengd met wat de auteurs zelf vinden. Daardoor lijkt het soms alsof een mening wordt gepresenteerd als een feit. Het boek las voor mij chaotisch, zonder rode draad en ik vond de toon af en toe raar of niet passend.
Waarom niet 1 ster? Er staan wel veel losse leuke feitjes in. Daar moet je van houden, en zelfs dan zijn er daarvoor leukere en betere boeken beschikbaar.
January 24, 2019
Really liked this book. Gave a nice overview of evolutionary psychology, why it matters in our lives, and how to accommodate if not overcome some of the challenges our stone age brains present us with. If you want to understand evolutionary psychology, this is a good step in accessible, pop science format.
June 29, 2022
Have I not read Sapiens from Yahari, I'd have given this book a 4 stars rating. The content was insightful but the narration style often times got in the way.
A solid read if you're into human history (as I am at this point of my life) but as an entry level for introduction, there are better options (see Sapiens for instance).
A solid read if you're into human history (as I am at this point of my life) but as an entry level for introduction, there are better options (see Sapiens for instance).
August 21, 2022
Taş devri insanının zihni ve bedeni ile bugünkü modern dünyada yaşamanın uyumsuzluklarını güzel işlemiş. Kitabın kaynaklarının birçoğunu önceden okuduğumu fark ettim. Genel bir antropoloji kültürü edinmek için okunabilir.
November 30, 2023
DNF op 27%. Hoe interessant het onderwerp ook is, en met hoeveel plezier ik vroeger ook de boeken van Giphart heb gelezen (en mede daardoor biologie ben gaan studeren), dit boek kon me nergens echt boeien. Jammer.
October 6, 2018
Gênant eenvoudig te herkennen pseudowetenschap.
July 23, 2020
An intriguing outlook to living one's life.
May 10, 2019
Such an interesting, educational and soul searching read. From time to time you may come across a book such as this that you enjoy so much, you feel compelled to visit again and again. This is such a book. Highly recommend, simply because I feel enlightened. Jim
July 23, 2023
Lessen:
- de beste temperatuur thuis is 20 graden (net als vroeger in de savanne waar we vroeger leefde)
- kampvuur in de winter is het toppunt van sfeer en gezelligheid want dit brengt ons terug naar de oertijd in de grotten
- we zijn van nature delers en gierigheid in de groep werd niet geaccepteerd
- we schrikken van waarneembare gevaren, we zijn van nature korte termijn denkers en egoïstisch, en ons brein is een kopieermachine van mensen en hechten veel waarde aan status omdat dit staat voor meer welvaart.
- het evolutionaire doel is: voorplanting of te wel genen doorgeven dit wordt opgedeeld in sub doelen: overleven, status, partner, etc.
- de beste temperatuur thuis is 20 graden (net als vroeger in de savanne waar we vroeger leefde)
- kampvuur in de winter is het toppunt van sfeer en gezelligheid want dit brengt ons terug naar de oertijd in de grotten
- we zijn van nature delers en gierigheid in de groep werd niet geaccepteerd
- we schrikken van waarneembare gevaren, we zijn van nature korte termijn denkers en egoïstisch, en ons brein is een kopieermachine van mensen en hechten veel waarde aan status omdat dit staat voor meer welvaart.
- het evolutionaire doel is: voorplanting of te wel genen doorgeven dit wordt opgedeeld in sub doelen: overleven, status, partner, etc.
April 14, 2021
Evolutionary Psychology is a new scientific field that has given very novel and promising answers to human behavior. Roanld Giphart addresses one fundamental evolutionary concept, "Mismatch". The idea that our physical body slowly evolved for thousands and thousands of years and suddenly faced a stunningly fast cultural, social and technological change that overpassed our physiological adaptation; what used to be an advantage has become a liability. Complexity and interdependence have increased exponentially bringing new challenges.
Gibphart elaborates on how evolutionary mismatch affects humans in different facets of ordinary life. For instance intragroup rivalry was the origin of wars and conflict, but has been eased by commerce and more peaceful exchanges. The ubiquitous institutionalized education system is another case of mismatch.
Other instances seem contradictory. Such as the chapter on climate change, which is quite biased and reads like a special case where our primitive need to find meaning, even if it is fantastic, enters into conflict with sound scientific research.
An aspect that is important to understand the complexity of a mismatch is the role of reason as a way to work on solutions. Instead of being doomed, we can use our minds (that are the result of the same evolution) to apply these and other scientific knowledge to overcome the difficulties.
In spite of how much we may agree or not on the manifestation of evolutionary mismatch, the sole idea of a mismatch is a great contribution. A research-dialogue starter and a field that hope will bloom with theories, experiments and applications for better understanding on human behavior.
Mismatch occurs when humans exhibit behaviour that does not serve but instead damages their evolutionary interests.
Gibphart elaborates on how evolutionary mismatch affects humans in different facets of ordinary life. For instance intragroup rivalry was the origin of wars and conflict, but has been eased by commerce and more peaceful exchanges. The ubiquitous institutionalized education system is another case of mismatch.
Unlike in ancestral times, children nowadays are more likely to be surrounded by their contemporaries than by a cross section of several age groups. This leads to a great deal of competition, stress and struggle, which has an adverse effect on the learning process.
Other instances seem contradictory. Such as the chapter on climate change, which is quite biased and reads like a special case where our primitive need to find meaning, even if it is fantastic, enters into conflict with sound scientific research.
An aspect that is important to understand the complexity of a mismatch is the role of reason as a way to work on solutions. Instead of being doomed, we can use our minds (that are the result of the same evolution) to apply these and other scientific knowledge to overcome the difficulties.
In spite of how much we may agree or not on the manifestation of evolutionary mismatch, the sole idea of a mismatch is a great contribution. A research-dialogue starter and a field that hope will bloom with theories, experiments and applications for better understanding on human behavior.
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March 20, 2016Een heel aantal interessante analyses maar nogal wanordelijk op een rij gezet. Een leuke die ik jullie zeker niet wil onthouden is het feit dat boeken lezen mensen in staat stelt om zich beter in te leven in anderen. Een grote oproep dus om hooligans, soldaten, terroristen, ... te verplichten te lezen. Gevangenen krijgen in Calabrië (of all places :-)) per gelezen boek drie dagen strafvermindering.
March 31, 2016
Actueel boek met interessante feiten over de mens. In een notendop: ons oerbrein kan de progressieve samenleving niet bijbenen en slentert achterop. Als gevolg zijn er mismatches ontstaan: ontwikkelingen die nefast zijn voor de mens, het dier en de natuur. Behandelt diverse thema's zoals: media, porno, statuscultuur, oorlog, klimaat...
Minpunten:
- onoverzichtelijk
- uitgerekte verhalen
Minpunten:
- onoverzichtelijk
- uitgerekte verhalen
August 15, 2016
Ik mis de grote lijn. Te anecdotisch.
February 27, 2017
Idee is goed maar is een warrig verhaal geworden waar je vaak door 'de bomen het bos niet meer ziet', verdrinkt in woorden en grappig bedoelde zijpaden.
Jammer. Was een verjaarscadeautje van Wim
Jammer. Was een verjaarscadeautje van Wim
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