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Perception - How Our Bodies Shape Our Minds
A groundbreaking popular psychology book that explores the deep connection between our body and our brain.
Over decades of study, University of Virginia psychologist Dennis Proffitt has shown that we are each living our own personal version of Gulliver’s Travels, where the size and shape of the things we see are scaled to the size of our bodies, and our ability to interact with them. Stairs look less steep as dieters lose weight, baseballs grow bigger the better players hit, hills look less daunting if you’re standing next to a close friend, and learning happens faster when you can talk with your hands.
Written with journalist Drake Baer, Perception marries academic rigor with mainstream accessibility. The research presented and the personalities profiled will show what it means to not only have, but be, your unique human body. The positive ramifications of viewing ourselves from this embodied perspective include greater athletic, academic, and professional achievement, more nourishing relationships, and greater personal well-being. The better we can understand what our bodies are—what they excel at, what they need, what they must avoid—the better we can live our lives.
Over decades of study, University of Virginia psychologist Dennis Proffitt has shown that we are each living our own personal version of Gulliver’s Travels, where the size and shape of the things we see are scaled to the size of our bodies, and our ability to interact with them. Stairs look less steep as dieters lose weight, baseballs grow bigger the better players hit, hills look less daunting if you’re standing next to a close friend, and learning happens faster when you can talk with your hands.
Written with journalist Drake Baer, Perception marries academic rigor with mainstream accessibility. The research presented and the personalities profiled will show what it means to not only have, but be, your unique human body. The positive ramifications of viewing ourselves from this embodied perspective include greater athletic, academic, and professional achievement, more nourishing relationships, and greater personal well-being. The better we can understand what our bodies are—what they excel at, what they need, what they must avoid—the better we can live our lives.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 28, 2020
95 people are currently reading
1158 people want to read
About the author
Dennis Proffitt
2 books6 followersDENNIS PROFFITT has helped develop the field of embodied cognition in his near 40-year tenure at UVA. He is a highly sought speaker, and his research has been widely covered in the press. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife, Deborah Roach.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 24, 2021
One of the best books about perception I had ever read, incorporating the latest scientific findings and its mind-blowing!
1. Our perception is not an objective camera and screen system. It changes with our body and what it is doing
2. Fitter people see distances smaller, hills less steep. A good ball hitter sees balls bigger.
3. Babies do not know depth until they crawl and will avoid cliffs. Sitting is better than lying down because it frees the hands. The fossil Lucy demonstrated that our ancestors learnt to walk on 2 legs before their brain grew big.
4. There are 2 visual systems: what and how system. People can have blindsight if their eyes are alright but visual cortex damaged. They can do things that require visual coordination but they cannot see the things that they interact with.
5. What we hold affects our perception: if we hold shoes, we see other people more likely also holding shoes. Ditto for guns. People holding tools perceive things to be nearer than when they don’t have tools. When you hold a hammer everything looks like a nail.
6. When asked to estimate the degree of slopes in San Francisco, people overestimate it; yet when asked to hand operate a system simulating the degree, they get it more correctly. Hands grew more dexterous before our brain grew big. I ‘see’ what you mean but truly make it mine when I ‘grasp’ the meaning of it.
7. Gut feel: successful stock traders estimate their real heart rate much better than lay people. People who can’t accurately estimate their heart rate are also more anxious. After given sugary drinks vs non-caloric ones, people are better with delayed gratification. Judges are more lenient after food and rest.
8. Environment: rainy weather makes us moody, but if that is pointed out then our mood improves because then we know the mood is not from us. Diverse group are fairer to minorities because the majority become more careful and less racists/sexist.
9. Emotion: when we are scared, heights look taller, colours are more differentiated.
10. Social: a friend makes a slope less steep, a caress makes us happy and healthier and is essential for baby and children growth.
11. Culture: wheat growers are individualist because growing wheat is easier; rice growers are collective because it takes a village to grow labor intensive rice. Even in India and China, same thing is observed.
12. Virtual reality: changing how we look in our avatars actually change our perception and behaviour. A better looking avatar makes us more open in social sharing. VR can help patients with depression by letting them become Sigmund Freud. When white people takes on a person of colour’s avatar, prejudice in court trial decrease.
1. Our perception is not an objective camera and screen system. It changes with our body and what it is doing
2. Fitter people see distances smaller, hills less steep. A good ball hitter sees balls bigger.
3. Babies do not know depth until they crawl and will avoid cliffs. Sitting is better than lying down because it frees the hands. The fossil Lucy demonstrated that our ancestors learnt to walk on 2 legs before their brain grew big.
4. There are 2 visual systems: what and how system. People can have blindsight if their eyes are alright but visual cortex damaged. They can do things that require visual coordination but they cannot see the things that they interact with.
5. What we hold affects our perception: if we hold shoes, we see other people more likely also holding shoes. Ditto for guns. People holding tools perceive things to be nearer than when they don’t have tools. When you hold a hammer everything looks like a nail.
6. When asked to estimate the degree of slopes in San Francisco, people overestimate it; yet when asked to hand operate a system simulating the degree, they get it more correctly. Hands grew more dexterous before our brain grew big. I ‘see’ what you mean but truly make it mine when I ‘grasp’ the meaning of it.
7. Gut feel: successful stock traders estimate their real heart rate much better than lay people. People who can’t accurately estimate their heart rate are also more anxious. After given sugary drinks vs non-caloric ones, people are better with delayed gratification. Judges are more lenient after food and rest.
8. Environment: rainy weather makes us moody, but if that is pointed out then our mood improves because then we know the mood is not from us. Diverse group are fairer to minorities because the majority become more careful and less racists/sexist.
9. Emotion: when we are scared, heights look taller, colours are more differentiated.
10. Social: a friend makes a slope less steep, a caress makes us happy and healthier and is essential for baby and children growth.
11. Culture: wheat growers are individualist because growing wheat is easier; rice growers are collective because it takes a village to grow labor intensive rice. Even in India and China, same thing is observed.
12. Virtual reality: changing how we look in our avatars actually change our perception and behaviour. A better looking avatar makes us more open in social sharing. VR can help patients with depression by letting them become Sigmund Freud. When white people takes on a person of colour’s avatar, prejudice in court trial decrease.
May 28, 2024
"...Yet, as a current strain of perceptual research is showing, the way we think, feel, and exist is inexorably shaped by our physical being. The body and brain are indivisibly coupled, and this book is a celebration of—and investigation into—that fact. The better we can understand what our bodies are—what they can do, what they need, what they must avoid—the better we can understand ourselves and our lives. To do this, we need to put the brain back in the body."
Perception was an OK read that had its moments. However, I had a few pretty sizeable issues with it. More below...
I typically enjoy books about mindsets, and the mind/body connection, so I put this one on my list when I came across it.
This review will be a long one, so get comfortable. Or, feel free to skip to the bottom for a tl;dr summary.
Author Dennis Proffitt has helped develop the field of embodied cognition in his near 40-year tenure at UVA. He is a highly sought speaker, and his research has been widely covered in the press.
Dennis Proffitt:
The book opens with a somewhat decent intro. It's written with a fairly decent style, although it did border on slow and long-winded at times.
The author mentions the concept of the "Umvelt" in the books intro. Basically, this is the subjective manner in which all creatures experience reality. Ed Yong's book An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us centered around the same concept.
[As an aside: that book would be a far better way to spend your time and money than this one.]
Proffitt drops this quote about the Umvelt:
The book is a (mostly) science-driven look into human perception. While there was some interesting information here, I was just not too big of a fan of the overall presentation. I found my attention wandering a few times (sorry).
Unfortunately, there was also the addition of a baffling torrent of leftist politicking here; for some reason. Maybe a quick physiognomy check of the author would have provided a harbinger of what was to come... There are numerous assorted bits of partisan writing and jargon crammed in throughout the book, somehow. I really can't stand when authors do this kind of thing, and my ratings always reflect as much.
Although I am attuned towards, have read many books, and follow many pundits involved in the ongoing culture war, it's fucking exhausting; for the most part. So, one of the reasons I like to read so much is to get away from it all. Sadly, this is becoming more and more difficult to do, as the Woke Mind Virus has hit its tipping point...
There is a lot of talk here about supposed racial "bias" from (surprise) white people, against black people. The authors are really trying to ram the white guilt down the reader's throat here for some reason, as they put it on pretty heavily at times. This is especially ironic, as they are both white themselves LMAO.
The inclusion of this kind of crap is nonsensical; for a few reasons. 1) All ethnic groups have an in-group, out-group bias and preference. This is Social Psychology 101. 2) These "implicit bias" tests are fraught with fundamental problems and lack scientific rigour. Here is an article that examines further. And here's another one, just to start.
Of course, these claims of racism and "implicit bias" are presented here matter-of-factly, without scrutinizing them at all. The criticisms here are also only leveled at white people, and conveniently ignores that racial tensions have existed between all ethnic groups, for longer than recorded history. God, how tiresome...
Chapter 8 of the book also includes a ridiculous take on the protest held in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. The author calls the "Unite the Right" protestors all "white supremacists," and pearl-clutches over the ever-elusive threat of the "far right." In a time where actual leftist partisans now dominate the cultural landscape by controlling most of the news media, magazines, books, virtually all social media, academia, and all of Hollywood; the author is crying about the threat of the "far right." Of course, if you are a borderline (or actual) Marxist, everyone to your right seems "far right."
Unsurprisingly, there is no mention of the widespread riots and destruction that spread throughout many large American cities in 2020, driven by far-left violent protestors and looters. Countless buildings and cars were burned, and ~30 people were killed. But, ya, they were "mostly peaceful" , tho...
He then goes on in the very next breath to tell the reader how being tribally affiliated and partisan can cloud your judgment and make you lose your objective perception, all while never having the sense to reign in his own partisan bias and rantings. Jesus, how ironic...
The author also drops in the ridiculous claim that race has nothing to do with biology, and is strictly a social construct.
The average 5-year-old could accurately place a random large group of whites, blacks and Asians into their respective categories with almost 100% accuracy, but this somehow has no biological basis? If there is phenotypic clustering, then there is genotypic clustering. How else would this work??
The authors claim that because there are no hard genetic borders between the races, then the whole paradigm is invalid.
Brilliant "logic" here. On a broad color spectrum gradient, it is impossible to tell exactly where the color yellow turns into the color red. Therefore, we can conclude that there is no valid classification for either the colour of yellow or red.
Race is absolutely a valid taxonomic classification, below the level of subspecies. If you don't like the term "race", then substitute it with "population", "clustering", "ethnicity", "group", or other PC-friendly term. The process that leads to racial differences is one of the fundamental mechanisms of biology. Populations split from their original location and become separated. In each new environment with different selection pressures, random mutations are either positively or negatively selected for in the genome. Include the passing of many generations, over a long period of time, and you get allopatric speciation. If the populations remain isolated for long enough, full speciation occurs, where the two phenotypes will no longer be able to produce viable offspring.
The way this relates to human history is complicated, of course, given overlapping geographic areas, conquest, and interbreeding, but genotypic clusterings, or "race" is a scientific reality. That people share common phenotypic traits within groups is patently obvious to any child. But it takes some serious mental gymnastics to discount these differences as an intelligent adult. Those gymnastics are presented here. It brings to mind one of my favorite quotes, that: "Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them"...
He also makes some dubious claims about loneliness and excessive mortality. He cites research that claims people with a smaller social network have higher mortalities than those with larger social networks. Again; this is a low-resolution view, and as we all know; correlation does not equal causation. This data makes no account for those people that are, by nature - introverts, or people that don't want to be a part of large social groups, and feel more content being alone, or around only select people. I recently read another book that talked specifically about this (sorry I can't remember which one), and the author's more nuanced take was that this correlation is largely due to the subjective experience of the person. That is, it is the feeling of loneliness and/or isolation that causes the high mortality, not the absolute number of friends and acquaintances.
Some people think they have 20+ "friends," (who are more than likely actually just acquaintances). While others have a very small number of very close friends, and little to no acquaintances. Both groups of people can be equally happy with this, depending on how introverted or extroverted they are, and their feelings about their situation...
That the author of a book centering around the thesis that everyone experiences the world differently and subjectively failed to consider the above is pretty bad, and also sadly ironic (again)...
British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin I.M. Dunbar has written about this, and said that the average person sits inside a network of concentric circles; with those closest to them in the center, and then spreading out. He identifies people as having no more than 5 people who are really close to them, and then expanding out. (See diagram below)
********************
Perception was an interesting book; at times. At other times, it was a bit dry. Other times, it was full of the mindless rantings of someone who is very obviously ideologically possessed.
This is a subjective assessment, of course, and your mileage may vary...
I'm deducting a few points here for the inclusion of so much unnecessary politicking and other assorted leftist nonsense in a book where it had no business being. I was close to putting this one down a few times.
Remind me to take a hard pass from anything else this author produces...
1.5 stars.
Perception was an OK read that had its moments. However, I had a few pretty sizeable issues with it. More below...
I typically enjoy books about mindsets, and the mind/body connection, so I put this one on my list when I came across it.
This review will be a long one, so get comfortable. Or, feel free to skip to the bottom for a tl;dr summary.
Author Dennis Proffitt has helped develop the field of embodied cognition in his near 40-year tenure at UVA. He is a highly sought speaker, and his research has been widely covered in the press.
Dennis Proffitt:
The book opens with a somewhat decent intro. It's written with a fairly decent style, although it did border on slow and long-winded at times.
The author mentions the concept of the "Umvelt" in the books intro. Basically, this is the subjective manner in which all creatures experience reality. Ed Yong's book An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us centered around the same concept.
[As an aside: that book would be a far better way to spend your time and money than this one.]
Proffitt drops this quote about the Umvelt:
"What about the human Umwelt? What experiential worlds do we live in as a species, and how do these worlds differ across individuals? The ecological nature of this question has been mostly overlooked in contemporary psychology, in part because we naively assume that we all know what it’s like to be human. But unfortunately we are poor judges of our own experience, and it’s common sense to believe that we experience the world as it objectively is. This is what social scientists and philosophers call naive realism: taking what we see, smell, hear, and feel at face value."
The book is a (mostly) science-driven look into human perception. While there was some interesting information here, I was just not too big of a fan of the overall presentation. I found my attention wandering a few times (sorry).
Unfortunately, there was also the addition of a baffling torrent of leftist politicking here; for some reason. Maybe a quick physiognomy check of the author would have provided a harbinger of what was to come... There are numerous assorted bits of partisan writing and jargon crammed in throughout the book, somehow. I really can't stand when authors do this kind of thing, and my ratings always reflect as much.
Although I am attuned towards, have read many books, and follow many pundits involved in the ongoing culture war, it's fucking exhausting; for the most part. So, one of the reasons I like to read so much is to get away from it all. Sadly, this is becoming more and more difficult to do, as the Woke Mind Virus has hit its tipping point...
There is a lot of talk here about supposed racial "bias" from (surprise) white people, against black people. The authors are really trying to ram the white guilt down the reader's throat here for some reason, as they put it on pretty heavily at times. This is especially ironic, as they are both white themselves LMAO.
The inclusion of this kind of crap is nonsensical; for a few reasons. 1) All ethnic groups have an in-group, out-group bias and preference. This is Social Psychology 101. 2) These "implicit bias" tests are fraught with fundamental problems and lack scientific rigour. Here is an article that examines further. And here's another one, just to start.
Of course, these claims of racism and "implicit bias" are presented here matter-of-factly, without scrutinizing them at all. The criticisms here are also only leveled at white people, and conveniently ignores that racial tensions have existed between all ethnic groups, for longer than recorded history. God, how tiresome...
Chapter 8 of the book also includes a ridiculous take on the protest held in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. The author calls the "Unite the Right" protestors all "white supremacists," and pearl-clutches over the ever-elusive threat of the "far right." In a time where actual leftist partisans now dominate the cultural landscape by controlling most of the news media, magazines, books, virtually all social media, academia, and all of Hollywood; the author is crying about the threat of the "far right." Of course, if you are a borderline (or actual) Marxist, everyone to your right seems "far right."
Unsurprisingly, there is no mention of the widespread riots and destruction that spread throughout many large American cities in 2020, driven by far-left violent protestors and looters. Countless buildings and cars were burned, and ~30 people were killed. But, ya, they were "mostly peaceful" , tho...
He then goes on in the very next breath to tell the reader how being tribally affiliated and partisan can cloud your judgment and make you lose your objective perception, all while never having the sense to reign in his own partisan bias and rantings. Jesus, how ironic...
The author also drops in the ridiculous claim that race has nothing to do with biology, and is strictly a social construct.
The average 5-year-old could accurately place a random large group of whites, blacks and Asians into their respective categories with almost 100% accuracy, but this somehow has no biological basis? If there is phenotypic clustering, then there is genotypic clustering. How else would this work??
The authors claim that because there are no hard genetic borders between the races, then the whole paradigm is invalid.
Brilliant "logic" here. On a broad color spectrum gradient, it is impossible to tell exactly where the color yellow turns into the color red. Therefore, we can conclude that there is no valid classification for either the colour of yellow or red.
Race is absolutely a valid taxonomic classification, below the level of subspecies. If you don't like the term "race", then substitute it with "population", "clustering", "ethnicity", "group", or other PC-friendly term. The process that leads to racial differences is one of the fundamental mechanisms of biology. Populations split from their original location and become separated. In each new environment with different selection pressures, random mutations are either positively or negatively selected for in the genome. Include the passing of many generations, over a long period of time, and you get allopatric speciation. If the populations remain isolated for long enough, full speciation occurs, where the two phenotypes will no longer be able to produce viable offspring.
The way this relates to human history is complicated, of course, given overlapping geographic areas, conquest, and interbreeding, but genotypic clusterings, or "race" is a scientific reality. That people share common phenotypic traits within groups is patently obvious to any child. But it takes some serious mental gymnastics to discount these differences as an intelligent adult. Those gymnastics are presented here. It brings to mind one of my favorite quotes, that: "Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe them"...
He also makes some dubious claims about loneliness and excessive mortality. He cites research that claims people with a smaller social network have higher mortalities than those with larger social networks. Again; this is a low-resolution view, and as we all know; correlation does not equal causation. This data makes no account for those people that are, by nature - introverts, or people that don't want to be a part of large social groups, and feel more content being alone, or around only select people. I recently read another book that talked specifically about this (sorry I can't remember which one), and the author's more nuanced take was that this correlation is largely due to the subjective experience of the person. That is, it is the feeling of loneliness and/or isolation that causes the high mortality, not the absolute number of friends and acquaintances.
Some people think they have 20+ "friends," (who are more than likely actually just acquaintances). While others have a very small number of very close friends, and little to no acquaintances. Both groups of people can be equally happy with this, depending on how introverted or extroverted they are, and their feelings about their situation...
That the author of a book centering around the thesis that everyone experiences the world differently and subjectively failed to consider the above is pretty bad, and also sadly ironic (again)...
British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin I.M. Dunbar has written about this, and said that the average person sits inside a network of concentric circles; with those closest to them in the center, and then spreading out. He identifies people as having no more than 5 people who are really close to them, and then expanding out. (See diagram below)
********************
Perception was an interesting book; at times. At other times, it was a bit dry. Other times, it was full of the mindless rantings of someone who is very obviously ideologically possessed.
This is a subjective assessment, of course, and your mileage may vary...
I'm deducting a few points here for the inclusion of so much unnecessary politicking and other assorted leftist nonsense in a book where it had no business being. I was close to putting this one down a few times.
Remind me to take a hard pass from anything else this author produces...
1.5 stars.
May 10, 2021
Unsere Wahrnehmung anderer Menschen und Lebewesen ist maßgeblich von ihrer Form und Farbe beeinflusst. Aber auch Düfte. So wählen wir im Unterbewusstsein unsere Partner:innen nach dem Geruch aus.
Die Wahrnehmung wird natürlich auch vom medialen Bild geprägt. So assoziieren in den USA die Menschen BPOCs eher mit "Waffen" als weiß gelesene Menschen.
Wenn wir uns auch in die Lage anderer Lebewesen versetzen, dann spielt die Form des Tieres eine wichtige Rolle, damit wir es einschätzen können wie es wohl ist eine Maus vs Löwe zu sein.
Auch ist unsere eigene Körperwahrnehmung deshalb wichtig weil sie unsere Aussenwahrnehmung massgeblich beeinflussen. Ein Mensch im Rollstuhl sieht Treppen anders als ein Mensch ohne Einschränkungen.
Die Wahrnehmung wird natürlich auch vom medialen Bild geprägt. So assoziieren in den USA die Menschen BPOCs eher mit "Waffen" als weiß gelesene Menschen.
Wenn wir uns auch in die Lage anderer Lebewesen versetzen, dann spielt die Form des Tieres eine wichtige Rolle, damit wir es einschätzen können wie es wohl ist eine Maus vs Löwe zu sein.
Auch ist unsere eigene Körperwahrnehmung deshalb wichtig weil sie unsere Aussenwahrnehmung massgeblich beeinflussen. Ein Mensch im Rollstuhl sieht Treppen anders als ein Mensch ohne Einschränkungen.
October 2, 2020
Super disjointed and all over the place. Not focused or narrowed, and difficult to follow.
August 13, 2021
I've been terribly slow in my reading lately - so, so, so much going on in my life, so I'm squeezing it in here and there as I can.
An extremely well-written, informative pop-sci book whose main drawback is that, as a general overview of the various ways our physical form shapes and informs our perception of the world, information is grouped into rather loose chapters. This didn't bother me, but it did make it difficult to remember where to flip back to when I wanted to reread a section. The language used was clear, without veering too far into dense, academic territory.
I actually learned quite a lot while reading this! I kept annoying my girlfriend with snippets, including the information that things we're afraid of appear larger to us. (So heights, for instance, look taller to me than to someone who isn't cripplingly afraid of them; spiders probably look larger to my girlfriend than they do to me.)
An extremely well-written, informative pop-sci book whose main drawback is that, as a general overview of the various ways our physical form shapes and informs our perception of the world, information is grouped into rather loose chapters. This didn't bother me, but it did make it difficult to remember where to flip back to when I wanted to reread a section. The language used was clear, without veering too far into dense, academic territory.
I actually learned quite a lot while reading this! I kept annoying my girlfriend with snippets, including the information that things we're afraid of appear larger to us. (So heights, for instance, look taller to me than to someone who isn't cripplingly afraid of them; spiders probably look larger to my girlfriend than they do to me.)
September 24, 2020
Perception
By Dennis Proffitt and Drake Baer
I enjoyed this book a lot - really made me look at things a little different - changing my perceptions and understanding of things. As a nurse specializing in injuries of the brain I really found this book completely fascinating and my kind of a read I really enjoyed a lot. The deep exploration on how our brain and body connection affects the way we see the world and everything around us.
The expertise by Dennis Proffitt from years of study and research, partnered alongside with the writing by journalist Drake Baer, makes this book readable, understandable and simply applicable for the readers without medical or scientific background.
I highly recommend this book!! Fantastic read.
By Dennis Proffitt and Drake Baer
I enjoyed this book a lot - really made me look at things a little different - changing my perceptions and understanding of things. As a nurse specializing in injuries of the brain I really found this book completely fascinating and my kind of a read I really enjoyed a lot. The deep exploration on how our brain and body connection affects the way we see the world and everything around us.
The expertise by Dennis Proffitt from years of study and research, partnered alongside with the writing by journalist Drake Baer, makes this book readable, understandable and simply applicable for the readers without medical or scientific background.
I highly recommend this book!! Fantastic read.
January 13, 2022
Take out the typos and a few odds and ends (not sure why the segment on speaking was a lull for me), and I'm left with tons of findings, analysis, insights, and questions to utilize in my academic instruction, workshops, and other work. The basic premise does cause me to rethink much and feeds into the larger body of thought work I'm already undertaking. So quite a bargain for me, at least as I see it. ;)
July 27, 2020
There couldn't be better timing for this book in my opinion, given recent events - between COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter. Great overview on how perception shapes our world and worldviews - as well as some insight into why certain demographics react the way they do. It was not easy to digest the information quickly, but still a good read.
February 9, 2024
Scrambled thoughts for now:
The good- it gives you what you want from a pop psych book. There are lots of studies, theories, etc explained in accessible language. I really liked the parts about how the our bodies affected both brain evolution and development. There were a lot of things I realized about body-minds that I had wrong. I also feel more motivated to push myself movement wise (I have chronic illnesses/disabilities aggravated by exercise and an always trying to find the balance because they're also aggravated by being too sedentary. 🙃) It also made me think about books like waking the tiger and how other animals shake and move to healthily process a trauma then go on with their lives.
The mediocre- he discusses some important things like racism and bias and provides good sources to back up what he's saying. But, I found some of his arguments to be shallow. Perhaps that's what you get from pop sci books. For instance, I wish he'd have discussed the origin of the concept of race (used to divide the poor, etc) rather than just saying there's no basis to divide by race, etc.
He mostly focuses on human research which I appreciate. But, when he discusses (some of the most historically awful) animal research, there's no acknowledgement of that suffering past a result on a paper.
The bad- he's a bit obsessed with the "obesity epidemic" and describes body size as basically entirely about the fat person's choices (which are of course bad in his eyes.) There's plenty of research showing fatness also has genetic, environmental, biological, etc causes but he didn't mention those. For instance, there's research that people in the USA are fatter due to long term effects of ddt being all around us, prevalence of autoimmune disease, the processing of our available food being unhealthy, the food available to the poor being extremely limited and often unhealthy, work environments that do not allow for movement or which cause injury, lacking healthcare or care bias, etc. Not to mention how yoyo dieting tends to make people fatter over time (fat people usually diet more than everyone else contrary to popular belief.) Also, fatness is fine. Neutral. For the record. He could have simply sent the message that everyone should exercise however they can and how joyful movement is critical for our health and well being. That's true for everyone of every size.
He falls into false evo psych thinking at times which is at odds with other arguments or simply just heteronormative patriarchal sort of minimization of history and human behavior. It's sparse and certainly not the worst I've seen.
The good- it gives you what you want from a pop psych book. There are lots of studies, theories, etc explained in accessible language. I really liked the parts about how the our bodies affected both brain evolution and development. There were a lot of things I realized about body-minds that I had wrong. I also feel more motivated to push myself movement wise (I have chronic illnesses/disabilities aggravated by exercise and an always trying to find the balance because they're also aggravated by being too sedentary. 🙃) It also made me think about books like waking the tiger and how other animals shake and move to healthily process a trauma then go on with their lives.
The mediocre- he discusses some important things like racism and bias and provides good sources to back up what he's saying. But, I found some of his arguments to be shallow. Perhaps that's what you get from pop sci books. For instance, I wish he'd have discussed the origin of the concept of race (used to divide the poor, etc) rather than just saying there's no basis to divide by race, etc.
He mostly focuses on human research which I appreciate. But, when he discusses (some of the most historically awful) animal research, there's no acknowledgement of that suffering past a result on a paper.
The bad- he's a bit obsessed with the "obesity epidemic" and describes body size as basically entirely about the fat person's choices (which are of course bad in his eyes.) There's plenty of research showing fatness also has genetic, environmental, biological, etc causes but he didn't mention those. For instance, there's research that people in the USA are fatter due to long term effects of ddt being all around us, prevalence of autoimmune disease, the processing of our available food being unhealthy, the food available to the poor being extremely limited and often unhealthy, work environments that do not allow for movement or which cause injury, lacking healthcare or care bias, etc. Not to mention how yoyo dieting tends to make people fatter over time (fat people usually diet more than everyone else contrary to popular belief.) Also, fatness is fine. Neutral. For the record. He could have simply sent the message that everyone should exercise however they can and how joyful movement is critical for our health and well being. That's true for everyone of every size.
He falls into false evo psych thinking at times which is at odds with other arguments or simply just heteronormative patriarchal sort of minimization of history and human behavior. It's sparse and certainly not the worst I've seen.
March 23, 2021
The primary message of this book is that perceptions are limited and defined by the bodies (and histories) of the perceiver. The idea is not really a new one. The philosopher Kant expressed the same idea. However, the application of this idea to the psychology of perception is a novel application. It is very different from the classic version of perception which has the brain as some wonderful computer more or less faithful interpreting reality from the sense data going into it. In the new version, it is not quite clear what reality is. The reality of a lion, for instance, would be different from the reality of you or me.
The authors present lots of interesting research. Some of the more interesting research has to do with numerous unconscious factors involved in perception. Here are some of the more interesting things presented in the book:
—We apparently have two visual centers in our brain but are consciously aware of only one. There are people who have a kind of blindness who report being unable to see, but who can easily walk down a hallway filled with items they might trip over.
—Hedge fund stock traders can perceive their heartbeat and internal body signals better than others. Though they are unaware of it , this being in touch with their gut feeling probably aids them in making quick decisions in a field where recognizing rapidly developing trends is the key to success.
—If you are carrying a gun you will be more likely to perceive others as carrying a gun. Often this perception is just wrong. Is it any wonder why 25% of the people shot by police have no weapon at all on them?
Later in the book racial and ethnic biases are looked at. Differences between cultures - and the possible sources of these differences- are also examined.
This book presents a lot of fascinating research. I did feel it was a bit disjointed and unfocused at times, but the material was quite thought-provoking.
The authors present lots of interesting research. Some of the more interesting research has to do with numerous unconscious factors involved in perception. Here are some of the more interesting things presented in the book:
—We apparently have two visual centers in our brain but are consciously aware of only one. There are people who have a kind of blindness who report being unable to see, but who can easily walk down a hallway filled with items they might trip over.
—Hedge fund stock traders can perceive their heartbeat and internal body signals better than others. Though they are unaware of it , this being in touch with their gut feeling probably aids them in making quick decisions in a field where recognizing rapidly developing trends is the key to success.
—If you are carrying a gun you will be more likely to perceive others as carrying a gun. Often this perception is just wrong. Is it any wonder why 25% of the people shot by police have no weapon at all on them?
Later in the book racial and ethnic biases are looked at. Differences between cultures - and the possible sources of these differences- are also examined.
This book presents a lot of fascinating research. I did feel it was a bit disjointed and unfocused at times, but the material was quite thought-provoking.
April 11, 2020
'Perception' takes a close look at the concept of embodiment, how our body influences what and how we perceive. Perception reflects the relationship between what we are attempting to do and what is available in our surroundings to achieve these goals. For example, there was a study mentioned in the book in which athletes perceive a ball coming towards them as being bigger and slower compared to non-athletes who would perceive the ball as being smaller and faster and therefore more difficult to hit. This is due to something called an Umwelt, which is a perceptual world that is scaled by our unique abilities, essentially, you see what you are and you are what you see.
The notion of embodiment is a fascinating one that injects scientific data into something commonly referred to as the mind body connection. What 'Perception' has shown is that the more we are attuned to our bodies, the better decisions we can make, and suddenly the world doesn’t seem like such an intimidating place. We derive meaning of the world through our bodies. Perception is not a mental construct, it depends on our body’s capabilities, what we can and cannot physically do.
A fascinating topic well researched with many studies included.
The notion of embodiment is a fascinating one that injects scientific data into something commonly referred to as the mind body connection. What 'Perception' has shown is that the more we are attuned to our bodies, the better decisions we can make, and suddenly the world doesn’t seem like such an intimidating place. We derive meaning of the world through our bodies. Perception is not a mental construct, it depends on our body’s capabilities, what we can and cannot physically do.
A fascinating topic well researched with many studies included.
October 22, 2020
Insightful exploration of the influence of the body on self-awareness.
I reached for "Perception" because I was intrigued by the premise that we perceive things differently depending on our state of mind. As someone actively trying to work out more often, the fact that stairs look steeper when you're dieting or hungry totally rings true for me.
This book definitely helped me understand the mechanisms behind such processes. Although it's written through the perspective of science and psychology, "Perception" is actually not a very difficult read in terms of wording/phrasing, which is something I care about in popular science books. I learned a ton about how my brain connects with my body, and the only reason it's not a 5 star book is because it didn't pull me in 100%.
*Thank you to the Publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I reached for "Perception" because I was intrigued by the premise that we perceive things differently depending on our state of mind. As someone actively trying to work out more often, the fact that stairs look steeper when you're dieting or hungry totally rings true for me.
This book definitely helped me understand the mechanisms behind such processes. Although it's written through the perspective of science and psychology, "Perception" is actually not a very difficult read in terms of wording/phrasing, which is something I care about in popular science books. I learned a ton about how my brain connects with my body, and the only reason it's not a 5 star book is because it didn't pull me in 100%.
*Thank you to the Publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 20, 2023
As far as these pop science books go, this was one of the better ones I've read. I'm not sure how well it would stand up amid the replication crisis, but it was undeniably engaging, informative, and well written.
There were multiple instances of dubious assumptions and questionable studies, but most of the content felt well-researched and was clearly presented. I've come across many of the concepts before and their application was in line with my existing understanding. The eventual lessons from each section made an intuitive and logical sense in most cases, which would work nicely as a jumping-off point for further research.
As an overview of the topic of human perception, this ticked that box nicely. Some sections were significantly better than others, both in terms of enjoyment and scientific rigour, but overall, this was a fun read where I learned a few things and left curious about others.
There were multiple instances of dubious assumptions and questionable studies, but most of the content felt well-researched and was clearly presented. I've come across many of the concepts before and their application was in line with my existing understanding. The eventual lessons from each section made an intuitive and logical sense in most cases, which would work nicely as a jumping-off point for further research.
As an overview of the topic of human perception, this ticked that box nicely. Some sections were significantly better than others, both in terms of enjoyment and scientific rigour, but overall, this was a fun read where I learned a few things and left curious about others.
May 22, 2020
Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
An interesting psychology book that explores the connection between our body, our abilities and our perception. While the information provided through heavy research and experimental data is compelling, I couldn't grasp the finer points reading each chapter. I got lost in all of the details and only by going back did I keep track of the message.
The author attempts to guide us through the labyrinth that is the human brain, that perceives danger by its ability to overcome the obstacle. Just another layer to how complex we are as human beings.
Overall, a well written text.
An interesting psychology book that explores the connection between our body, our abilities and our perception. While the information provided through heavy research and experimental data is compelling, I couldn't grasp the finer points reading each chapter. I got lost in all of the details and only by going back did I keep track of the message.
The author attempts to guide us through the labyrinth that is the human brain, that perceives danger by its ability to overcome the obstacle. Just another layer to how complex we are as human beings.
Overall, a well written text.
November 5, 2021
I thought this was very informative and fairly easy to read considering the context of the material. There were stories related to back up the claims of how and why we see the world as we do. I did not find it overly loaded with political opinion, just points made for the reasoning of political arguments. I ended up using tabs to keep track of statements I found very interesting and I used quite a few. I don't consider the information presented as dated as I saw in other reviews, at least in my opinion. Would I read it again? Yes, not a quick read, but one that informs or at least gives food for thought.
August 16, 2020
I received a link to the ARC from the publisher. The concepts aren't new, but our knowledge of them certainly increases, and this book explains things we kind of already know but didn't realize that we did, and compiles them into a study. My new favorite term is "Umwelt." Anyone interested in developmental studies, physical therapies, aging, and the body in general should read this book. As a medical professional and a patient, this information was very enlightening. Four stars.
February 26, 2021
Well researched into experiments on perception. Certain thoughtful examples. Always enjoy learning about the difference between the thinking brain and feeling brain and how what we feel often alters the way we think (we become 'dumber' when confronted with data that doesn't back our beliefs).
Liked it.
Liked it.
April 20, 2024
I enjoyed it, but it didn't go much beyond a good introduction to the latest studies in psychology, namely those related to body and behaviour. It referred to central ideas and experimental studies without going into much depth.
For more on the specific ideas and studies covered, see the summary made by Daniel review.
For more on the specific ideas and studies covered, see the summary made by Daniel review.
June 6, 2021
Far to many experiments are described in detail. It is the findings and the variety of cultural differences that were valuable. Chapter 8, Identifying and Chapter 9, Acculturating were most interesting.
January 2, 2022
Solid read. I really loved the intro about visual systems and its relation to perception. The reminder continually got a bit more boring with various jabs a political topics. First 30 pages are definitely 5 stars.
February 22, 2022
A pleasant collection of studies relating to human perception, including how it can be affected by culture, society, social relationships. Nothing groundbreaking, but interesting for being presented together under its appropriately title.
December 20, 2023
Nothing too mind-blowing here. The idea that out of shape people will perceive hills to be steeper than they are seems common sense to me, for example. Still, there are some fun facts that will make you sound smart when you trot them out at your next party.
January 19, 2025
This was an absolutely fascinating review of embodiment, specifically when it comes to understanding how we see and interact in the world. The authors' arguments are astute and clear, with convincing evidence used throughout to show how perception shapes our experiences.
August 5, 2020
Filled with some fascinating studies that I don’t see mentioned in many other books on behavioral psychology
February 1, 2021
Some interesting insights, but a lot of similar conclusions as other books on similar subjects. I felt like this book doesn’t add much new information on the topic.
May 12, 2021
A terrifically interesting book that makes you look at everything in a new light. I recommend it warmly to all.
November 23, 2024
Exceptional!
An illuminating and constructive piece on the perceptions of humanity. Thoroughly enjoyed! Would recommend as a Psychology primer. 9/10 for me!
An illuminating and constructive piece on the perceptions of humanity. Thoroughly enjoyed! Would recommend as a Psychology primer. 9/10 for me!
July 25, 2025
Brilliant. This book opens the mind. It doesn't just detail the ways in which human development informs our minds, it enlightens us. I can't recommend this book more highly.
July 20, 2021
I think this is a great book, but Im not certain if I'm only saying that because I read it in a coffee shop with a hot beverage or if I actually genuinely enjoyed it. What does it even mean to genuinely enjoy something anymore? Oh god, my head hurts.
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