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Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us about Life, Love and Relationships
WINNER OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INSIGHT INVESTMENT SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2020
How proteins, machine learning and molecular chemistry can teach us about the complexities of human behaviour and the world around us
How do we understand the people around us? How do we recognise people's motivations, their behaviour, or even their facial expressions? And, when do we learn the social cues that dictate human behaviour?
Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her and the way people worked. Desperate for a solution, Camilla asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. But, without the blueprint to life she was hoping for, Camilla began to create her own. Now armed with a PhD in biochemistry, Camilla dismantles our obscure social customs and identifies what it really means to be human using her unique expertise and a language she knows science.
Through a set of scientific principles, this book examines life's everyday interactions
- Decisions and the route we take to make them;
- Conflict and how we can avoid it;
- Relationships and how we establish them;
- Etiquette and how we conform to it.
Explaining Humans is an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms, written from the outside looking in. Camilla's unique perspective of the world, in turn, tells us so much about ourselves - about who we are and why we do it - and is a fascinating guide on how to lead a more connected, happier life.
How proteins, machine learning and molecular chemistry can teach us about the complexities of human behaviour and the world around us
How do we understand the people around us? How do we recognise people's motivations, their behaviour, or even their facial expressions? And, when do we learn the social cues that dictate human behaviour?
Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her and the way people worked. Desperate for a solution, Camilla asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. But, without the blueprint to life she was hoping for, Camilla began to create her own. Now armed with a PhD in biochemistry, Camilla dismantles our obscure social customs and identifies what it really means to be human using her unique expertise and a language she knows science.
Through a set of scientific principles, this book examines life's everyday interactions
- Decisions and the route we take to make them;
- Conflict and how we can avoid it;
- Relationships and how we establish them;
- Etiquette and how we conform to it.
Explaining Humans is an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms, written from the outside looking in. Camilla's unique perspective of the world, in turn, tells us so much about ourselves - about who we are and why we do it - and is a fascinating guide on how to lead a more connected, happier life.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2020
666 people are currently reading
7207 people want to read
About the author
Camilla Pang
8 books66 followersCamilla Pang is a British computational biologist, writer, and autism activist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 311 reviews
January 23, 2021
I don’t know how a PhD in biochemistry gives Dr Pang the credentials to dispense psychiatric advice, nor how advice along the lines of “become a prism to refract your fears and anxieties so you can understand and cope with them” is anything more than a deepity cloaked in pseudoscientific babble. It might be useful to some people, but it doesn’t sound like the rigorous and empirically evidenced advice that I would expect scientific medicine to produce.
This book does nothing to dispel my suspicion of authors who broadcast the fact they have a PhD on the cover.
I am not particularly entertained by someone listing in great detail all of their trivial neuroses, and then using incredibly forced analogies to tell me why I shouldn’t let myself suffer from those same neuroses. The author seems to be trying to sell a cure for a specific and idiosyncratic malady that only really afflicts her.
I can sympathise and empathise with her over her conditions, but the anecdotes and advice she posits provide little insight into the adult problems that have affected me. Thinking of people as analagous to chemicals in a reaction does neither people nor chemicals worthwhile service.
If you are neurodiverse, maybe Dr Pang’s advice will help you, maybe not. I get the impression that her methods of managing her anxieties are specific to herself, and not really generalisable to anyone else.
If you want to learn about science, read a dedicated science book. If you want to learn about autism spectrum disorders, you would do better to read a specialist neuroscience or psychology source. If you want to read some lightly entertaining neurodivergent anecdotes tenuously linked to unproven self-help advice via irrelevant pop-science chatter and metaphors tortured to the point of breaking and well beyond: this is the book for you.
I decided to DNF at the halfway point where Dr Pang starts talking about mood as an oscillation between euphoria and despair (fair, but exaggerated), introduces the concept of constructive and destructive interference, then states that people “who destructively interfere are those who sap your energy and joy, neutralizing it on impact with their negativity”. Well, sorry to be negative Dr Pang, but you’ve just totally misapplied your own metaphor. Destructive interference reduces the amplitude of an oscillation, so by your metaphor, destructive interference would reduce both euphoria and despair, and thus someone whose moods are in a destructive interference pattern with your own would not necessarily have a negative influence on you. This kind of inconsistency in the application of your metaphors renders them either mundane or worthless—and this book skirts the hinterlands of woo woo in a way that turns me off completely. For a book written by someone whose career is in an intellectually rigorous discipline, it lacks both rigour and discipline.
This book has nothing to contribute to the explanation of human behaviour.
This book does nothing to dispel my suspicion of authors who broadcast the fact they have a PhD on the cover.
I am not particularly entertained by someone listing in great detail all of their trivial neuroses, and then using incredibly forced analogies to tell me why I shouldn’t let myself suffer from those same neuroses. The author seems to be trying to sell a cure for a specific and idiosyncratic malady that only really afflicts her.
I can sympathise and empathise with her over her conditions, but the anecdotes and advice she posits provide little insight into the adult problems that have affected me. Thinking of people as analagous to chemicals in a reaction does neither people nor chemicals worthwhile service.
If you are neurodiverse, maybe Dr Pang’s advice will help you, maybe not. I get the impression that her methods of managing her anxieties are specific to herself, and not really generalisable to anyone else.
If you want to learn about science, read a dedicated science book. If you want to learn about autism spectrum disorders, you would do better to read a specialist neuroscience or psychology source. If you want to read some lightly entertaining neurodivergent anecdotes tenuously linked to unproven self-help advice via irrelevant pop-science chatter and metaphors tortured to the point of breaking and well beyond: this is the book for you.
I decided to DNF at the halfway point where Dr Pang starts talking about mood as an oscillation between euphoria and despair (fair, but exaggerated), introduces the concept of constructive and destructive interference, then states that people “who destructively interfere are those who sap your energy and joy, neutralizing it on impact with their negativity”. Well, sorry to be negative Dr Pang, but you’ve just totally misapplied your own metaphor. Destructive interference reduces the amplitude of an oscillation, so by your metaphor, destructive interference would reduce both euphoria and despair, and thus someone whose moods are in a destructive interference pattern with your own would not necessarily have a negative influence on you. This kind of inconsistency in the application of your metaphors renders them either mundane or worthless—and this book skirts the hinterlands of woo woo in a way that turns me off completely. For a book written by someone whose career is in an intellectually rigorous discipline, it lacks both rigour and discipline.
This book has nothing to contribute to the explanation of human behaviour.
May 7, 2021
I was excited to read this as someone with ASD and someone who is especially interested in human behaviour.
This isn't a book about understanding human behaviour really, if you want to learn about humans this isn't the best thing to read.
The author uses complex (to a lay person like me) analogies about proteins and thermodynamics to explain people but.... I already don't understand people intuitively, so then having to understand proteins, (which even biochemists dont really understand) is even more confusing. "So you see, people behave exactly the same as these really complicated proteins that no one actually understands!"
My mum is a biochemist and this maybe why I begin to switch off whenever someone starts to monologue about proteins. I feel like this book was partly written to self indulgently infodump about science. It does waffle on.
So I would have given it 3 stars, it wasn't too bad apart from the strong "not like other girls" vibes that I picked up from Dr Pang. She points out the she wanted to be basic so bad she even googled how to be a basic bitch. 🤦♀️ Cringe. Yes we get it Camilla. You are Very Special and Very Smart.
This isn't a book about understanding human behaviour really, if you want to learn about humans this isn't the best thing to read.
The author uses complex (to a lay person like me) analogies about proteins and thermodynamics to explain people but.... I already don't understand people intuitively, so then having to understand proteins, (which even biochemists dont really understand) is even more confusing. "So you see, people behave exactly the same as these really complicated proteins that no one actually understands!"
My mum is a biochemist and this maybe why I begin to switch off whenever someone starts to monologue about proteins. I feel like this book was partly written to self indulgently infodump about science. It does waffle on.
So I would have given it 3 stars, it wasn't too bad apart from the strong "not like other girls" vibes that I picked up from Dr Pang. She points out the she wanted to be basic so bad she even googled how to be a basic bitch. 🤦♀️ Cringe. Yes we get it Camilla. You are Very Special and Very Smart.
January 2, 2021
Camilla Pang was diagnosed with autism at age 8, and later diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, (ADHD) and generalized anxiety disorder, (GAD). With those strikes against her, this young woman has become a biologist, writer, and autism activist. Pang, in her mid-twenties, wrote this fascinating book that looks at life from the perspective of an autistic person and science nerd.
From her unique perspective, the author talks about how the world of math and science has given her models to help interact with the messy world of humans, most of whom she has a hard time understanding with their complex emotional behaviors. Challenged by her conditions, Pang has used models to help guide her, and it all makes sense even from a non-autistic perspective.
In eleven brief but science-laden chapters, Pang presents convincing evidence that much of our world can be understood from the perspective of tiny molecules, particle waves, and the laws of thermodynamics. It's not easy reading if you don't like science, (and even if you do), but if you take the trip with her it's a fascinating way to look at things. Here is a brief summary of the eleven scientific principles she expands to regular life.
1- Machine learning and artificial intelligence can help us build helpful models of the world that use decision trees and divergent thinking to come to better decisions. Thinking in boxes of certainty doesn't get you near as far.
2- Protein molecules are complex and diversified substances that cooperate with each other in many ways to create life. They serve as a good example of the many diverse and important variations of humans who make up a society.
3- Entropy is a basic law of physics that says that things tend to get more disordered unless outside forces are brought in. Perfectionism is a fear of disorder, and we need to accept entropy sometimes and choose wisely when to counteract it.
4- Prisms separate bright light into many different colored wavelengths. This is a good model of how to deal with anxiety- make yourself a prism and separate the different components of anxiety to make it more manageable and understandable.
5- Waves move in many ways all around us. To find harmony with others we need to be aware of their wavelengths and amplitudes, and to help ourselves with inevitable extremes, we need to find others to help balance them out.
6- Molecules are almost always in motion. Ergotic theory means that everything eventually moves with the universe's motions. Outliers are needed to refresh, challenge, and extend overall consensus or a bland homogeneity results- which is why we need individuality to survive.
7- There's something called the gradient descent algorithm that tells us how to find our paths using math, quantum physics, and network theory. I have no idea what I've just written, but it somehow shows a middle pathway between living in the now all the time and living for tomorrow and planning ahead.
8- Probability and estimates are a better way to navigate uncertain human relationships rather than making assumptions at the beginning. Observe people's behavior and adjust your assumptions about them as you go along, getting a clearer picture with every step.
9- Chemical bonds within molecules give us a model for how to make bonds between other humans. Sometimes people choose those who are just like themselves, (covalent bonding), and sometimes they choose people who are opposite but complement them (ionic bonding). Knowing why you choose people helps you understand their place in your life and when to let go if necessary.
10- Feedback loops, both positive and negative, are ways to use your neural networks to create desired outcomes or get rid of bad ones. Positive loops reinforce themselves with success, and negative ones extinguish bad behaviors before they can do real damage.
11- Etiquette, which is a minefield for autistic people, can be explained by game theory. Like in chess, you need to be able to anticipate reactions of other people and choices they might make in reaction to your own.
This is a tough read, but if you want to look at life from new perspectives, this book has plenty. The world of science is full of theories, algorithms, and logical explanations, while the world of people is chaotic, full of unwritten rules, and always changing. I applaud Ms. Pang for her brilliant takes on all of us at such a young age and unique position. She is an original thinker and we certainly need many more of those in these challenging times.
From her unique perspective, the author talks about how the world of math and science has given her models to help interact with the messy world of humans, most of whom she has a hard time understanding with their complex emotional behaviors. Challenged by her conditions, Pang has used models to help guide her, and it all makes sense even from a non-autistic perspective.
In eleven brief but science-laden chapters, Pang presents convincing evidence that much of our world can be understood from the perspective of tiny molecules, particle waves, and the laws of thermodynamics. It's not easy reading if you don't like science, (and even if you do), but if you take the trip with her it's a fascinating way to look at things. Here is a brief summary of the eleven scientific principles she expands to regular life.
1- Machine learning and artificial intelligence can help us build helpful models of the world that use decision trees and divergent thinking to come to better decisions. Thinking in boxes of certainty doesn't get you near as far.
2- Protein molecules are complex and diversified substances that cooperate with each other in many ways to create life. They serve as a good example of the many diverse and important variations of humans who make up a society.
3- Entropy is a basic law of physics that says that things tend to get more disordered unless outside forces are brought in. Perfectionism is a fear of disorder, and we need to accept entropy sometimes and choose wisely when to counteract it.
4- Prisms separate bright light into many different colored wavelengths. This is a good model of how to deal with anxiety- make yourself a prism and separate the different components of anxiety to make it more manageable and understandable.
5- Waves move in many ways all around us. To find harmony with others we need to be aware of their wavelengths and amplitudes, and to help ourselves with inevitable extremes, we need to find others to help balance them out.
6- Molecules are almost always in motion. Ergotic theory means that everything eventually moves with the universe's motions. Outliers are needed to refresh, challenge, and extend overall consensus or a bland homogeneity results- which is why we need individuality to survive.
7- There's something called the gradient descent algorithm that tells us how to find our paths using math, quantum physics, and network theory. I have no idea what I've just written, but it somehow shows a middle pathway between living in the now all the time and living for tomorrow and planning ahead.
8- Probability and estimates are a better way to navigate uncertain human relationships rather than making assumptions at the beginning. Observe people's behavior and adjust your assumptions about them as you go along, getting a clearer picture with every step.
9- Chemical bonds within molecules give us a model for how to make bonds between other humans. Sometimes people choose those who are just like themselves, (covalent bonding), and sometimes they choose people who are opposite but complement them (ionic bonding). Knowing why you choose people helps you understand their place in your life and when to let go if necessary.
10- Feedback loops, both positive and negative, are ways to use your neural networks to create desired outcomes or get rid of bad ones. Positive loops reinforce themselves with success, and negative ones extinguish bad behaviors before they can do real damage.
11- Etiquette, which is a minefield for autistic people, can be explained by game theory. Like in chess, you need to be able to anticipate reactions of other people and choices they might make in reaction to your own.
This is a tough read, but if you want to look at life from new perspectives, this book has plenty. The world of science is full of theories, algorithms, and logical explanations, while the world of people is chaotic, full of unwritten rules, and always changing. I applaud Ms. Pang for her brilliant takes on all of us at such a young age and unique position. She is an original thinker and we certainly need many more of those in these challenging times.
November 7, 2021
Flimsy, Extended Metaphors and Tone-Deaf Social Prescriptions or
Reversing the Value Scale is No Salve: Problems for Neurodivergent Perscriptivism
The promise of Pang’s book is a neurodivergent perspective on seemingly natural and mundane aspects of social life—and the possible advantages that such a perspective might offer if neurotypicals were to alter their behaviors.
Unfortunately, the form and tone of Pang’s work detract severely from her insights. Pang’s formula for each chapter is to take an aspect of social life that seems cryptic or irrational to her, apply a science concept as a loose metaphor to gain understanding, extend the metaphor in unsustainable and arbitrary ways, and then unreflectively prescribe unrealistic behaviors for neurotypical people.
Pang's application of scientific metaphors starts off poorly by relying on outdated theories or unquestioned folk psychology. Two examples:
(1) Pang is fine with a straightforward comparison of the brain and a computer, even though researchers across relevant disciplines have largely derided and abandoned such a simple comparison. She even admonishes the reader "to admit that your computer thinks outside the box more readily than you do.” But of course, anyone that has looked into machine learning and AI concepts she uses for these claims would see that computer are absolute failures when it comes to domain-general thinking: They can't think outside of the domain “box” that they have been designed to address (think self-driving cars which have excellent visual perspicacity but no way of adapting to new ways of driving like drifting or stunt car driving, let alone how to play chess or create an artwork).
(2) Pang is also fine using the Myers-Briggs personality test, even though the Big Five test is a better, more functional test of personality. Throughout, there is no critical discussion of science concepts, just quick adoption and overapplication to unrelated social domains. This misapplication could be why so many of the analogies quickly become disanalogous and arbitrary:
Even assuming the metaphors are correctly chosen in the first place, she extends them too far. Pang concludes chapter 1 by drawing on her metaphors of box-like and tree-like thinking. Box-like thinking is deductive and constrained whereas tree-like thinking is inductive and expansive.
"Like a mighty-oak that has stood for hundreds of years, a decision tree can stand up to all weathers, long after a box has been jumped on, broken, and cast aside for error.”
First, the imagery is completely arbitrary. There’s nothing analogous about an oak tree or some kind of flimsy box and the long-term usefulness of inductive and deductive modes of reasoning Pang compares them to. Early in the chapter, the metaphor works on simple level to give a sense of how inductive and deductive reasoning differ, but there’s no reason why the box needs to be flimsy or the tree sturdy. Indeed, inductive and deductive reasoning both have their place depending on the domain; and more often than not, the most useful mode of thinking combines the two.
Another reviewer has remarked more generally on this disappointing pattern:
While the scientific analogies prove personally useful to Pang and could be generative for a group discussion on alternative ways of considering social life, Pang’s overloaded analogies and prescriptions serve poorly as generalized guides to humans—even for other people with neurodivergent profiles. Moreover, Pang unnecessarily repeats many of these prescriptions within and across chapters.
While I’m not on the spectrum and am not as neurodivergent as Pang, I do have clinical depression, atypical social behaviors, and experience some common emotions differently or not at all compared to the general population. And so my own criticisms and prescriptions come in part from my own experience trying to situate myself in neurotypical settings. I have never found moralizing to be helpful.
Pang moralizes endlessly about the way that social life and human life in general would be much better if people did things her way. Namely, she decries the ambiguity of social cues, human’s desire for social belonging and conformity, and the irrational, intuitive sense that people use to make decisions and organize their lives. She never considers the evolutionary function or possible pragmatic advantages of these behaviors. Even assuming that it would be good to get rid of these evolved, neurotypical behaviors, why take the tone-deaf approach of prescribing that people be different without acknowledging the difficulty in doing so? Ironically, this is the very kind of tone-deaf approach which gets applied to autism far too often and which Pang is hoping to abate.
A wider audience could have been reached more effectively if Pang had focused primarily on her own subjective experience, rather than general prescriptions. Of course part of the subjective experience for many is a judgmental temperament; we can’t fault someone for a personality trait. Indeed, it is a beneficial trait insofar as it hones a critical eye. However, it does not make for good general discourse, and that along with her disanalogous supporting arguments ruin the message of this otherwise promising project.
Reversing the Value Scale is No Salve: Problems for Neurodivergent Perscriptivism
The promise of Pang’s book is a neurodivergent perspective on seemingly natural and mundane aspects of social life—and the possible advantages that such a perspective might offer if neurotypicals were to alter their behaviors.
Unfortunately, the form and tone of Pang’s work detract severely from her insights. Pang’s formula for each chapter is to take an aspect of social life that seems cryptic or irrational to her, apply a science concept as a loose metaphor to gain understanding, extend the metaphor in unsustainable and arbitrary ways, and then unreflectively prescribe unrealistic behaviors for neurotypical people.
Pang's application of scientific metaphors starts off poorly by relying on outdated theories or unquestioned folk psychology. Two examples:
(1) Pang is fine with a straightforward comparison of the brain and a computer, even though researchers across relevant disciplines have largely derided and abandoned such a simple comparison. She even admonishes the reader "to admit that your computer thinks outside the box more readily than you do.” But of course, anyone that has looked into machine learning and AI concepts she uses for these claims would see that computer are absolute failures when it comes to domain-general thinking: They can't think outside of the domain “box” that they have been designed to address (think self-driving cars which have excellent visual perspicacity but no way of adapting to new ways of driving like drifting or stunt car driving, let alone how to play chess or create an artwork).
(2) Pang is also fine using the Myers-Briggs personality test, even though the Big Five test is a better, more functional test of personality. Throughout, there is no critical discussion of science concepts, just quick adoption and overapplication to unrelated social domains. This misapplication could be why so many of the analogies quickly become disanalogous and arbitrary:
Even assuming the metaphors are correctly chosen in the first place, she extends them too far. Pang concludes chapter 1 by drawing on her metaphors of box-like and tree-like thinking. Box-like thinking is deductive and constrained whereas tree-like thinking is inductive and expansive.
"Like a mighty-oak that has stood for hundreds of years, a decision tree can stand up to all weathers, long after a box has been jumped on, broken, and cast aside for error.”
First, the imagery is completely arbitrary. There’s nothing analogous about an oak tree or some kind of flimsy box and the long-term usefulness of inductive and deductive modes of reasoning Pang compares them to. Early in the chapter, the metaphor works on simple level to give a sense of how inductive and deductive reasoning differ, but there’s no reason why the box needs to be flimsy or the tree sturdy. Indeed, inductive and deductive reasoning both have their place depending on the domain; and more often than not, the most useful mode of thinking combines the two.
Another reviewer has remarked more generally on this disappointing pattern:
Despite the title, this book has essentially nothing to do with science. At best it's a set of loose metaphors. Some examples - waves can constructively or destructively interfere, which is like how people can jive or clash with each other; the different wavelengths present in white light are like how you can have different overlapping emotions in a situation; the fact that different proteins work together shows that people should embrace their differences; etc.
While the scientific analogies prove personally useful to Pang and could be generative for a group discussion on alternative ways of considering social life, Pang’s overloaded analogies and prescriptions serve poorly as generalized guides to humans—even for other people with neurodivergent profiles. Moreover, Pang unnecessarily repeats many of these prescriptions within and across chapters.
While I’m not on the spectrum and am not as neurodivergent as Pang, I do have clinical depression, atypical social behaviors, and experience some common emotions differently or not at all compared to the general population. And so my own criticisms and prescriptions come in part from my own experience trying to situate myself in neurotypical settings. I have never found moralizing to be helpful.
Pang moralizes endlessly about the way that social life and human life in general would be much better if people did things her way. Namely, she decries the ambiguity of social cues, human’s desire for social belonging and conformity, and the irrational, intuitive sense that people use to make decisions and organize their lives. She never considers the evolutionary function or possible pragmatic advantages of these behaviors. Even assuming that it would be good to get rid of these evolved, neurotypical behaviors, why take the tone-deaf approach of prescribing that people be different without acknowledging the difficulty in doing so? Ironically, this is the very kind of tone-deaf approach which gets applied to autism far too often and which Pang is hoping to abate.
A wider audience could have been reached more effectively if Pang had focused primarily on her own subjective experience, rather than general prescriptions. Of course part of the subjective experience for many is a judgmental temperament; we can’t fault someone for a personality trait. Indeed, it is a beneficial trait insofar as it hones a critical eye. However, it does not make for good general discourse, and that along with her disanalogous supporting arguments ruin the message of this otherwise promising project.
April 11, 2020
This was a really unique and special book about Millie's personal journey getting to grips with the complex world around her through the lens of science. Part self-help book, part pop science, there certainly is something for everyone in here and it is immensely readable. The science is super accessible to non-science minded readers as well.
The most useful chapters for me were the last three, which dealt with the challenges of relationships, learning from mistakes and navigating the confusing world of social rules using game theory and machine learning. They were most eye-opening to me both due to my own challenges with an anxiety disorder and being kind to myself, and because of my relative ignorance on the topics.
Importantly, the book also celebrates the value of neurodiversity in our society, something that is really only just beginning to be discussed. My favourite people embody the full spectrum of neurodiversity and I see their value implicitly. Each of those people has struggled in the workplace because of how their diversity is perceived, just like Millie struggles with people viewing her as rude or emotional. Some of those dear friends have wished away their neurodiversity after difficult encounters at work and heavy criticism. I say the same thing to them as I would say to Millie: never change. Once you are in the right environment with people that can see how to use the value your neurodiversity brings, you will thrive.
Millie tackles all this with a sense of humour and understanding even for the people that have misunderstood her. The latter is probably the most impressive of all. I would be especially interested to see reviews from individuals with ASD and ADHD, so get reading!
The most useful chapters for me were the last three, which dealt with the challenges of relationships, learning from mistakes and navigating the confusing world of social rules using game theory and machine learning. They were most eye-opening to me both due to my own challenges with an anxiety disorder and being kind to myself, and because of my relative ignorance on the topics.
Importantly, the book also celebrates the value of neurodiversity in our society, something that is really only just beginning to be discussed. My favourite people embody the full spectrum of neurodiversity and I see their value implicitly. Each of those people has struggled in the workplace because of how their diversity is perceived, just like Millie struggles with people viewing her as rude or emotional. Some of those dear friends have wished away their neurodiversity after difficult encounters at work and heavy criticism. I say the same thing to them as I would say to Millie: never change. Once you are in the right environment with people that can see how to use the value your neurodiversity brings, you will thrive.
Millie tackles all this with a sense of humour and understanding even for the people that have misunderstood her. The latter is probably the most impressive of all. I would be especially interested to see reviews from individuals with ASD and ADHD, so get reading!
November 6, 2020
I read as much as I could but it just became a bit too much. I think this is a bit of a stretch to be enjoyable, it's just someone with some arbitrary views that seems to think they're special and I couldn't really find value. I think Camilla is clearly very intelligent but when it comes to writing I'm not sure this is the field to be in.
I'm surprised there are quite a few good reviews, but then maybe this just doesn't appeal to me. I think there are some really long winded attempts at making something out of nothing, or creating links and thinking they're special. I did finish, but skipped some pages to get it done. Hopefully I didn't skip the good bits.
I'm surprised there are quite a few good reviews, but then maybe this just doesn't appeal to me. I think there are some really long winded attempts at making something out of nothing, or creating links and thinking they're special. I did finish, but skipped some pages to get it done. Hopefully I didn't skip the good bits.
November 2, 2021
Despite the title, this book has essentially nothing to do with science. At best it's a set of loose metaphors. Some examples - waves can constructively or destructively interfere, which is like how people can jive or clash with each other; the different wavelengths present in white light are like how you can have different overlapping emotions in a situation; the fact that different proteins work together shows that people should embrace their differences; etc.
I would say don't waste your time with this book.
I would say don't waste your time with this book.
November 11, 2020
Camilla Pang, at age eight, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and not long after, she asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans. Sadly, there wasn't, so she decided to make her own, and started taking notes.
She now has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and takes a delightfully analytical approach to deconstructing and explaining human behavior. It's startling, but illuminating, to look at human social behavior from the viewpoint of how proteins in our cells behave--individuality, teamwork, and adaptability, and the ways acting more like those proteins can help us live happier, more productive lives.
She's got a lot to say, and it's lively, interesting, understandable, and a total geeky delight.
I've always found human beings strange and difficult to understand, but until very recently, no one thought I should be evaluated for autism. No, I should just stop being difficult, and pay attention to what people are saying and otherwise indicating. Listening to Camilla Pang talk about the challenges of figuring out how to navigate the neurotypical world, even with a diagnosis and a supportive family, is illuminating and helpful. I will say we do have very different personalities, I'm sure partly innate and partly due to the difference in our ages, resulting diagnosis being more available and likely than when I was eight years old.
This book is not addressed only to the neurodivergent, but also the neurotypical, and I think will be an enjoyable and useful listen for anyone interested in human nature. Recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
She now has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and takes a delightfully analytical approach to deconstructing and explaining human behavior. It's startling, but illuminating, to look at human social behavior from the viewpoint of how proteins in our cells behave--individuality, teamwork, and adaptability, and the ways acting more like those proteins can help us live happier, more productive lives.
She's got a lot to say, and it's lively, interesting, understandable, and a total geeky delight.
I've always found human beings strange and difficult to understand, but until very recently, no one thought I should be evaluated for autism. No, I should just stop being difficult, and pay attention to what people are saying and otherwise indicating. Listening to Camilla Pang talk about the challenges of figuring out how to navigate the neurotypical world, even with a diagnosis and a supportive family, is illuminating and helpful. I will say we do have very different personalities, I'm sure partly innate and partly due to the difference in our ages, resulting diagnosis being more available and likely than when I was eight years old.
This book is not addressed only to the neurodivergent, but also the neurotypical, and I think will be an enjoyable and useful listen for anyone interested in human nature. Recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
March 22, 2021
I’m not actually finished yet but this book wasn’t what I expected and was a bit of a disappointment...I respect the author and can imagine this would feel very special and personal to her, but for me it’s been really difficult to read: I find myself rolling my eyes at some of the metaphors and clichés and I just don’t think it’s a particularly well written book...maybe it’s just not my thing but I had expected to learn something and be really hooked...I will finish it (!) but it’s taken me months to make it this far...sorry!
October 28, 2021
This was probably the most boring book I’ve read in a while. Based on the title, I was excited to listen to someone’s analysis of human behavior in a similar way that humans write books about animal behavior. It was nothing like that. This book was a verbose, painfully detailed account of the author’s very uninteresting life. It gave me a headache.
June 15, 2021
Weirdly I should have really enjoyed this book. My degree is in biology and I have several autistic traits. Yet I just didn't. I can't really even explain why. It was a lot of words yet I don't feel like it actually said much. I am left feeling perplexed and a bit disappointed. Also some of the handwritten diagram annotations were not easy to read, so overall the diagram/doodles didn't add much to the book.
April 26, 2025
Camilla Pang, doutorada em bioquímica e pós-doutorada em bioinformática aplicada, foi diagnosticada, em criança, com Perturbação do Espetro do Autismo e mais tarde com Perturbação de Hiperatividade e Défice de Atenção. Neste livro, a autora combina ciência, neurodiversidade e vivências pessoais para abordar o comportamento humano.
Pang mostra como é possível entender o comportamento humano através de analogias científicas, e a importância de usar a ciência no seu quotidiano. Achei particularmente interessante a autora explicar-nos que pensar de forma diferente não é um handicap, mas sim uma forma alternativa de entender o mundo.
Pang partilha, deste modo, o seu percurso de autoconhecimento e aceitação, incentivando os leitores a aceitarem as suas especificidades e tirarem partido das mesmas, criticando as normais sociais que condicionam e prejudicam aqueles que não são e não querem/podem ser iguais a "todos os outros".
Embora tenha achado a obra interessante, são aplicados, a meu ver, alguns termos técnicos complexos e confusos, no âmbito da ciência.
Em suma, esta obra ensina-nos a sermos mais compreensivos e curiosos sobre o outro, principalmente quando esse outro não se enquadra nas expetativas da maioria das pessoas que vivem em sociedade.
Pang mostra como é possível entender o comportamento humano através de analogias científicas, e a importância de usar a ciência no seu quotidiano. Achei particularmente interessante a autora explicar-nos que pensar de forma diferente não é um handicap, mas sim uma forma alternativa de entender o mundo.
Pang partilha, deste modo, o seu percurso de autoconhecimento e aceitação, incentivando os leitores a aceitarem as suas especificidades e tirarem partido das mesmas, criticando as normais sociais que condicionam e prejudicam aqueles que não são e não querem/podem ser iguais a "todos os outros".
Embora tenha achado a obra interessante, são aplicados, a meu ver, alguns termos técnicos complexos e confusos, no âmbito da ciência.
Em suma, esta obra ensina-nos a sermos mais compreensivos e curiosos sobre o outro, principalmente quando esse outro não se enquadra nas expetativas da maioria das pessoas que vivem em sociedade.
September 12, 2025
I started this book 2 years ago during my first year of uni and I remember it was my tram book. I don’t really remember what happened, but for some reason I stopped reading it about half-way through and didn’t pick it back up again until this year. It was still my tram book.
Although this book has many mixed reviews (which I found surprising), I feel like I am the perfect target demographic. When I first saw a damaged copy of this at work, I just saw a neurodivergent science nerd writing about her life experiences, the human condition and girlhood. I honestly don’t think that could be any more me.
More than anything, this book transported me way back to my childhood. I see myself in Camilla the way she views the world through scientific lens and she reminds me of little Alex. I just found it so quirky and witty and relatable. I don’t really care that the other Goodreads reviewers didn’t like it - to me this book felt like a warm hug. I wish I had read this book when I was 10 years old, I think I would’ve found a lot of comfort from it. I also think 10 year old me would think I’m so fucking cool right now. Same as 18 year old me honestly. But anyways, I’m also glad I read it at 18 and 21, it reminded me of so many things I had forgotten about myself and gave me a newfound appreciation for science and human connection and just life in general.
Although this book has many mixed reviews (which I found surprising), I feel like I am the perfect target demographic. When I first saw a damaged copy of this at work, I just saw a neurodivergent science nerd writing about her life experiences, the human condition and girlhood. I honestly don’t think that could be any more me.
More than anything, this book transported me way back to my childhood. I see myself in Camilla the way she views the world through scientific lens and she reminds me of little Alex. I just found it so quirky and witty and relatable. I don’t really care that the other Goodreads reviewers didn’t like it - to me this book felt like a warm hug. I wish I had read this book when I was 10 years old, I think I would’ve found a lot of comfort from it. I also think 10 year old me would think I’m so fucking cool right now. Same as 18 year old me honestly. But anyways, I’m also glad I read it at 18 and 21, it reminded me of so many things I had forgotten about myself and gave me a newfound appreciation for science and human connection and just life in general.
May 9, 2021
I couldn’t finish this book and that doesn’t happen often. I usually push through, because I think books deserve this effort. But this one was SO cringy, SO “I’m super special and so different than everyone else and so misunderstood”, that I just couldn’t. Plus, it seems written by a teenager for teenagers. How did this win the Science Book Prize?
Around page 50 I read this sentence: “To this day, it is being able to study maths at the weekends that makes me tick”. And I decided this is where I stop reading this book.
Around page 50 I read this sentence: “To this day, it is being able to study maths at the weekends that makes me tick”. And I decided this is where I stop reading this book.
April 4, 2021
Not what I thought it was going to be. I couldn’t relate to this book and found it dull.
September 1, 2021
Explaining Humans was not the book I expected at first.
It is a rare and fascinating insight into the life of the author Camille Pang, who has ASD (autistic spectrum disorder), GAD (general anxiety disorder) and SPD (sensory processing disorder), and how she uses scientific analogies to help her steer the way through the complexities of human behaviour and relationships.
My favourite is the one about proteins: "The lesson of proteins is to be more confident, less self-conscious and more accepting of the different roles people play, because of our very different personalities. Proteins teach us that being different help us to work well together, and that individuality is fundamental to effective teamwork."
It is a rare and fascinating insight into the life of the author Camille Pang, who has ASD (autistic spectrum disorder), GAD (general anxiety disorder) and SPD (sensory processing disorder), and how she uses scientific analogies to help her steer the way through the complexities of human behaviour and relationships.
My favourite is the one about proteins: "The lesson of proteins is to be more confident, less self-conscious and more accepting of the different roles people play, because of our very different personalities. Proteins teach us that being different help us to work well together, and that individuality is fundamental to effective teamwork."
August 4, 2023
I think my biggest issue with this book, and why it was so disappointing, is that it just felt marketed wrong.
Everything from the title, blurb and cover make it seem like this is going to shed some light on the the reasons why people behave like they do. Yet there is nothing of that here. There's no explaining. And she doesn't use science to teach us about humans and their behaviours. It's more that she uses it to make arbitrary connections to human behaviours that she's observed and make it into some kind of metaphor.
I think I wouldn't have minded this book as much if I had known that it was essentially going to be a self-help/memoir.
Everything from the title, blurb and cover make it seem like this is going to shed some light on the the reasons why people behave like they do. Yet there is nothing of that here. There's no explaining. And she doesn't use science to teach us about humans and their behaviours. It's more that she uses it to make arbitrary connections to human behaviours that she's observed and make it into some kind of metaphor.
I think I wouldn't have minded this book as much if I had known that it was essentially going to be a self-help/memoir.
Want to read
December 1, 2020As per this interview: https://cupofjo.com/2020/12/what-auti...
March 2, 2025
Não funcionou comigo. Meio livro de ciência, meio livro de auto ajuda, quanto a mim acaba por não ser particularmente bom em nenhum dos dois campos.
June 5, 2022
Dr. Camilla Pang ne arată cum putem să înțelegem oamenii și legăturile care se formează între ei cu ajutorul științei. De exemplu, teoria undelor ne ajută să descifrăm misterul din spatele unei conexiuni perfecte. Când două personalități umane reușesc să conlucreze într-un mod care le ajută să se ridice la un nivel la care nu ar fi ajuns niciodată singure, înseamnă că au aceeași „frecvență de rezonanță”. Acești oameni devin „parteneri într-ale armoniei”, adică undele lor sunt suficient de asemănătoare încât să le permită să se completeze reciproc, depășind cu eleganță eventualele diferențe și explorând împreună ceea ce îi unește.
Consider că această teorie este fascinantă, deoarece demonstrează, încă o dată, cât de importantă este capacitatea ființei umane de a coopera și de a căuta oamenii alături de care să găsească fericirea, dar și calea către atingerea unei desăvârșiri în doi. Pentru că, în cele din urmă, „dragostea este cea care ne face să ne simțim vii”, reprezentând cea mai frumoasă dovadă că există, în natura noastră, acea scânteie unică a dăruirii de sine pentru a aduce lumina pe cerul nopții unei alte persoane… ✨
Consider că această teorie este fascinantă, deoarece demonstrează, încă o dată, cât de importantă este capacitatea ființei umane de a coopera și de a căuta oamenii alături de care să găsească fericirea, dar și calea către atingerea unei desăvârșiri în doi. Pentru că, în cele din urmă, „dragostea este cea care ne face să ne simțim vii”, reprezentând cea mai frumoasă dovadă că există, în natura noastră, acea scânteie unică a dăruirii de sine pentru a aduce lumina pe cerul nopții unei alte persoane… ✨
November 28, 2020
Fantastic book.
January 6, 2021
Explaining Humans is not the book I thought it was. It's not the book many people thought it would be based on a cursory read of Goodreads reviews. And at times it's a bit convulted in the writing, making it a struggle to read. It is however, a better book than I expected precisely for those reasons.
My full review can be read at https://twoinateacup.wordpress.com/20...
My full review can be read at https://twoinateacup.wordpress.com/20...
April 27, 2021
How does a person with ADHD ever manage to finish writing a book? Often I find it hard even to finish reading one, and this is one of those.
The main reason I stopped was because I was misled by the title. Humans aren’t being explained in this book. If I didn’t feel a need for such explanation I could perhaps overlook this mismatch but I was really hoping the author could provide me with one. Back when I was growing up, diagnoses like ADHD and ASD were hard to come by. When my parents brought me in to be “evaluated” (I had mediocre grades and no friends) I said some pretty bizarre things to the psychologist but he just ignored them because when he tested my IQ it was high so all my other problems were ignored. And I was functioning, more or less. If I could finish my assignment, even if I had trouble sitting still in my seat, no one would have labeled me ADHD. Imagine if I could write an entire book!
As a child, I needed that explanation that this book promised only I didn’t know that. I just assumed it was my fault—perhaps I was too smart to get along with my classmates? Since my parents felt they were superior to our neighbors, such an explanation was in line with my family’s attitude. Like the author, I was drawn to study science but this just removed me further from my peers who were more interested in sports and celebrities.
The author complains a bit about her diagnosed disabilities but clearly is impressed with herself. I doubt she felt that secure when she was growing up though little time is spent in the book on the pain of not fitting in. I wonder if she, coming across this kind of book as a child would have been helped by it. I suspect she would not but would have enjoyed the science.
I came to this book already knowing about refraction and harmonic motion so I didn’t need to read about them. I did learn about proteins, though.
The main reason I stopped was because I was misled by the title. Humans aren’t being explained in this book. If I didn’t feel a need for such explanation I could perhaps overlook this mismatch but I was really hoping the author could provide me with one. Back when I was growing up, diagnoses like ADHD and ASD were hard to come by. When my parents brought me in to be “evaluated” (I had mediocre grades and no friends) I said some pretty bizarre things to the psychologist but he just ignored them because when he tested my IQ it was high so all my other problems were ignored. And I was functioning, more or less. If I could finish my assignment, even if I had trouble sitting still in my seat, no one would have labeled me ADHD. Imagine if I could write an entire book!
As a child, I needed that explanation that this book promised only I didn’t know that. I just assumed it was my fault—perhaps I was too smart to get along with my classmates? Since my parents felt they were superior to our neighbors, such an explanation was in line with my family’s attitude. Like the author, I was drawn to study science but this just removed me further from my peers who were more interested in sports and celebrities.
The author complains a bit about her diagnosed disabilities but clearly is impressed with herself. I doubt she felt that secure when she was growing up though little time is spent in the book on the pain of not fitting in. I wonder if she, coming across this kind of book as a child would have been helped by it. I suspect she would not but would have enjoyed the science.
I came to this book already knowing about refraction and harmonic motion so I didn’t need to read about them. I did learn about proteins, though.
August 13, 2021
Eine interessante Herangehensweise an das Wesen Mensch. Für die Autistin Camilla Pang waren Menschen lange Bücher mit sieben Siegeln. Bis sie sich dazu entschied, eine Anleitung zum Umgang mit ihnen zu schreiben. Eine Anleitung, die menschliches Verhalten in etwas übersetzt, dass Pang versteht: Wissenschaft.
Daraus entstand eine gute Mischung aus Autobiographie, wissenschaftlichen Erklärungen und Selbsthilfebuch. Pang erklärt, was den Menschen steuert, zieht Vergleiche und erklärt Hilfestellungen, die ihr im Umgang mit Familie, Kollegen und Fremden geholfen haben (z.B. ordnet sie im Büro allen Mitarbeitern ein Protein einer bestimmten Funktion zu).
Oft auch mit Humor und Witz erzählt Pang von den vielen Fettnäpfchen, in die sie als Autistin mit ADHS in ihrem Leben schon gestolpert ist. Aber auch von Ängsten und Unsicherheiten, Verzweiflung und Unverständnis.
Manche Szenen kamen mir persönlich nur allzu bekannt vor, und viele ihrer Schlussfolgerungen lebe ich ebenfalls aus. Deshalb weiss ich nicht, wie viel ich aus der Lektüre mitnehmen werde, aber nichtsdestotrotz war es erneut erhellend, das Leben mal aus einem völlig anderen Blickwinkel zu betrachten.
Ausserdem sind wir alle Proteine.
Daraus entstand eine gute Mischung aus Autobiographie, wissenschaftlichen Erklärungen und Selbsthilfebuch. Pang erklärt, was den Menschen steuert, zieht Vergleiche und erklärt Hilfestellungen, die ihr im Umgang mit Familie, Kollegen und Fremden geholfen haben (z.B. ordnet sie im Büro allen Mitarbeitern ein Protein einer bestimmten Funktion zu).
Oft auch mit Humor und Witz erzählt Pang von den vielen Fettnäpfchen, in die sie als Autistin mit ADHS in ihrem Leben schon gestolpert ist. Aber auch von Ängsten und Unsicherheiten, Verzweiflung und Unverständnis.
Manche Szenen kamen mir persönlich nur allzu bekannt vor, und viele ihrer Schlussfolgerungen lebe ich ebenfalls aus. Deshalb weiss ich nicht, wie viel ich aus der Lektüre mitnehmen werde, aber nichtsdestotrotz war es erneut erhellend, das Leben mal aus einem völlig anderen Blickwinkel zu betrachten.
Ausserdem sind wir alle Proteine.
July 4, 2021
There are a few segments in this book which are truly enlightening, ones which open a window onto the mindset and perspective of a very special person.
But most of it is a long, laborious slog - it's all relevant and important to the author, but the metaphors and models won't necessarily make sense to anyone else. They're hugely detailed and complex in places, and did little to enhance my understanding or my own coping mechanisms.
Useful - in that it demonstrates in great depth another person's mindset. But I'm not sure how much of it is transferable.
But most of it is a long, laborious slog - it's all relevant and important to the author, but the metaphors and models won't necessarily make sense to anyone else. They're hugely detailed and complex in places, and did little to enhance my understanding or my own coping mechanisms.
Useful - in that it demonstrates in great depth another person's mindset. But I'm not sure how much of it is transferable.
January 30, 2021
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3573687.html
A short book by a biochemist who proudly flies the flag of her own autism diagnosis, explaining how people work from her point of view. From her point of view seems to mean mainly comparing human interactions to phenomena in biochemistry, which may be insightful for people who know more than I do about biochemistry, but since I don't, it was a matter of explaining something I already more or less understand - human behaviour - in terms of something I don't. The book won a prize but it didn't work for me.
A short book by a biochemist who proudly flies the flag of her own autism diagnosis, explaining how people work from her point of view. From her point of view seems to mean mainly comparing human interactions to phenomena in biochemistry, which may be insightful for people who know more than I do about biochemistry, but since I don't, it was a matter of explaining something I already more or less understand - human behaviour - in terms of something I don't. The book won a prize but it didn't work for me.
June 27, 2021
This was a DNF for me. I think it’s mis-marketed, as it wasn’t what I expected. I tried to persevere but the constant scientific modelling becomes really wearing, and it isn’t particularly relatable.
April 8, 2022
Really disappointing. The book is not about learning biology, but the life of the author. If the point was to write an autobiography do so, but do not lie to the readers.
August 11, 2025
nothing made any sense or was even remotely useful. the author spends half of the book talking about how not like other girls she is don't pmo
December 9, 2022
4/5⭐️
fantastyczna książka
nie jest to gatunek po który zazwyczaj sięgam, dlatego tez było to moje wyjście poza strefę komfortu i całą książkę czytałam pol roku, ale cieszę się niezmiernie ze się nie poddałam i ją skończyłam
autorka bada zachowania ludzi podając za przykłady różne badania lub działania, oparte na biologicznych, fizycznych i chemicznych reakcjach.
dodatkowo bardzo przystępny język. momentami pojawiała się terminologia taka nieużywana na codzień, ale była ona natychmiast przekładana za coś z życia wzięte.
bardzo lubię takie podejście do nauki - takie dla każdego
wiele rzeczy z niej wyciągnęłam i myśle, ze trochę tez bardziej zrozumiałam swoje zachowania a to jest ogromny plus
fantastyczna książka
nie jest to gatunek po który zazwyczaj sięgam, dlatego tez było to moje wyjście poza strefę komfortu i całą książkę czytałam pol roku, ale cieszę się niezmiernie ze się nie poddałam i ją skończyłam
autorka bada zachowania ludzi podając za przykłady różne badania lub działania, oparte na biologicznych, fizycznych i chemicznych reakcjach.
dodatkowo bardzo przystępny język. momentami pojawiała się terminologia taka nieużywana na codzień, ale była ona natychmiast przekładana za coś z życia wzięte.
bardzo lubię takie podejście do nauki - takie dla każdego
wiele rzeczy z niej wyciągnęłam i myśle, ze trochę tez bardziej zrozumiałam swoje zachowania a to jest ogromny plus
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