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Satisfaction: Sensation Seeking, Novelty, and the Science of Finding True Fulfillment
“A discussion that is meaty, contemporary and expansive . . . Berns artfully blends social critique with technical expertise.”—The Washington Post Book World
In a riveting narrative look at the brain and the power of novelty to satisfy it, Dr. Gregory Berns plumbs fields as diverse as neuroscience, economics, and evolutionary psychology to find answers to the fundamental question of how we can find a more satisfying way to think and live.
We join Berns as he follows ultramarathoners across the Sierra Nevadas, enters a suburban S&M club to explore the deeper connection between pleasure and pain, partakes of a truly transporting meal, and ultimately returns home to face the challenge of incorporating novelty into a long-term relationship.
In a narrative as compelling as its insights are trenchant, Satisfaction will convince you that the more complicated and even downright challenging a life you pursue, the more likely it is that you will be satisfied.
In a riveting narrative look at the brain and the power of novelty to satisfy it, Dr. Gregory Berns plumbs fields as diverse as neuroscience, economics, and evolutionary psychology to find answers to the fundamental question of how we can find a more satisfying way to think and live.
We join Berns as he follows ultramarathoners across the Sierra Nevadas, enters a suburban S&M club to explore the deeper connection between pleasure and pain, partakes of a truly transporting meal, and ultimately returns home to face the challenge of incorporating novelty into a long-term relationship.
In a narrative as compelling as its insights are trenchant, Satisfaction will convince you that the more complicated and even downright challenging a life you pursue, the more likely it is that you will be satisfied.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
21 people are currently reading
644 people want to read
About the author
Gregory Berns
10 books92 followersProfessor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University and Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology.
* Ph.D. University of California, Davis, 1990
* M.D. University of California, San Diego, 1994
* Ph.D. University of California, Davis, 1990
* M.D. University of California, San Diego, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 12, 2014
Thomas Hobbes credea ca umorul ne permite sa ne experimentam superioritatea fata de ceilalti;Freud credea ca glumele,ca si visele,alina conflictele interioare;iar altii au spus ca umorul actioneaza ca o valva de siguranta pentru a elibera frustrarea acumulata din cauza nedreptatii sociale.Oricare ar fi functia principala a umorului,glumele si comediile ne permit sa vedem lumea altfel.
June 22, 2022
Recommended to: people who think consciously about things like satisfaction
this is an amazingly good book, and it's a shame it's not getting more attention.
based on the title, it's easy to mistake this for a self-help book. it's something much more interesting, which is a blend of pop-science book and memoir.
the author describes lab experiments, summarizes research, guides the reader through parts of the brain, which chemicals they make when and why, and how all these things can help to stack up and create the ephemeral feeling of satisfaction in a person. this is pretty standard stuff for a book on neuroscience.
the really great aspect of the book, though, is that berns goes out into the world on adventures. he talks to people in cuba about their life under a communist regime. he visits iceland, supposedly the country with the most satisfied people in the world, and accidentally finds out how their mythology may be connected to his research.
he spends an evening cooking and talking with a famous argentinian chef, interviews people who run 100m-mile ultramarathons, and visits an SM club.
at the end of the book, berns brings his knowledge home, and tries to get more satisfaction out of his marriage. i found this part in particular really personal and honest, and it's a great illustration of how he's looking for connctions everywhere in the world around him. if it's a self-help book for anyone, it's the author, which i always find makes the most interesting books.
he's very skilled at weaving the real-life anecdotes into the relevant science material, and he's obviously got a flair for prose. these elements on top of the interesting content make for a really well-paced book that it's sad to see end. i'll be rereading this one frequently.
this is an amazingly good book, and it's a shame it's not getting more attention.
based on the title, it's easy to mistake this for a self-help book. it's something much more interesting, which is a blend of pop-science book and memoir.
the author describes lab experiments, summarizes research, guides the reader through parts of the brain, which chemicals they make when and why, and how all these things can help to stack up and create the ephemeral feeling of satisfaction in a person. this is pretty standard stuff for a book on neuroscience.
the really great aspect of the book, though, is that berns goes out into the world on adventures. he talks to people in cuba about their life under a communist regime. he visits iceland, supposedly the country with the most satisfied people in the world, and accidentally finds out how their mythology may be connected to his research.
he spends an evening cooking and talking with a famous argentinian chef, interviews people who run 100m-mile ultramarathons, and visits an SM club.
at the end of the book, berns brings his knowledge home, and tries to get more satisfaction out of his marriage. i found this part in particular really personal and honest, and it's a great illustration of how he's looking for connctions everywhere in the world around him. if it's a self-help book for anyone, it's the author, which i always find makes the most interesting books.
he's very skilled at weaving the real-life anecdotes into the relevant science material, and he's obviously got a flair for prose. these elements on top of the interesting content make for a really well-paced book that it's sad to see end. i'll be rereading this one frequently.
December 23, 2020
A really good book, not rated at its value, from my point of view. Interesting how the author researched for it and tried to put a formula on how to get satisfaction, really inspiring and mind opening. The conclusion is there and it completely make sense. I especially liked one of the ideas that we need to keep our identity inside the couple and not lose ourselves in the word of WE. Keep exploring new things, hobbies, pleasures and bring them in the couple as part of us and maintain novelty
August 20, 2019
A great book to encourage you to get of the hedonic treadmill and generate true fulfillment in your life. Not a self help book, but a great introduction to neuroscience by an incredibly relatable author.
June 6, 2018
It is an exploratory book full of interesting but unorganized ideas.
August 17, 2020
This is one of those books which would’ve been better off as an essay. The single message here is ‘keep trying new things in life to be satisfied.’ Yes, really. That’s pretty much it.
November 12, 2019
Berns' background is neuroscience, and he leans into it heavily while aiming to construct a model for satisfaction. He centers in on having two neurotransmitters active simultaneously: cortisol and dopamine. In order to achieve the two, he suggests seeking out novelty (dopamine) and challenge (cortisol) as a prescription. Interesting stuff.
April 9, 2013
I found this book to be decidedly unsatisfactory. After an initial experiment with Kool-aid and an MRI that shows that the brain may like novelty in drinking fluid, he extrapolates wildly to all forms of potential novelty that he himself would like to experience. These diversions are predominately anecdotal and do not relate to the "Science" part of the title.
I agree that the unique and personal moments that we find so perfect and can't replicate can supply great satisfaction. But his description of his own moment like this in Iceland is very personal and doesn't relate to the study in the opening chapter of the book. It's also prefaced by too many pages describing his own sexual attraction to Icelandic women, ridiculing Icelanders because they believe in some religious aspects that are thousands of years old (come on, many Americans eat chocolate on Easter because some guy came back to life on that day, I'm not really sure you get to point fingers at some Icelanders because they have a reverence for tradition), diversions into Icelandic poetry, and a drawn-out explanation of somebody else's research that doesn't relate to the topic of happiness OR satisfaction. It would be more suitable for a novel, but the writing wouldn't hold up outside of nonfition.
This book has a serious lack of scientific context for the stories he tells, and also lacks any cultural context for how we view novelty, hard work, and satisfaction in our culture. Not especially informative or useful- or even interesting.
I agree that the unique and personal moments that we find so perfect and can't replicate can supply great satisfaction. But his description of his own moment like this in Iceland is very personal and doesn't relate to the study in the opening chapter of the book. It's also prefaced by too many pages describing his own sexual attraction to Icelandic women, ridiculing Icelanders because they believe in some religious aspects that are thousands of years old (come on, many Americans eat chocolate on Easter because some guy came back to life on that day, I'm not really sure you get to point fingers at some Icelanders because they have a reverence for tradition), diversions into Icelandic poetry, and a drawn-out explanation of somebody else's research that doesn't relate to the topic of happiness OR satisfaction. It would be more suitable for a novel, but the writing wouldn't hold up outside of nonfition.
This book has a serious lack of scientific context for the stories he tells, and also lacks any cultural context for how we view novelty, hard work, and satisfaction in our culture. Not especially informative or useful- or even interesting.
May 12, 2014
The premise of this book is simple, and can be summarised as an equation: satisfaction = novelty + challenge.
Berns is an excellent storyteller, and he kept me engrossed throughout. The only thing that frustrated me was that Berns never really proves his premise, not from a scientific perspective anyway. While reading, you continuously feel like he's on the verge of doing something that goes in the right direction, then he veers away.
It would have been a three-star book, except for the chapter on Iceland. That nearly made it a five-star book. I recommend it.
Berns is an excellent storyteller, and he kept me engrossed throughout. The only thing that frustrated me was that Berns never really proves his premise, not from a scientific perspective anyway. While reading, you continuously feel like he's on the verge of doing something that goes in the right direction, then he veers away.
It would have been a three-star book, except for the chapter on Iceland. That nearly made it a five-star book. I recommend it.
January 6, 2011
The author presents some interesting studies but uses them to reinforce what his personal concept of satisfaction in a series of sketchy and seemingly unrelated chapters, ending with his sex life. He could have stated his premise in a short essay rather than a book...that we need novelty in our lives to be happy. Duh!
January 16, 2016
Challenge yourself more for greater satisfaction from life. This truism has been proved scientifically by the author with riveting examples and experience of the author himself.
So live a fuller life with more novelty and unexpected adventure and you are sure to feel more satisfied. It is completely in your hands.
Well written book.
So live a fuller life with more novelty and unexpected adventure and you are sure to feel more satisfied. It is completely in your hands.
Well written book.
July 21, 2008
what can I say, I'm going thru a phychology phase. Definately worth the read and a book that is still accessable even though it's science based. Always interesting what we can find out now that we have access to things like FMRI's.
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October 25, 2009- Good story teller
- Sometimes pseudo-scientific: theses without proofs
- Subjective touch; inspiring
- Sometimes pseudo-scientific: theses without proofs
- Subjective touch; inspiring
August 31, 2016
I thought this book was good, but it tended to get too technical about the operations of the brain. Perhaps some people may like the medical details.
October 22, 2011
fascinating
Read
October 24, 2016great for a Sunday afternoon :)
Read
November 4, 2013An incredibly interesting read 10 years ago. If you were to read it now, read it openly knowing that neuroscience has come a long way.
June 30, 2014
I wasn't able to finish the book. Even if the ideas are nice, the way the book is read, makes it tiring, and quite difficult to follow, so it managed to get me bored really quick.
December 15, 2013
Interesting research-based look at different forms of satisfaction
August 3, 2014
What matters is new patterns.
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December 18, 2014only skimmed this
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews