Skip to main content
search
Tag

book review

Book Review: The Chimp Paradox by Prof Steve Peters

By Amazon, Books & Authors, Health, ReviewsNo Comments
the-chimp-paradox-book-cover-by-steve-peters
View on Amazon.co.uk
 Peters is a Consultant Psychiatrist, who is a Dean for undergraduate students at Sheffield University Medical School. He is also credited with helping athletes achieve success and has worked with: Sky Pro Cycling team, Olympic Gold medal winners and Liverpool Football Club.

The Chimp Paradox is not a new theory. Peters has taken an old theory and repackaged it, making it more accessible to more people. The theory goes that within our mind we have three aspects: the computer, the chimp and the human.

The computer stores autopilots (useful beliefs or behaviours), gremlins (destructive beliefs or behaviours that are removable/changeable in the computer) and goblins (destructive beliefs or behaviours that are difficult to remove/change).

All of these are based on past experiences. The computer also holds the values and beliefs that we live our lives by.

The chimp is the emotional part of your brain and is wired for survival and procreation. Whenever the chimp perceives a threat he will decide to fight, flight or freeze. The chimp can hijack you and is responsible for often irrational or destructive behaviours.

The human on the other hand is the logical and rational part of you. The problem comes that the chimp responds 5 times quicker than the human. So it is up to the human to learn to manage the chimp and to change the programming of the computer, so that all parts of the brain work towards the same goals without conflict.

Here’s a video that explains the concept:

Click here to display content from YouTube.
Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy.

Open content directly

Anyone struggling with emotions, emotional intensity or regulation will find The Chimp Paradox useful. The book covers improving: day to day functioning, motivation, health, success and happiness.

Overall Peters should be commended for making the psychological theory more accessible. The Chimp Paradox is simple to understand and includes plenty of real life examples. The only downside to this is that Peters sometimes over explains the obvious.

If you’re into self-improvement, self-help or other similar topics, then you’ll enjoy The Chimp Paradox.

Review soon,

Antony

mental-health-wisdom-banner
Share on Social Media:
Sunday 31 March 2019

Book Review: Wilful Blindness by Margaret Heffernan

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
wilful-blindness-book-cover-margaret-heffernan
View on Amazon.co.uk
 Wilful Blindness is when a person or people chose to deliberately pretend not to know about or ignore ethically dubious acts.

It happens on both a micro and macro scale. It spans all parts of society. It can have devastating consequences to both individuals and communities.

Wilful Blindness was originally a legal term, but once Heffernan heard the term she started seeing Wilful Blindness everywhere.

In our collective history of the past and in how governments and businesses operate today.

Heffernan started talking to people, lots of people, from different professional backgrounds and they all knew what she was talking about.

They were all able to give examples of Wilful Blindness in their lives.

In Wilful Blindness, Heffernan identifies the causes and gives examples of the negative consequences of Wilful Blindness. She explains how to expand your mind to be less susceptible to the epidemic of Wilful Blindness.

Heffernan uses psychology to explain human behaviour when it comes to Wilful Blindness and suggests that:

  • We like people that are the same or similar to ourselves. This can lead to blindness to difference and diversity and the benefits of the challenges that they bring.
  • Love of people, ideas, money, things, values, can make us blind.
  • Holding on to deeply held beliefs can mean we miss or ignore evidence that is contrary to these deeply held beliefs.
  • Everyone’s mind has limits and these limits are stretched to make some very complex organisations, which make it difficult to see the truth or know what’s going on.
  • We bury our head in the sand. We hope that difficult issues will go away. We even delude ourselves by not looking, acknowledging or talking about issues.
  • We blame external sources for ethically difficult decisions and justify it to ourselves and other by stating: I was just doing my job.
  • Cultures, conformity and the craving for acceptance from our peers can make us blind to other, broader or different perspectives.
  • People that see what others are blind to and do nothing reinforce the status quo. Not only that, but they also imply through omissions that everything that makes up the status quo is acceptable.
  • Physical distance from a situation or problem can lead to cognitive dissonance and make someone blind.
  • Money and the removal of ethics from work makes people obey and conform. They are much less likely to notice issues or be brave enough to make a stand.
  • People who challenge Wilful Blindess have a tough time. But common qualities in these people include: a sense of social justice, they are generally nonconformists, they are often trendsetters, they feel compelled to raise an uncomfortable truth, they have determination, a high level of resilience, they obsess about the truth and the truth others are ignoring, they have an eye for detail and are willing to suffer both personally and professionally to get others to see the truth.

Throughout Wilful Blindness Heffernan presents a compelling argument and engaging narrative, which is enhanced with fully referenced examples. Examples include: child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, problems in BP, the banking crash caused by subprime mortgages and derivatives (2007-2010), the Nazis in World War 2 and post operative child deaths in Bristol.

Overall the book is a fascinating exploration of human psychology and why we often fail to see the obvious. If you’re interested in psychology, self-awareness, leadership or business you should read this book.

Review soon,

Antony

mental-health-wisdom-banner

Share on Social Media:
Saturday 3 November 2018

Book Review: The Outsider by Stephen King

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
the-outsider-stephen-king-book-cover
View on Amazon.co.uk
 How can a man be in two places at once? When a child is raped and murdered, this is a question Detective Ralph Anderson must find an answer to.

Terry Maitland is a pillar of the community and is accused. There’s eye witnesses placing him at the scene. His fingerprints and DNA evidence found on the victim’s body. But Terry has a airtight alibi.

The Outsider is a perfect investigatory and suspense novel, complete with King’s usual supernatural edge.

The plot is full of intrigue and written in a way that fills the readers head with theories and questions. It includes plenty of utterly gripping action scenes.

The Outsider is written in third person perspective. But it has some great transcripts of witness interviews and emails spattered throughout the beginning and middle sections of the book.

The pacing of The Outsider is quick and builds suspense brilliantly.

All of the characters feel completely real; all have different personalities, flaws and have different ways of handling the situations they find themselves in.

Characters include:

  • Ralph Anderson – The tall, logical and realistic Detective.
  • Jeanette Anderson – Ralph’s wife and confidant.
  • Terry Maitland – Suspect & English Teacher.
  • Marcy Maitland – Terry’s wife and mother to two children.
  • The Peterson Family – Frank is the child raped and murdered. The impact of the tragedy on the family is shown along with the subsequent tragedies that follow.
  • Yunel Sablo – Lieutenant in the Police Department, he assists in the investigation.
  • William Samuels – The District Attorney with unruly hair.
  • Howie Gold – Maitland’s Lawyer.
  • Alec Pelley – A retired state Police Detective who works for lawyers defending criminal cases.
  • Holly Gibney – A woman who runs a company called Finders Keepers. Holly mostly does repossessions, retrievals, bail-jumpers and finding of lost pets. But there’s a hidden depths to Holly including her past experience with the seemingly inexplicable. Holly is a character of mystery and one the reader will yearn to learn more about.
  • Jack Hoskins – A troubled Detective in the Police Department.
  • Claude Bolton – Claude is a recovered drug addict and former criminal. He works in a strip club as a Bouncer. He’s kept himself clean and out of trouble. But trouble could be finding him.
  • Lovie Bolton – Claude’s adorable old mum, even more vulnerable due to her COPD and oxygen requirement.

The Outsider is totally addictive, I couldn’t put it down and read it in a few sittings. The Outsider is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

mental-health-wisdom-banner



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Tuesday 4 September 2018

Book Review: The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins

By Amazon, Books & Authors, ReviewsNo Comments
the-last-days-of-magic-mark-tompkins-book-cover
View on Amazon.co.uk
 If you like any sort of fantasy fiction then The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins is a must read novel that you’ll love.

The Last Days of Magic is set in the past where Ireland is the last magical stronghold in the world.

But it is under threat. The Vatican is determined to wipe out all creatures and men with magic. All creatures and men with magic came from fallen angels mating with humans. The Vatican believes that this is against God’s will.

In Ireland you have the Morrigna (twins that wield the power of the triple Goddess and are born when Ireland is in a time of great need) Sidhe (faeries), Druids, Witches, Sorcerers and the formations. The formations are hostile creatures that live in the water around Ireland and have kept it protected from invading ships.

But a plot is underway for King Richard in England to conquer Ireland, supported by the Vatican.

The Last Days of Magic mixes mythology, magic and fantasy wonderfully. It’s a gripping story, with a wide range of compelling characters, that is easy to read, captivating and thoroughly enjoyable.

It’s a novel about how Ireland falls to the English and the Vatican and the parts played by the magnificent characters which includes:

  • Aisling & Anya – twins and aspects of the triple Goddess.
  • Liam – Aisling & Anya protector. His mother is Sidhe, his father human.
  • Brigid – High Priestess of the Order of Macha.
  • Conor – Aisling’s love interest.
  • Jordan – Marshal/Vatican Representative.
  • Najia – Jodan’s lover and a Witch.
  • Ty – A fascinating creature and character. Immune to all spells and enchantments.
  • Richard – King of England.
  • Isabeau – Queen of France and Grand High Sorciere of a Coven.

The Last Days of Magic is an average length novel and this meant it had some restrictions.

First character growth felt like sudden jumps. This was due to the time hopping required in the average length novel to cover the scope of what Tompkins wanted to cover.

Second that only snip its from the war between the Irish and English were written about. Again for the same reason: the large scope of the idea being fit into an average length novel.

Tompkins could have turned his idea for The Last Days of Magic into a series of novels. I would have bought, read, enjoyed and recommended them all – due to Tompkins well thought out plots, brilliant description, completely real characters and engaging writers voice.

The Last Days of Magic is available to buy on Amazon and at all good book shops.

Review soon,

Antony

mental-health-wisdom-banner



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


Share on Social Media:
Sunday 26 August 2018
×