Are we noble in reason? Perfect, in Gods image? Far from it, says New York University psychologist Gary Marcus. In this lucid and revealing book, Marcus argues that the mind is not an elegantly designed organ but rather a kluge, a clumsy, cobbled-together contraption. He unveils a fundamentally new way of looking at the human mind -- think duct tape, not supercomputer -- that sheds light on some of the most mysterious aspects of human nature. Taking us on a tour of the fundamental areas of human experience -- memory, belief, decision-making, language, and happiness -- Marcus reveals the myriad ways our minds fall short. He examines why people often vote against their own interests, why money cant buy happiness, why leaders often stick to bad decisions, and why a sentence like people people left left ties us in knots even though its only four words long. Marcus also offers surprisingly effective ways to outwit our inner kluge, for the betterment of ourselves and society. Throughout, he shows how only evolution -- haphazard and undirected -- could have produced the minds we humans have, while making a brilliant case for the power and usefulness of imperfection.

盖瑞·马库斯

心理学与脑研究专家，纽约大学心理学教授，纽约大学婴幼儿语言学习中心主任；师从史蒂芬·平克（TED演讲人、世界超级语言学家和认知心理学家），23岁就获得了麻省理工大学的博士学位。

主要著作包括《代数的头脑》(TheAlgebraicMind)、《头脑的诞生》(TheBirthoftheMind)、《诺顿心理学读本》(TheNortonPsychologyReader)。

作品经常在《纽约时报》、《费城询问报》、《洛杉矶时报》等媒体发表。