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Loading... Explaining Humansby Camilla Pang
   How Humans Work (15) No current Talk conversations about this book.  nwhyte | Jan 30, 2021 |   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. (  )1  LisCarey | Nov 10, 2020 |
 The weirdness of people is the inspiration for Explaining Humans by Dr Camilla Pang (Viking), a biochemist who has autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. She describes the book, which won the 2020 Royal Society prize, as "the manual I … always needed" to understand human behaviour and how to fit in, and it does an extraordinary job of explaining how Bayes's theorem applies to relationships, what game theory can teach us about etiquette, and why a tidy bedroom is an affront to the second law of thermodynamics. It also introduces complex ideas to non-scientists in a warm and memorable way, while celebrating and demystifying neurodiversity: "ASD and ADHD are my qualifications every bit as much as my PhD," Pang argues. Awards
"An instruction manual for life, love, and relationships by a brilliant young scientist whose Asperger's syndrome allows her--and us--to see ourselves in a different way...and to be better at being human Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight, Camilla Pang struggled to understand the world around her. Desperate for a solution, she asked her mother if there was an instruction manual for humans that she could consult. With no blueprint to life, Pang began to create her own, using the language she understands best: science. That lifelong project eventually resulted in An Outsider's Guide to Humans, an original and incisive exploration of human nature and the strangeness of social norms, written from the outside looking in--which is helpful to even the most neurotypical thinker. Camilla Pang uses a set of scientific principles to examine life's everyday interactions: How machine learning can help us sift through data and make more rational decisions How proteins form strong bonds, and what they teach us about embracing individual differences to form diverse groups Why understanding thermodynamics is the key to seeking balance over seeking perfection How prisms refracting light can keep us from getting overwhelmed by our fears and anxieties, breaking them into manageable and separate "wavelengths" Pang's unique perspective of the world tells us so much about ourselves--who we are and why we do the things we do--and is a fascinating guide to living a happier and more connected life"-- No library descriptions found. 
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)306Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Culture and InstitutionsLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (2.58)
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Wikipedia in English
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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. (