Subliminal
How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior (PEN Literary Award Winner)

Name: Subliminal
Brand: Penguin Random House
Availability: InStock
Rating: 3.88 (8 reviews)
Author: Leonard Mlodinow
ISBN: 9780739383698

Author: Leonard Mlodinow

Narrator: Leonard Mlodinow

Unabridged: 7 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Random House Audio

Published: 04/24/2012

Categories: Nonfiction, Psychology, Interpersonal Relations, Business & Economics

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included

Synopsis

Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of The Drunkard’s Walk and coauthor of The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking), gives us a startling and eye-opening examination of how the unconscious mind shapes our experience of the world and how, for instance, we often misperceive our relationships with family, friends, and business associates, misunderstand the reasons for our investment decisions, and misremember important events.

Your preference in politicians, the amount you tip your waiter—all judgments and perceptions reflect the workings of our mind on two levels: the conscious, of which we are aware, and the unconscious, which is hidden from us. The latter has long been the subject of speculation, but over the past two decades researchers have developed remarkable new tools for probing the hidden, or subliminal, workings of the mind. The result of this explosion of research is a new science of the unconscious and a sea change in our understanding of how the subliminal mind affects the way we live.

Employing his trademark wit and lucid, accessible explanations of the most obscure scientific subjects, Leonard Mlodinow takes us on a tour of this research, unraveling the complexities of the subliminal self and increasing our understanding of how the human mind works and how we interact with friends, strangers, spouses, and coworkers. In the process he changes our view of ourselves and the world around us.

Includes a bonus PDF of diagrams and illustrations from the book

About The Author

LEONARD MLODINOW received his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of California, Berkeley, was an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Max Planck Institute, and now teaches at the California Institute of Technology. His previous books include War of the Worldviews (with Deepak Chopra); the two national best sellers The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking) and The Drunkard's Walk (a New York Times Notable Book and short-listed for the Royal Society Prize for Science Books); Feynman's Rainbow; and Euclid's Window. He also wrote for the television series MacGyver and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Reviews

Goodreads review by ☘Misericordia☘ on March 17, 2019

Lots of interesting trivia illustrated with anecdotes (no doubt, to hold the reader from getting bored and/or distracted). Q: People seemed to “decide”... (c) yep, our subliminal is a tricky pal. Q: That’s why doctors instinctively “package” themselves in nice shirts and ties and it’s not advisable for......more

Goodreads review by Caroline on May 26, 2016

Whilst this book covered some ground I had already covered elsewhere, it nevertheless painted a good picture of our unconscious minds and motivations, which I found useful. The unconscious is a slippery critter, sliding out of our grasp nearly every time we reach for it. Various researchers have desi......more

Goodreads review by Ken on July 11, 2012

Usually I love reading books in the genre. I love learning how people make decisions and how our subconscious mind directs our behavior. This book really tries to do a good job of explaining what our subconscious is and how it influences our behavior. Yet, for me it is a little heavy on the science......more

Goodreads review by Owlseyes on March 24, 2023

This is not really the Freud’s (or Jung's) notion of unconscious; rather, another level of processing information well beyond the conscious. Drawing heavily on studies of memory (including the Münsterberg theory of memory) the author leads us to believe the uncomfortable truth that our own memory is......more

Goodreads review by John on July 07, 2016

Plenty in this book can be found in others, like "Strangers To Ourselves" or "Blink". But yeah, there was some new stuff as well. What he shared on "Blindsight" was fascinating, and there was other findings in the book that I've found interesting and have been fun to share with others. In one sectio......more

Quotes

“Clever, engaging. . . . A popular-science beach book, the sort of tome from which cocktail party anecdotes can be mined by the dozen. . . . Subliminal makes its main point well and concisely.”
—The Oregonian

“An assault against the idea that we control our decisions and our beliefs in the way that we think we do . . . A useful addition to the growing body of work arguing convincingly against the idea of the rational human brain.”
—The Daily Beast

“Mlodinow, a theoretical physicist who has been developing a nice sideline in popular science writing, shows how the idea of the unconscious has become respectable again . . . Fascinating.”
—The Economist

“This very enlightening book explores the two sides of our mental lives, with a focus on the subconscious or subliminal element. Drawing on clinical research conducted over a period of several decades and containing a number of rather startling revelations . . . the book appeals to readers with an interest in the workings of the human mind.”
—Booklist

“One of the ten books to watch out for in 2012 . . . Physicist, science writer and Hollywood screenwriter Leonard Mlodinow is out to explore how important the unconscious is in shaping the way we process the world.”
—NewScientist.com

“Mlodinow never fails to make science both accessible and entertaining.”
—Stephen Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time

“Think you know the whys and hows of your choices? Follow Mlodinow on a gorgeous journey that will make you think again.”
—David Eagleman, author of Incognito

“With the same deft touch he showed in The Drunkard’s Walk, Mlodinow probes the subtle, automatic, and often unnoticed influences on our behavior.”
—Daniel J. Simons, professor of psychology, University of Illinois, and coauthor of The Invisible Gorilla

“If you liked The Drunkard’s Walk, you’ll love Subliminal. This engaging and insightful book not only makes neuroscience understandable, it also makes it fascinating. You will look at yourself (and those around you) in a new way.”
—Joseph T. Hallinan, author of Why We Make Mistakes

“A must-read book that is both provocative and hugely entertaining. Mlodinow provides many eye-opening insights into the ways we act in business, finance, politics, and our personal lives.”
—Jerry A. Webman, chief economist, OppenheimerFunds, Inc., and author of MoneyShift

“A highly readable, funny, and thought-provoking travelogue by Mlodinow, a trusted traveler in this treacherous region, who leads us on a tour of the little-known country that is our unconscious mind.”
—Christof Koch, professor of cognitive and behavioral biology, California Institute of Technology

Awards

PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award