Stuart Ritchie

Rules of behaviour

Robert Sapolsky discusses the regions of the brain governing fear and self-control. But not all his research convinces

issue 29 July 2017

  • Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

    Robert Sapolsky

    Bodley Head, pp. 800

It’s the constant dilemma of the pop science author: how to write something flashy enough to grab readers, but solid enough that it won’t be embarrassing in a few years when the science has moved on. Full scientific rigour entails tedious jargon and even more tedious equations, and nobody wants that.

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