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I ran across this book today, and found it a fascinating observation on the way we’re wired. So many viewpoints come together to support this book… yet there are a million contrasting opinions.

First, the book: Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind

The book doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but it does get the ‘ol gray matter moving a bit.

In a future post, I’ll share how I use Pyroglutamic Acid (an amino acid for the brain), DHEA and a few other elements to keep my mind from becoming rubble. Until then, enjoy this review of Kluge:

In “Kluge,” psychologist Gary Marcus looks to the many and varied foibles, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies of the human mind and concludes that our brains are not, in fact, models of brilliance and efficiency, but are rather cobbled-together systems, designed for one purpose and pressed into action for another - the classic definition of a kluge.

The most famous kluge is probably the case of the carbon scrubbers on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission. Crunched for time, engineers managed to create a system out of duct tape and socks (seriously) that worked adequately enough to clean the air on the space module - even though none of the materials they used were designed for, or optimal for, the job at hand. The result was ugly and inefficient - but it kept the astronauts alive. Likewise, Marcus argues, evolution has endowed humans with a hodgepodge of genetic material - the DNA equivalent of duct tape - with which to build all the sophisticated systems that supposedly set us apart from other creatures, like language, memory, and reason. The result is, for example in the case of language, “a vocal apparatus more byzantine than a bagpipe made up entirely of pipe cleaners and cardboard dowels.”

It’s delightful metaphors like this that make “Kluge” such an entertaining read. Marcus is a talented writer as well as an insightful psychologist, and what emerges from his theory is both fascinating and well-argued. In each chapter, he looks at one aspect of the human mind whose fallacies he traces to the kluge effect. Our tendency to make irrational choices, for instance, isn’t necessarily the case of a single, poorly designed system. Rather, it’s caused by two separate systems in conflict - our older, more primitive hindbrain, and our evolutionarily newer, deliberate forebrain. Each system on its own is pretty good at what it’s designed to do, whether reacting from instinct or reasoning through logic. It’s when the multiple layers of our brains try to work together that we get breakdowns and inconsistencies - like choosing the transient pleasure of chocolate cake over the deliberate, long-term goal of losing weight.

Marcus does a great job selling his theory. I heard echoes of Bill Bryson and Matt Ridley in his conversational, often humorous writing style. It’s clear that Marcus doesn’t just study the human mind; he loves it for the very quirks and eccentricities that define it. His book has a clear thesis - that the kluge effect is further proof of the theory of evolution - but I wish he had done a bit more to clearly connect his thesis to the evidence he provides. Still, I understand it’s a fine line to walk, and by keeping the book slim and streamlined he’s made for a much better read. Anyone interested in human psychology or evolution will greatly enjoy this well-written, well-researched account of “Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind.” (Ashley M. Sheridan)

One of the more fascinating elements of the online Amazon.com reviews is the religious one. I won’t go into that here, but it’s always fascinating to me to see people taking such rigid stances for one position or another. It’s as though to flex their beliefs a bit will destroy their world, never to return. Are we so weak as humans that we can’t appreciate conflicting viewpoints and embrace the basis for them… even if they are not resonant with us personally?

BTW: I HIGHLY recommend Steven Pinker for some additional insights. Look for that post uno momento.

To your kluged mind (and mine).
Mark Alan Effinger
Thoughtstronomer