Emotional Ignorance: Lost and found in the science of emotion

Description

Why do we have nightmares? Get hangry? Relive embarrassing memories? Find canned laughter so annoying - and fake news so effective? Emotions can be a pain. If only we were more rational, life would be a lot easier, wouldn't it? Dean Burnett certainly used to think so. And then, in April 2020, his father died of Covid-19. Suddenly, Dean was confronted with a host of powerful, unfamiliar and often unwelcome emotions. And so, he decided to put his feelings under the microscope - for science. In Emotional Ignorance, Dean takes us on his incredible journey of discovery. Along the way he reveals: - why we would ever follow our gut; - whether things really were better in the old days; - why it's so hard to stop doomscrolling; - whether women really are more emotional than men (spoiler: no). Combining expert analysis with powerful insights into the grieving process, the end result is a fascinating and endlessly entertaining account of the science underlying our emotional lives.

Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist, blogger, sometimes-comedian and author. He lives in Cardiff, and is currently an honorary research associate at the Cardiff University Psychology School. His previous books, The Idiot Brain and The Happy Brain, were international bestsellers published in over 25 countries. His Guardian articles have been read over 16 million times and he currently writes the 'Brain Yapping' blog for the Cosmic Shambles network.