16
16
Concept number four: the neural net, the group mind whose
eccentric mode of operation manipulates our emotions and turns us into
components of a massive learning machine.
Concept number five: the pecking order. The naturalist who
discovered this "dominance hierarchy" in a Norwegian farmyard called
it the key to despotism. Pecking orders exist among men, monkeys,
wasps... and even nations. They help explain why the danger of
barbarians is real, and why the assumptions of our foreign policies are
often wrong.
Five simple ideas. Yet the insights they yield are amazingly rich.
They reveal why doctors are not always as powerful as they seem, but
why we are compelled to believe in them nonetheless. They explain
how Hinduism--the religion of ultimate peace--grew from the greed of a
tribe of bloodthirsty killers, and why nature disposes of men far more
casually than women. They shed light on America's decline... and the
dangers that lie ahead of us.
Above all, they illuminate a mystery that has eternally eluded
man... the root of the evil that haunts our lives. For within the five small
ideas we will pursue there lurks a force that rules us.
<< < GO > >>
16
16
Concept number four: the neural net, the group mind whose
eccentric mode of operation manipulates our emotions and turns us into
components of a massive learning machine.
Concept number five: the pecking order. The naturalist who
discovered this "dominance hierarchy" in a Norwegian farmyard called
it the key to despotism. Pecking orders exist among men, monkeys,
wasps... and even nations. They help explain why the danger of
barbarians is real, and why the assumptions of our foreign policies are
often wrong.
Five simple ideas. Yet the insights they yield are amazingly rich.
They reveal why doctors are not always as powerful as they seem, but
why we are compelled to believe in them nonetheless. They explain
how Hinduism--the religion of ultimate peace--grew from the greed of a
tribe of bloodthirsty killers, and why nature disposes of men far more
casually than women. They shed light on America's decline... and the
dangers that lie ahead of us.
Above all, they illuminate a mystery that has eternally eluded
man... the root of the evil that haunts our lives. For within the five small
ideas we will pursue there lurks a force that rules us.
<< < GO > >>