The Mind Is Flat: The Remarkable Shallowness of the Improvising Brain

In a radical reinterpretation of how the mind works, an eminent behavioral scientist reveals the illusion of mental depth

Psychologists and neuroscientists struggle with how best to interpret human motivation and decision making. The assumption is that below a mental “surface” of conscious awareness lies a deep and complex set of inner beliefs, values, and desires that govern our thoughts, ideas, and actions, and that to know this depth is to know ourselves.

In this profoundly original bo...