Summary of Robert H. Lustig's The Hacking Of The American Mind

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 The pursuit of happiness is a myth. We’ve been told that happiness is the goal, but in reality, it is right there in front of us, behind the curtain of our own brain. It matters because it explains the differences between pleasure and happiness, and it explains why so many people are miserable.

#2 Pleasure is the visceral readout of activity in a specific brain area known as the reward pathway. It is the motivation for a given reward, and the consummation of that reward as a visceral experience called pleasure.

#3 The science of happiness is very complex, and there is not one definition of it. What it means to be happy is different depending on the times in which you live, your religious and cultural affiliations, and likely the language you use.

#4 Happiness has been the main stated goal of life since the Renaissance, when people were asked their primary desire. But despite our five-hundred-year gaze on the prize, as a whole we consistently miss the target.