The Elephant in the Brain
Type: Book
As of November 2026, The Elephant in the Brain has been mentioned in one podcast episode on Machine Learning Street Talk (Dec 2025). Central to the discussion, providing a framework for understanding the brain's evolutionary breakthroughs.
The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life is a 2018 nonfiction book by Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson. Simler is a writer and software engineer, while Hanson is an associate professor of economics at George Mason University. The book explores self-deception and hidden motives in human behaviour. The publisher's website describes the aim of the book as 'to track down the darker, unexamined corners of our psyches and blast them with floodlights'.
| Mentioned in | 1 episode on 1 podcast (as of November 2026) |
|---|---|
| First heard | Dec 2025 on Machine Learning Street Talk |
| Author | Kevin Simler, Robin Hanson |
| Published | 2018 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Subjects | Psychology, Neuroscience, Subconsciousness, Self-deception |
| ISBN | 0190495995 |
| Genre | Psychology, Neuroscience, Subconsciousness, Self-deception |
Who recommended The Elephant in the Brain?
The Elephant in the Brain came up; the most recent mention was Dec 2025 on Machine Learning Street Talk.