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The Molecule of More

How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity - And Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race

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The Molecule of More

By: Daniel Z. Lieberman MD, Michael E. Long
Narrated by: Tom Parks
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About this listen

Why are we obsessed with the things we want and bored when we get them?

Why is addiction “perfectly logical” to an addict?

Why does love change so quickly from passion to disinterest?

Why are some people diehard liberals and others hardcore conservatives?

Why are we always hopeful for solutions even in the darkest times - and so good at figuring them out?

The answer is found in a single chemical in your brain: dopamine. Dopamine ensured the survival of early man. Thousands of years later, it is the source of our most basic behaviors and cultural ideas - and progress itself.

Dopamine is the chemical of desire that always asks for more - more stuff, more stimulation, and more surprises. In pursuit of these things, it is undeterred by emotion, fear, or morality. Dopamine is the source of our every urge, that little bit of biology that makes an ambitious business professional sacrifice everything in pursuit of success, or that drives a satisfied spouse to risk it all for the thrill of someone new. Simply put, it is why we seek and succeed; it is why we discover and prosper. Yet, at the same time, it’s why we gamble and squander.

From dopamine’s point of view, it’s not the having that matters. It’s getting something - anything - that’s new. From this understanding - the difference between possessing something versus anticipating it - we can understand in a revolutionary new way why we behave as we do in love, business, addiction, politics, religion - and we can even predict those behaviors in ourselves and others.

In The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity—And will Determine the Fate of the Human Race, George Washington University professor and psychiatrist Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, and Georgetown University lecturer Michael E. Long present a potentially life-changing proposal: Much of human life has an unconsidered component that explains an array of behaviors previously thought to be unrelated, including why winners cheat, why geniuses often suffer with mental illness, why nearly all diets fail, and why the brains of liberals and conservatives really are different.

©2018 Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, and Michael E. Long. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Publishing by arrangement with BenBella Books.
Biological Sciences Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Inspiring Human Brain Mental Health Young Adult Business

Critic Reviews

"One might consider it Freakonomics for the mind."— Greg Roth, "The Idea Enthusiast"

"Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long have pulled off an amazing feat. They have made a biography of a neurotransmitter a riveting read. Once you understand the power and peril of dopamine, you’ll better understand the human condition itself.” —Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and When

"Meet a molecule whose fingerprint rests upon every aspect of human nature—from desire and drugs to politics and progress. Lieberman and Long tell the epic saga of dopamine as a page-turner that you simply can't put down."—David Eagleman, PhD, neuroscientist at Stanford and New York Times bestselling author

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My review

What an excellent audiobook! It is so informative, had had structure and flow. Very interesting content that can be applied to many areas of life!
Thank you!

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Nrilliant listening

I'm so impressed with this audiobook, truly fascinating stuff. Definitely give it a go if you're curious about dopamine.

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very interesting

very good, i hope this book is expanded in the future, facinating concepts and ideas

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An important book for understanding our modern wor

The book gives an overview and insight in to our brain from the Morphin motivation point of view. it's worth a least one if not two reads as can be complicated in parts. But gives answers too.

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eye opening

information from the book seems mostly legitimate but some of the facts may be construed and seen in another way however the book was eye-opening and very interesting to say the least

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Important Book

Very interesting stuff in here that is more than just description and explanation. Has some compelling insight into how to harness and to balance out dopamine for a more harmonious existence.

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Unhappy but don't know why.. listen to this

Great book! Practical and interesting backed by science. It explains why sometimes we just can't get enough and are still unhappy.

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Great book

Great book. It is an easy explanation of the complicated working of dopamine in brain functioning.

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Riveting

If you've ever wondered why nothing seems to be ever enough and you'have been looking for a cerebral explanation alongside a spiritual one, this is the book for you.

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Awesome but...

This is a pretty great book. Incredibly interesting and very illuminating. It offered significant understanding of my own behaviour and that of others. One thing I would value would be more insight into practical ways that we can successfully influence the dopamine and HN circuits.
This book was definitely worth the time.

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