Through prose, poetry, historical archives, and art, Brain Meets World takes readers on a hero’s journey of ideas. Across seven chapters (160 pages), articles authored by leading behavioral scientists and science writers provide glimpses into the electric, surprising, painful, and peculiar paths that our ideas take—and take us on.
We begin with how, where, and why inspiration happens to the obstacles we face and how we adapt. Then, we navigate the peaks and pains of discovery and the challenges of mastering the knowledge we acquire. From there, we reflect on where we’ve been and what we’ve learned. Upon our return, we hope we’re wiser than before. But there’s no guarantee.
The backdrop for the journey is the world of behavioral science, which offers a one-of-a-kind stage to explore the odysseys of our mind. Here, the author, setting, and main character of our ideas is the same—ourselves.
Brain Meets World
FROM THE EDITOR
CHAPTER 1 Visions
Where We Begin
Journey to Robbers Cave
CHAPTER 2 Call to Adventure
Betsy Levy Paluck, The Art of Psychology No. 1
ideas42
Journey to Robbers Cave
behavioral science & policy association
What Shape Does Progress Take? • Don’t assume it’s a straight line.
One Small Step, One Giant Heave
BI.Org • Behaviorally Informed Organizations
An Horatian Notion
CHAPTER 3 Road of Trials
Places Unexpected
KAHNEMAN-TREISMAN CENTRE FOR BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE & PUBLIC POLICY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Journey to Robbers Cave
Vaccinating in Taliban Country
THE BEHAVIOURAL INSIGHTS TEAM
CHAPTER 4 Discoveries
Unraveling the Myth of Universal Emotions
Character LAB
Journey to Robbers Cave
IRRATIONAL LABS
Finding Lucy in the Mind of Lennon
Sound Becomes Immortal
BVA NUDGE CONSULTING SUCCESSFUL BEHAVIORAL CHANGE
When It All Became Apparent
CHAPTER 5 Mastering Two Worlds
Behavioral Science in the Backcountry • The Decades-Long Quest to Overcome “The Human Factor” in Avalanche Deaths
Journey to Robbers Cave
Penn Master of Behavioral and Decision Science
A Cognitive Labor of Love
Busara Center for Behavioral Economics
The Brain—Is Wider than the Sky
CHAPTER 6 Reflections
Psychologists Go to War
Journey to Robbers Cave
Principles for the Application of Human Intelligence
THE BEHAVIOURAL ARCHITECTS
Goop Happens
CONVERGENT BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE INITIATIVE
To Nudge, or Not to Nudge
CHAPTER 7 Re-Visions
Social Science, Ideology, Culture, & History
Journey to Robbers Cave
Dulce et Decorum Est
Is Everything BS?
Behavioral Science in a Future, Far, Far Away
Poets to Come