Productivity: The Neuroscience of Reality: How Emotions Shape What We See with Dr. Lisa Barrett | POP 1222

In this book, Lisa Feldman Barrett demystifies the brain through seven short essays and a brief story on its evolution. She explains where brains came from, their structure, and how they function in tandem with other brains. The book dispels myths such as the 'lizard brain' and the battle between thoughts and emotions or nature and nurture. Barrett highlights the brain's primary role in controlling the body, discusses brain development, and emphasizes the social and cultural aspects of cognition and consciousness.

In 'Thursday Is the New Friday,' Joe Sanok provides a practical, evidence-based methodology for creating a four-day workweek. The book outlines strategies that have helped thousands of professionals reduce their work hours while increasing their income and leisure time. It includes exercises, tools, and training to help readers discard unnecessary tasks, learn efficiencies, and understand the psychological research behind the four-day workweek. Sanok shares his personal journey from working 60-hour weeks to a four-day workweek and provides inspiration from his clients and colleagues who have successfully implemented this approach.

In this book, Lisa Feldman Barrett presents a new neuroscientific explanation of emotions, overturning the widely held belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, she argues that emotions are constructed in the moment through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture. Barrett's theory, known as the 'Theory of Constructed Emotions,' suggests that emotions are highly individualized and vary by culture. The book explores how this new understanding has significant implications for fields such as psychology, medicine, law, parenting, and national security. Barrett uses clear, readable prose and practical examples to make her complex theories accessible to a broad audience.