"This engrossing history merges evolutionary biology and economics to explain our spending habits" and show how coolness is at the heart of consumerism ( Mental Floss).We live in a world of conspicuous consumption, where the things we buy not only satisfy our needs, but also communicate our values, identities, and aspirations. In Cool, Steven Quartz and Anette Asp bring together groundbreaking findings in neuroscience, economics, and evolutionary ...

Two neuroscientists share a cutting-edge thesis on how biology, culture, and the environment contribute to our impulses, behaviors, and selves.This book combines cutting-edge findings in neuroscience with examples from history and the headlines to introduce the new science of cultural biology, born of advances in brain imaging, computer modeling, and genetics. Doctors Quartz and Sejnowski show how both our noblest and darkest traits are rooted in brain systems so an...