Deep analysis of emotions
343118
So cute! On point with the processing and sharing of emotions. I use it in my interpersonal communication course to teach emotional communication. Plus, the voices are amazing! A friend described it as the first few minutes of the movie Up! for the entire 2 hours. My students disagree and many have bought the movie to re-watch on their own time.
3492422
Combining analysis with art, this book reflects both a deep emotional and a deep intellectual understanding of its topic and stimulates reflection. Dr. Schouten and Mr. Silver bring a disciplined readability to their exploration of psychopathy and its close relatives, not simply describing behavior but placing it in experiential contexts that are relevant and accessible to the lay reader. As a psychiatrist I was impressed by the documentation and nuanced discussion. Medical schools would do well to include this book in their curriculum and psychiatry residents will find a clear and valuable guide.
965746
AN OUTSTANDING NEW BOOK, WITH DEEP THOUGHT AND LASTING IMPRESSIONS. It puts you through a wide range of emotions, and the surprise ending leaves you with a tear in your eye.
3469859
This book is wonderful and has been a huge help to me in dealing with some difficult and repetitive emotions. The basic premise of the book is that each emotion, even the painful ones, actually has a purpose and a useful function. Each one brings a message, gifts and challenges, and the author suggests practices to help make the most of these.

A couple great points I found really helpful:

Emotions are meant to run a fluid course, rather than being repressed or stuck for  days or years.

All emotions are true. The reason you are upset or angry may be a story that is not true, but the emotion you are feeling is true for you in that moment. Honor your emotions and give yourself permission to feel what you are feeling (emphasis here on feel, not act impulsively).

Words like unhappiness or depression are frequently used as catch-all terms for a huge variety of emotions, anxieties, issues etc. By digging a little deeper into the feelings underneath we can uncover some amazing insight.

Amazing and fascinating book!
3864782
This is a well-researched and informative book.  It provides a much more up-to-date view of emotions than those that now dominate popular and professional thinking.  The "Theory of Constructed Emotions" that the author presents is well-supported and the book is a very worthwhile read for those interested in emotion.
  My only issue is the emphasis that is placed on the idea of "predictive neurons" -- the idea that our neurons are constantly making "best guesses" and predicting what we will experience, and then using "prediction errors" to initiate body movements.  A more straightforward and understandable approach called Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) seems to be a better grounding for the first part of the book.  I say this because, in addition to being "good theory" (as expressed in my book "Your Behavior", pp. 213-14), many PCT concepts concerning the importance of perception, error signals, hierarchical arrangements of neurons, circular processing loops, and other areas overlap with the "predictive processing" approach that the author presents, the major difference being that rather than neurons "predicting the future," PCT indicates that sensory neuron signals are compared with reference neural signals (expressing homeostatic set points, purposes, goals,... that we have) with important differences/errors, if any, initiating our actions.
3431355
The ''Emotion Machine'' by Marvin Minsky is an introduction to how our minds work.
An endeavor to understand mind (thinking, intellect) in terms of its design (how it is
built, how it works).
Sure, the inner workings of the mind sometimes appear to be impervious to any kind of
scientific approach. Routine stuff like making mental models of the world, design plans,pursue goals and feel desires aren't all that routine, when you think about it. And the way it all plays together - from simple, instinctive kinds of thought to more complex forms, such as consciousness or self awareness - is obviously very complex.

It would be very easy to get stuck in too much detail or to be too superficial. But somehow Minsky finds the right balance. So overall, the Emotion Machine is a brilliant introduction to how our minds work.

Often he will give us an idea about what must be going in computational terms, and then shield us from the usual deluge of ''neuro-technical'' terms. Because (in his own words) ''research on the (actual nitty gitty of the) brain is advancing so quickly that any conclusion one might make today could be outdated in just a few weeks.'' In one reviewers words: ''The Emotion Machine rewards careful reading. You'll learn a lot about how your mind works, even if you won't be all that much wiser about what is actually going on within your brain.'' :-)

Nevertheless, the book is obviously based on the latest advances in computer science, psychology,  neuroscience, engineering etc. And certainly, his book is not a bad place to start if one wants to be a little wiser on what goes on inside our heads.
A wonderful book.

-Simon
3735961
I like some of the information about human emotions. This is quite a scholarly book and seems more like a dissertation than a book to enjoy reading. Helpful in many ways, though, especially when it comes to jealousy.
2909217
This is the best compilation on Opinion Mining and Sentiment Analysis I've seen so far. It`s full of references to relevant papers and tackle the subject in a very direct and clear way.
This is a very good book  for those starting the research in the field.
245846
Ayn Rand says one must stir the emotions to activate the mind.  Michael stirs the emotions well to allow the reader to hopefully gather useful information.
652930
This is a book whose stories are crafted around some of the most powerful of human emotions - despair, regret, jealousy, rage, resentment and love.  If you have ever felt like you were the only person to have pursued a misconceived path or experienced loss, Swim Back to Me is there to justify your experiences; the book's characters are ready to commiserate with you.

Swim Back to Me is not a necessarily uplifting read.  The six stories are built on raw emotion.  When, for example, author Ann Packard explores the concept of regret, it is  monumental in nature and origin.  The regret the author paints are the lifetime regrets - the regrets that keep us up at night.  Who did I become and why did I not become another?  What particular decisions did I make that could have altered everything?

Swim Back to Me's six stories are all compelling and believable.  Three of my favorite stories were "Molten", "Her Firstborn" and "Jump".  In "Molten" a mother is in torment over the loss of her son.  In response to her sadness, she does something that some might classify as lamentable.  At the same time, however, what the mother does is what most of us would likely want to do.  In "Her Firstborn" a soon-to-be-father must learn how the death of his wife's first baby, from a previous relationship, will impact them as they make preparations to welcome a new infant.  In "Jump", a young woman accepts an offer of help from a younger co-worker, which leads to an evaluation of personal life decisions.

Packer's attention to detail and careful character building add to the compelling aspects of her stories.  These are characters that could be your relatives or neighbors that share similar problems and have similar worries.  These are characters that have to learn to cope with what they have been dealt - just like we all do.
4422636
This is a tough read because of the complexity of emotions but So So well-done. A must for anyone who wonders if they're in an unhealthy relationship.
577789
What makes us similar to animals?  What makes us different?  What makes us different from each other?
Whatever your answers to these vague questions, it will probably involve some aspect of Emotion, and this book evaluates the emotional links that we share and that differentiate us all.

The author indicates emotion is especially significant in sharing experience, and in deciding with whom we share that experience.  Almost no reasonable person would choose to abuse a human being of low intellectual capacity who looks at us with a trusting smile, and almost no one would sympathize with an intellectual equal who treats such a person with cold cruelty.  Nevertheless, we often categorize other creatures by their emotional response to us, and often find we are amazingly wrong.  The author suggests that when we expand our awareness, we are often more accurate and positively rewarded beyond our expectations. We can never treat animals as equals, but we can never degrade them without degrading ourselves. If we should discover creatures who are our technological and intellectual superiors, we should hope they will treat us better than we have treated other conscious creatures.
It's an interesting thesis, and it's interesting to think of the alternatives.
2022384
Daniel capture the reader with an easy and yet very full understanding of how emotions come into our life and what role they have. I can recommend this book to anyone who like to understand the human nature a bit better. Things like the human body how it work in emotional situation is presented with ease and interest!
2381040
This is an excellent book. Very well written. The book shows you step by step how our emotions and thinking patterns work together. Negative thoughts and feeling. Why we think the way we do and how to better deal with negative thoughts and feeling and why we think this way in the first place. It's all in here. The power of positive thinking. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
1234213
This is a great little informational book on one's emotions and how to analyze where they're really coming from, how to contain them, and how to understand others' emotions as well. You'll find information on deciphering between feelings and emotions, how to manage emotions during conflicts, how much our emotions can actually take out of us, and figuring out how things in every day life affect you, like dreams, other people, not taking care of yourself, and much more. I was looking for something a little more advanced, but this is a great beginner's book for anyone looking to get more in touch with themselves and read other people more naturally. I think everyone that works with people or who is close to their family, or further, wants to determine why they act the way they do sometimes, to read this book.

I received this book on Kindle at a discount from the seller.
2524702
Emotional Intelligence is the study of our ability to control emotion. How does our emotional wiring work in our rain; Are emotions a good indication of the "right" thing to do; Why IQ and emotional intelligence are two essential attributes to have.

Daniel Goleman, shows us through his book, starts by explaining how emotions came about in the human evolution and development. How do emotion helped our species to survive; shows us how our mind works. Throughout the book, actual real-life stories are presented backed with empirical research. In the final part of the book, he goes on to show us how we should lead our child through emotional development and tries to persuade the education society to teach emotions in class.

We have two system of thought, the rational, also known as the conscious mind and the unconscious/emotional mind. We usually are very aware of what our rational mind is thinking and doing but it is the emotional mind that we have not mastered yet, and we are usually not aware of its existence and its control over our conscious mind. When we are extremely upset, the emotional mind will occupy most of our thoughts and we become ruled by feeling, some of the worst irrational outbursts are cause by emotional hijacking.

Sometime after an emotional outburst, we may find that what we did was totally unlike our usual behavior. Emotions were built into our system because our conscious mind operates too slowly to think of a solution. Imagine our ancestor, hearing the steps of the lion approaching, immediately his first reaction would be to run. If the conscious mind were to evaluate the cause of the sound it would be too late to react. Thus emotions serve to protect us.

Emotions, feelings can make us more productive and it is what that makes us human. We need a balance of emotions in our life. Emotions to be sensitive to others, to feel empathy, and enthusiasm to look forward to the future. People, who have too little emotional ability, are seen as cold and lace of social grace. On the other hand, people who have too much of it, might be too sensitive and misjudge other peoples' intention. Sometimes we tend to perceive negatively what others think about us, but turn out to be nothing.

This book is truly an invaluable book for understanding how emotions work in humans, Especially important are the examples given on the do and don'ts of raising a child through the first few years of childhood. I would definitely make this a compulsory book for all mums and dads to be. The topics covered are very exhaustive although some may find the style of writing a bit "dry." The case studies and examples shown in this book are invaluable and interesting. It will definitely open up your mind.
3099194
This is a really interesting take on the study of emotion in the 18th century, and as a resource to understanding how 18th century people not only felt but emoted, I think it's fantastic.  The prose is challenging but interesting, and while I would not call it comprehensive, it's an excellent addition to the intellectual and emotional history of the Atlantic World.  It very much sheds light on the terms and means in which the period framed its critical personal and political issues.  Not light reading by any stretch, but highly useful to the specialist.