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
Written by Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD and Michael E. Long
Narrated by Tom Parks
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
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.
Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD
Daniel Z. Lieberman, MD, is professor and vice chair for clinical affairs in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University. Dr. Lieberman is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a recipient of the Caron Foundation Research Award, and he has published over 50 scientific reports on behavioral science. He has provided insight on psychiatric issues for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Commerce, and the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy, and has discussed mental health in interviews on CNN, C-SPAN, and PBS. Dr. Lieberman studied the Great Books at St. John's College. He received his medical degree and completed his psychiatric training at New York University.
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Reviews for The Molecule of More
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What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a great and informative read. It covers a wide range of topics and provides interesting points of view. The book is well-researched and written in a fluid and straightforward language. Readers appreciate the transparency of the authors and the useful information they provide. It is a worthwhile read for those interested in psychology and those looking to learn more. Overall, readers find this book to be fascinating, insightful, and highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing book that really gives a lot of insight into the workings of the brain. This is an excellent read and very well written. I would recommend this to anyone who is wanting to learn more about how their brain works.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very good at explaining the science. Would appreciate if you left out political point studies but at least they tried to be not to obvious as to the politics. Very good book tho:)
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An excellent review if what dopamine does and what can happen if it gets too much play room. I wished for a little more depth, but this is a general audience book, and, as such, it's fantastic.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing, extremely insightful one of the best books I’ve read in a while
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Truly fascinating read on the role and power of dopamine. I love that this book exposes a lot of well known wisdom from the perspective of chemical activity in the brain. Great read.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best books I’ve read in recent memory! It is quite engaging and the topics make you very thoughtful after learning about them. This would be such a perfect gift too! I will be buying the hard copy for posterity’s sake.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Clear explanation it helps to understand behavior and our brain better
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best books I've ever read. Highly recommended.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best books on the explanation of dopamine I've encountered so far!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book is an amazing detailed study of dopamine and how the mind operates. Study this book and see a lot of scientific data that will help you know of your own body.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Es muy esclarecedor conocer el funcionamiento de nuestros neurotransmisores y saber porque hacemos algunas cosas como las hacemos.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. Gives you a cross sectional view of the workings of the brain especially in regards to the importance of dopamine in addition, infidelity and entrepreneurship. I definitely learned that I am hyperdopaminergic and can see how people around me fit into the hyper or hypo categories.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The best neuroscience book I have ever read would recommend
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Long y Lieberman ofrecen un ensayo sobre la forma en la que dopamina afecta a nuestro cerebro, cómo esta molécula es la molécula de la anticipación. La forma en la que la dopamina hace que antes de vivir en el aquí y en el ahora, estemos pensando en el futuro, de ahí que sea la molécula de la imaginación. Los autores apuntan a la relación que existe entre el consumo de drogas, las adicciones y la dopamina. Por último, llegan a la conclusión de que la dopamina es la molécula de los liberales en Estados Unidos, una conclusión que surge de una serie de extrapolaciones y que puede ser debatible.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ppppp0py0iviob hvvhnnknnnnb niña bb ññnnyb ojo p loop 9onn0ibbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbvbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbvvbkbkjkbbj ((888898 hi jbjj ioioiii hi inn mmmnm if
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fantastic book!!! Would listen/read it again.
Clear explanations are used throughout. Anyone with or without knowledge about dopamine and psychology will benefit by reading this. Interesting - in a good way - scientific studies and it’s finding. Not boring at all! - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a well-researched book about a fascinating subject, written in fluid, straightforward language, and perfectly narrated. A very worthwhile read!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great narration and great book! Easy to follow but lots of things to learn and think about 10/10
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It gives things in the form of universal laws and it is the best thing about it, this book could have been written in a more engaging manner by revealing more applications of the law in real life and using broad story structure ...Finally, it is a great book for knowledge seeker.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5READ THIS! All I have to say is read it, whether you are interested in relationships, work, sports, anything— this book covers it all.
I don’t know how this much information was able to be packed into one book but I loved it. So informative and SO easy to understand while still getting technical. I love that the authors were transparent about every statistic and did their best to negate any bias in their science.
Extremely well-written and USEFUL information that I will be applying to my life, school, and work. Great book for those new to psychology and those like me who constantly learn more.
You will not regret reading this. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Amazing book I learned a lot about human behavior and about myself.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really enjoyed this book! It was interesting and eye-opening to learn about the studies that have been done on dopamine.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great read! Easy to understand. Truly entertaining! I love it
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Change your mind, change your life. Not just your thoughts, understand your chemical brain and why your thoughts
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved it, good and informative, interesting points of view, comparations, data used as example, etc.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I have taken the past 2 years as an opportunity to digest as many books, documentaries, articles, podcast, and anecdotal story research as possible. My aim was to better understand the situation of the society and world I find myself apart of, and to better understand myself. This book, I believe, is the richest source of relevant root level information I have come across for the average reader. I believe this book contains the resources for a less destructive/divisive path forward.
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I couldn’t stop listening to this book! The information was presented perfectly with real-life anecdotes that surprised my intuition and stimulated the release of my dopamine. Wonderful!
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5WOWWWWW!!! Every single person should read this book, it's absolutely incredible and fascinating. Understanding dopamine will lead to a better future for all of humanity as it really seems to be our controller. If you understand it though, you can work towards a greater you and a greater world. This is one of the best books I've read!!
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Great book with too much unnecessary information that could have been shortened.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A lot of after the fact explanations that could be stretched to prove whatever the world turned up. Of course there is a lot of merit to this and it's solid science but this book stretches it to the point of horoscope level explanatory power. Show us prediction, not after the fact explanations on why Americans are awesome because they got all the adventure seeking genomes. Cherry picking examples aplenty here.