If you’ve ever wondered how you came to be peering out of your singular set of eyeballs, enjoying (or not) your unique existence, science has answers. Evidence stretches from the Big Bang to the here and now, and what it shows is that personal identity is a gene-induced sensation, an evolutionarily advantageous self-narrative, a fake ID.
It’s a misperception that Einstein labeled “an optical illusion of consciousness.” Writer George Eliot (real name Mary Ann Evans) said: "Will not a tiny speck very close to our vision blot out the glory of the world, and leave only a margin by which to see? I know no speck so troublesome as self."
THIS TIME IT'S NOT PERSONAL lays out how and why that happened, where it might lead, and what we can do about it. It’s a scientific self-help book packed with humor and scholarship.
"A funny, irreverent tour through the salient points of scientific knowledge…in the best tradition of popular-science accounts from writers like Carl Sagan and Timothy Ferriss, taking complex subjects, breaking them down into more basic elements, and presenting them in fast-paced, engaging prose…the whole vital enterprise of modern science is given a very lively presentation…a must-read for the scientifically curious." Kirkus Reviews
"Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, This Time It's NOT Personal: Why Science Says Get Over Yourself is an inherently fascinating read that is as informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Especially recommended for non-specialist general readers with an interest in science in particular, and how human beings came about and our relative place in the universe.” Midwest Book Review
