Emotional

Part I: What Is Emotion?

1
Thought Versus Feeling

On the morning of Halloween 2014, a strange aircraft ascended high into the skies above the barren Mojave Desert. The custom-­built carbon-­fiber plane was essentially twin cargo jets flying side by side, joined at the wing. Suspended from that monstrous carrier vessel was a smaller plane dubbed the Enterprise ­an homage to Star Trek. The aim was for the cargo jet to carry the Enterprise to an altitude of fifty thousand feet, from where it would be dropped, briefly fire its engines, and then glide to a landing.

The planes belonged to Virgin Galactic, the company created by Richard Branson to carry space tourists into suborbital flight. By 2014, more than seven hundred spaceship tickets had been sold, at $200,000 to $250,000 each. This was the thirty-­fifth such test flight but only the fourth in which the Enterprise was meant to fire up its rocket, which had just been redesigned to make it more powerful.

The ascent went well. The pilot David Mackay launched the Enterprise from the underside of his carrier plane at the appointed moment. Then his eyes panned across the sky, searching for the plume of the Enterprise s rocket engine. He couldn t spot it. I remember looking down and thinking, Well that s strange, recalled Mackay, experienced enough to be wary of anything unexpected.1 But all was well. Out of his line of sight, the spaceship had indeed fired its rocket and in about ten seconds accelerated through the sound barrier. The mission was unfolding without incident.

The Enterprise was captained by a test pilot named Peter Siebold, with almost thirty years of flying experience. His ­co-­pilot, Michael Alsbury, had previously worked with eight different experimental aircraft. In some ways, the two men were quite different: while Siebold could strike ­co-­workers as aloof, Alsbury was always friendly and known for his sense of humor. But strapped into their seats atop the rocket, they functioned

Leonard Mlodinow

"Those interested in understanding how feelings unconsciously steer thought ... are in for a stimulating read. Mlodinow handles this topic astutely with compelling examples and attention to the latest research, which is quite spectacular. . . . A lively exposé of the growing consensus about the limited power of rationality and decision-making."
The New York Times Book Review

"Leonard Mlodinow ... offers a crash course, one that feels less like cramming than like a colorful tour of the behavior of humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. Most of this smart, trim volume is about the science of emotion rather than how to use it, but he doesn t miss the opportunity to dole out advice and provide opportunities for self-reflection. . . . Not only astounding but touching."
The Wall Street Journal

"Compelling. . . . This exploration of the interplay of emotion and thought is fascinating. . . . Emotional shows that rather than being counterproductive, emotions enrich our lives."
Financial Times

Synthesizing hard research, lively personal anecdotes, and input from psychologists and neuroscientists, Mlodinow tackles complex topics in a reader-friendly fashion to create a narrative that's wonderfully accessible. Understanding our emotions is a crucial step in the journey towards personal growth, and Mlodinow's remarkable book will put readers on the right track."
BookPage

[A] moving deep dive into the role of feelings in everyday life. . . . Mlodinow successfully shows how emotions can be assessed, regulated, and controlled, and powerfully concludes that understanding them is a lifelong project that s not just a science but an art. This is a must-read for fans of Daniel Kahneman.
Publishers Weekly (starred)

"Noted physicist and science writer Mlodinow brings an up-to-date view of the neuroscience surrounding emotions. . . . Reveals little-known facets of our worried,