Bookshelf: The End of the Road

The Undead

By Dick Teresi

The Big Idea

The declaration of death, argues longtime science journalist Teresi, is more art than science—far more subjective than we'd like to believe. In a sweeping narrative that originated as an article a decade ago, he poses a deceptively simple question—what is death?—and then goes on to explain why the reader, doctors, or anyone else who thinks there's an easy answer should not be quite so sure.

Did You Know...?

• When people are subtly made to think about their own death, it immediately changes their behavior. In one study, judges who were given descriptions of prostitution arrests and then reminded of their own mortality set bail nine times higher than did those not similarly primed.
• Science can extend life expectancy but so far has not figured out a way to extend life span. The maximum human life span seems fixed somewhere between 115 and 120 years.
• While breathing is directed by the brain stem, heartbeat is ruled by an internal cellular pacemaker. So someone can be brain dead and still have a heartbeat—hence the term "beating-heart cadaver."

In His Own Words:

"I adore Western medicine. I trust my doctor with my life. I'm just not sure I trust her with my death."

A Very Brief History of Death

Throughout time and across cultures, we have defined and tested for the end of life in different ways.

Romans submerged bodies in warm water, rubbed them with salt, and shouted their names in a final attempt to revive them.

Hebrews forbade people from moving a corpse until signs of abdominal swelling appeared. Later, Hebraic schools of thought went back and forth on whether lack of heartbeat or failure to breathe was the best sign of death.

Renaissance doctors knew that relying on one sign of death (e.g. stiffness, lack of pulse) was problematic. The plague yielded stories of people being buried prematurely.

Eighteenth-century Europeans often tested a body for responses to painful stimuli, strong smells, and loud noises.

Nineteenth-century physicians performed a battery of tests, making use of new tools like the stethoscope. An 1885 article in the British Medical Journal, "Death or Coma?" noted the difficulty of distinguishing between the two.

Today, someone who is brain dead is legally dead. The body is given the same treatment as that of someone whose heart has stopped beating. Brain dead patients are highly valuable for their organs, which are generally in excellent shape for harvesting. "The death declaration business is not one that strives for perfection," Teresi writes, noting the primitive tools (Q-tips, ice water) that are used. As one doctor tells him: "If you waited for everything to be 100 percent, you'd never have organ donation."—Lauren F. Friedman

Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain

By Elaine Fox

The Big Idea

While all people respond to the possibility of danger or pleasure, some are predisposed to react more strongly to one than the other. But the Eeyores of the world shouldn't just give up: Brains can change.

Did You Know...?

• Optimism is an asset only when paired with a strong sense of realism. Rose-colored glasses might be fun, but they don't do us much practical good.
• Worming your way out of a tough situation is much easier when you're an optimist—happiness expands our range of thoughts and makes us more inventive.
• Positive feelings don't last forever for anyone, even optimists. But happy feelings linger longer in "sunny brains" and rarely stick in depressed ones.

In Her Own Words:

"Even the tiniest shift of focus toward the positive or the negative can tilt myriad brain circuits, strengthening or weakening connections and circuits within our rainy brain or our sunny brain." —Merel van Beeren

The Hour Between Dog and Wolf

By John Coates

The Big Idea

Most people like to think that the risks they take are carefully calculated, but Coates demonstrates that physiological input shapes many of our decisions. If the biological reactions of traders are learned in a bull market, their ingrained reflexes become potentially harmful when the market sours.

Did You Know...?

• Intuition isn't a gift; it is a skill that can be learned.
• Gut thinking is aptly named: The gut has its own nervous system that can act independently of conscious thought, functioning even if all connections to the brain are severed.
• Higher testosterone leads to riskier bets. The difference between high- and low-testosterone days adds up to as much as $1 million a year per trader.

In His Own Words:

"We have the worst of both worlds—an unstable biology coupled with a bonus scheme that rewards high-variance trading. Today, nature and nurture conspire in creating recurrent [financial] disasters." —Alan Yu

InGenius

By Tina Seelig

The Big Idea

Seelig, the director of entrepreneurship programs at Stanford, shares the exercises she uses to teach creativity to her students.

Did You Know...?

• Your work space can shape team dynamics. When students were given a puzzle, teams with only chairs collaborated immediately, while those with only tables didn't work together at all.
• Standing up is ideal for creative work; it energizes and engages you. Need ideas? Get out of your seat.
• The setup of an office matters. When a coworker is seated more than 50 feet away, your collaboration style matches that of colleagues who work in different buildings.

In Her Own Words:

"As we approach adulthood, we are expected to be serious, to work hard, and to be 'productive.' With this type of external pressure and messaging, we shut down our natural curiosity and creativity as we strive to deliver what is expected of us." —Alison DeNisco