Book Club
This page will be updated to stay current with the book club.
Details
Every month, we'll choose a book to read on some topic related to Cognitive Wonderland. It might be science, philosophy, psychology, or something else. There is an active Discord chat (for paid subscribers) to discuss that book. I'll post my own notes and thoughts as I read and encourage others to do the same.
At the end of the month, I'll put together a book review, collecting my overall thoughts and takeaways from the book (and any discussion it spurred in the chat) into a post for paid subscribers. I may include recommendations of other related reading.
See below on how to join.
Current Read (August, 2026): The Mind is Flat
From the back cover: Psychologists and neuroscientists struggle with how best to interpret human motivation and decision making. The assumption is that below a mental “surface” of conscious awareness lies a deep and complex set of inner beliefs, values, and desires that govern our thoughts, ideas, and actions, and that to know this depth is to know ourselves. In this profoundly original book, behavioral scientist Nick Chater contends just the opposite: rather than being the plaything of unconscious currents, the brain generates behaviors in the moment based entirely on our past experiences. Engaging the reader with eye-opening experiments and visual examples, the author first demolishes our intuitive sense of how our mind works, then argues for a positive interpretation of the brain as a ceaseless and creative improviser.
How to join
If you’re interested, you’ll have to become a paid subscriber if you aren’t one already. I’m trying to make this accessible while creating a bit of friction to keep it limited to a smaller, more engaged group. Below you’ll find a range of offers following a “Pay What You Can” model. Pick whatever you’re comfortable with—whatever you choose, you’re helping support Cognitive Wonderland, and I’m happy to have you aboard.
Pay What You Can subscription offer
Pick whatever level you’re comfortable supporting Cognitive Wonderland at. Whatever you choose, you’ll maintain that discount for as long as you are subscribed.
Previous Books
July 2026: Everything is Predictable by Tom Chivers
June 2026: How Emotions Are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett
May 2026: The Mind of a Bee by Lars Chittka
April 2026: The Mind’s I by Daniel Dennett and Douglas Hofstadter
March 2026: Psych by Paul Bloom
February 2026: Metazoa by Peter Godfrey-Smith
January 2026: Touching a Nerve by Patricia Churchland
December 2025: The Idea of the Brain by Matthew Cobb
October 2025: Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal.
November 2025: An Immense World by Ed Yong
To see all logistics posts (e.g. polls, announcements about the next read, etc.) see the Book Club Logistics posts.