Review of
Kluge
in
Kirkus Reviews,
A shot across the bow of intelligent design by a rising
student of the mind.
Marcus (Psychology/NYU; The Birth of the Mind: How a Tiny
Number of Genes Creates the Complexities of Human Thought,
2003, etc.), a student of Steven Pinker's, ventures onto
that scholar's territory in this work of pop science. The
book is wholly accessible to the nonspecialist but likely
to attract those already acquainted with amygdala, gyral
cortex and other landmarks in the cerebral map, who won't
find much that's new but will find familiar matters
elegantly and entertainingly expressed. The construction of
the mind, Marcus asserts, confounds any notion of
intelligent design, which presumably should be, well,
intelligent. Instead, the brain is a textbook example of a
"kluge," which computer scientist Jackson Granholm defines
as "an ill-assorted collection of poorly matching parts,
forming a distressing whole." So are other parts of the
body, Marcus notes. The plumbing of the male organ is much
more circuitous than is strictly required, while third
molars and aching backs speak to the vestigial inefficiency
of our makeup. But it is the mind and its manifestations
that most occupy Marcus, particularly the memory, "the
single factor most responsible for human cognitive
idiosyncrasy." Given that our survival hinges on being able
to remember such things as how to operate a ripcord or a
brake, it is strange that the memory is so faulty; chalk up
our inability to find the car keys to layer upon layer of
adaptive shingles on the roof of the mind. Just so, our
propensity for doing harmful things such as smoking or
drinking too much comes with a whole platform of
rationalizations and denials, also helpfully provided bya
few million years of primate evolution. Our kluge-ridden
language, mixed up with "generics" and "quantifiers" and
all sorts of irregularities, doesn't help matters much.
Those wondering why we cling to inane ideas and have no
self-control may find comfort in knowing that it's because
"hot" brain systems dominate cool reason-thanks to which,
Marcus notes, "carnage often ensues.
A meaty little book.