Much of what motivates us and drives our behavior is hard wired into our brains, Eagleman claims, and he provides several examples to support his argument. Experiments on babies indicate they show a tendency to look at faces. Humans seem to be predisposed, without any prior experience or learning, to be attracted to faces. Newborns also show evidence of recognizing and being attracted to the smell of their mother.

1. Do you think you are motivated by your thoughts or by something hard wired into your brain? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. If motivation is hard wired into us, what do you think is the reason some people force themselves to do something they do not want to do because they think it is the right thing to do? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. Discuss a situation in which you think you were driven or motivated to do something you did not want to do. Do you think it was you genes that drove you? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Often, authors will write about "what they know," and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:

1. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Eagleman.

2. What in Eagleman's background may have helped him in writing Incognito? What may have influenced the way he depicts various characters and scenes?

3. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her books? Why or why not? Give examples.

Essay Topic 3

While there are many competing aspects of the brain Eagleman argues, he focuses on two which he labels the "rational" and "emotional." The rational mind is focused on analyzing the outside world while the emotional mind looks inward. He presents the results of an experiment that pits these two rivals against one another. Subjects are presented with a fictional situation where allowing one person to die would save the lives of five others. In one version of the situation, the person would have to pull a lever to move a runaway train onto a track where it would kill one person but miss killing five. In this version, most people agree they would pull the lever, as the loss of one life is preferable to the loss of five. In another version, however, the situation is presented so that the person would actually have to push one person from an overhanging bridge to stop the train that would otherwise kill five people. Subjects found this version more difficult. The experimenters concluded that the emotional aspect of actually touching a person and pushing them to their deaths overrode the rational computation that it was better to lose one life than five lives.

1. Which mind do you think is more reliable, the rational or the emotional? Why? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. Discuss a situation where you made a decision with your emotions rather than your logic. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. Do you think you would have the same problem with pushing a person off a bridge as the people in this experiment? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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