53 pages • 1 hour read
Laurence GonzalesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Provide some examples of implicit and explicit learning, and explore how these two distinct types of learning inform people’s behavior when under pressure.
According to Gonzales, how do mental models influence people’s actions? Read a nonfiction account of survival and analyze the survivors’ actions, detailing how they either adhered to or deviated from mental models.
Gonzales employs many binaries—mind and body, emotions and reason, civilization and nature, and more. Is his overall mentality dualistic, or does he use these binaries merely for conceptual convenience? Cite examples from the text to develop your answer.
Gonzales claims that some psychologists lump people into two categories: rule followers and independent thinkers. Which type of person is more likely to survive an ordeal? Why? Explain, citing at least two real-life examples in which that “category” of person survived due to their temperament.
The author frequently uses real-life anecdotes to demonstrate his points. Select an anecdote from the author’s life that showed his own fallibility. Which point about the brain or human behavior does this story illustrate? Answer in detail.
Observe how Gonzales relays the stories of survivors. Aside from figurative language, what literary devices does he employ? What is the effect? Cite specific examples.
Is Gonzales’s book purely informative and strategic, or does the author imply value judgments about what is “right” and “wrong”? Your answer should address his thematic concern with humility and respect for nature.
How does Gonzales make his case that humor is an essential part of dealing with challenges and trauma? Do you agree or disagree? Why?
How does Gonzales use the Tao te Ching and other philosophical or spiritual texts to add depth and interest to his otherwise factual and scientific work? Cite at least three quotations from the book and connect their messages with Gonzales’s arguments.