The Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots on the Map

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

New York Timesbestselling author ofEndure, Alex Hutchinson returns with a fresh, invigorating investigation into how exploration, uncertainty, and risk-taking shape our behavior and wellbeing. For fans ofOn TrailsandRangealike,The Explorers Genemakes the case not just that humans are wired to seek the unknown, but that thriving in the modern world depends on pushing our mental and physical boundaries to new places.

Off the beaten path, on unmarked trails, we are wired to explore. More than just a need to get outside, the search for the unknown is a specific, primal urge that has shaped the history of our species and continues to mold our behavior in ways we are just beginning to understand. In fact, the latest neuroscience suggests that exploration is an essential ingredient of human life. Exploration, it turns out, isnt merely a hobbyits our story.

In this long-awaited follow-up to hisNew York TimesbestsellerEndure, Alex Hutchinson dives headfirst into a fascinating and provocative new field of research, examining how exploration is a fundamental part of what makes us human and revealing how, even in our fully mapped modern world, the pursuit of the unknown remains an indispensable mindset in all walks of life.

And yet, it has never been easier to live an exploration-free life, without the struggle and uncertainty that true explorationof places, experiences, and ideasrequires. With the digital world designed to exploit the neural circuitry behind our drive to explore, we receive theillusionof novelty without accompanying growth. This despite mounting evidence that our lives are bettermore productive, more satisfying, and more funwhen we ditch the maps on our phones and find our own way.

From paddling the lost rivers of the northern Canadian wilderness to the ocean-spanning voyages of the Polynesians, The Explorers Genecombines riveting stories of exploration with cutting-edge insights from behavioral psychology and neuroscience. The end result offers a singular approach to finding meaning in our past struggles, embracing the possibility of failure in our future, and crucially, recognizing when our present is good enough.

Reviews

This book is AMAZING! Malcolm Gladwell on Endure Makes the case that were actually underestimating our potential, and reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits. Adam Grant, LinkedIn.com, on Endure If you want to gain insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers, and peak performers then prepare to be enthralled byAlex HutchinsonsEndure. Bear Grylls, Mt. Everest summiteer and host of NBCsRunning Wild with Bear Grylls Fascinating (and motivating). ... Hutchinson sheds light on how humans accomplish our most absurd athletic achievements. Esquire on Endure A meticulously researched profile of the physiology and psychology of athletes.... Investigates what is at the heart of the limits of mans endurance: is it the bodys mechanistic breaking point or the brains upper threshold of belief... A captivating and often moving book with something to offer readers interested in health, athleticism, neuroscience, and the human condition. Kirkus (starred review) on Endure

Author Bio

Alex Hutchinson combines a scientific background-he holds a doctorate in physics from Cambridge University-with athletic expertise-he was a world class runner, competing in National and World Championships for more than a decade. He is also an award-winning writer specializing in the intersection of science and athletic performance, and has written articles on Mt. Everest, New Zealand, Tasmania, the Australian Outback, and the Yukon for the New York Times Travel section.