“The Runaway Brain: The Evolution of Human Uniqueness” by Christopher Wills examines the evolution of the human brain through the evolution of society. The book is broken up into four unique, separate sections. Christopher Wills’ theory, simplified, is thus: the human brain is so uniquely complex, we force society into ever evolving forms. To keep up with this infinitely complex society that he have created, our brains must become equally complex to match it. This natural feedback loop is what drives our brains evolution forward. This theory is the central tenant of Wills’ book, sort of the pillar that the rest of the information stands on. The book was written for a casual audience rather than a scholarly one, and it shows. Wills takes great pains to put things in simple terms for the light reader without being condescending.

Cover via Amazon

As previously mentioned, the book is divided up into four chapters: The Dilemma, The Bones, The Genes, and The Brain. The Dilemma discusses common issues and misconceptions plaguing the study of evolution, both from the public and scientific end. The Bones takes the unique approach of telling the story of a society from two sides; The first is that of an archaeologist unearthing the remains of an ancient culture. The second is the perspective of the people being unearthed by the archaeologist, in their own time period. The Genes discusses the genetics of the brain, bringing up the interesting point that most mutations are evolutionarily neutral, meaning that they are neither positive nor negative from an evolutionary perspective. The last section of the book, The Brain, discusses the uniqueness of human brains in relation to other animals in terms of complexity, tying back firmly into his proposition of The Runaway Brain.

The book was impressive to me, as a whole. The book is obviously well researched, and each chapter includes a number of personal anecdotes and stories that help to keep the reader engaged. He takes great pains to avoid the condescending, overbearingly scientific tone that texts of this nature so often assume. The four sections are wholly separate ideas, and yet they all manage to tie into his theory of The Runaway Brain with remarkable efficacy. The first chapter sets up the reader for the rest of the book, dispelling misconceptions and giving them basic information they will need for the rest of the book. The second chapter diverges in an entirely separate direction, speaking about culture as a whole, but ties back into the overall theory in that he speaks of the overarching complexity of culture as a whole. The third book dives into more directly relatable subjects, speaking of the complexity of the brain’s evolution and the various mutations and changes that can and have undergone the human mind. The final chapter takes that concept and runs with it, highlighting the ways in which the human brain is unique and expounding further on his theory of the Runaway Brain. Overall, the book avoids needless repetition and overly high-brow terms, making it a quick, entertaining, and above all a singularly educational reading experience. In my opinion, the book is worth reading if you have any interest whatsoever in the way that the human mind functions, the evolutionary process, or in an interesting read as a whole. The author certainly accomplished his goal in explaining his theory, and backing it up with hard evidence. I was pleasantly surprised by Wills’ work, and I’ll be picking up another one of his books in the near future.

To pick up a copy for yourself, go to http://www.amazon.com/Runaway-Brain-Evolution-Human-Uniqueness/dp/0465031315