A Deep Breath

Peter Whybrow, Director of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, was a guest on the Charlie Rose show last night. His new book American Mania: When More Is Not Enough examines the addictive mania of consumerism so prevalent in the US, allegedly responsible for the dot-com frenzy and epidemic depression. A blend of biology and sociology with a psychological twist, his Darwinistic theme is original:

…our ability to cope in the world … is shaped by our genetic inheritance … and by the shifting social and cultural environments that we have invented for ourselves.

It sounds like a good read, although (amazingly!) I am not afflicted according to the interactive quiz. I posit that the spreading American mania (presently exalted by the nouveaux riches in China) is rooted in the fabled American dream itself, which always appears to me as too vaguely specific. What's a big house? A nice car? Adjectives are driving me insane.