{"product_id":"9781472970992","title":"Unfit for Purpose : When Human Evolution Collides with the Modern World","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eUnfit for Purpose\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Adam Hart\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eForged by natural selection and honed by evolution, humans are perfectly adapted machines. . . for a world that no longer exists.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eUnfit for Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e, biologist and broadcaster Professor Adam Hart explores the mismatch between our fundamental biology and the modern world we have created. In each chapter, Adam explores how many biological adaptations that evolved to help us survive and thrive in a very different world are now working against us. For example, humans are superbly adapted famine survivors. Obesity might be a disease in the modern world, but it's really just a troublesome side-effect of some effective evolutionary brilliance. And in today's society, one of the biggest killers is stress. What started out as a life-saving \"fight or flight\" response in the face of bear attack might now cause headaches, loss of sex drive, depression and heart problems as we panic about missing deadlines or making sense of our work-life balance. And deep evolutionary relationships with microbes built up through an outdoor life have rapidly derailed leading to all kinds of gut and other auto-immune problems. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThroughout the book, Adam meets the scientists unraveling early human and primate evolution, the archaeologists exploring the very early stages of human society, and the clinicians and sociologists studying \"modern day\" diseases and conditions. In a world of our making, we find ourselves unfit for purpose. But all is not lost--by unpicking the evolutionary causes underpinning many of our current woes, Adam finds and tests an array of evolutionarily-informed treatments, from the straightforward to the downright weird.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This book is \u003cb\u003ea gripping and sobering reminder\u003c\/b\u003e of how much we are all governed by our genetic inheritance. So much for free will.” —\u003ci\u003eThe Mail on Sunday, 5 stars\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Adam Hart's thought-provoking, if pessimistic, book asks: how do our primate origins relate to existence in today's technological jungle? The stress response that once saved us from predators is now killing us, as we pack into our lives microstressors ranging from unsuitable foods to social media - becoming worriers rather than warriors.” —\u003ci\u003eNature\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Like countless others I've found the stresses of modern life a little overwhelming at times. \u003ci\u003eUnfit For Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e lifts the lid on the myriad of evolutionary and environmental wrong turns that now conspire to undermine our mental and physical health. \u003cb\u003eA must read \u003c\/b\u003efor those who want to understand where we're going wrong and whether we can ever hope to put things right again.” —\u003ci\u003eMatthew Wright, broadcaster\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781472970992\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Sigma","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40744313520334,"sku":"9781472970992","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_012f5d72-8225-436f-8a89-add7b2081b9b.jpg?v=1641447283","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781472970992","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}