Robert B. Provine is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Maryland. He sees himself as an explorer of what he calls "Small Science" and "sidewalk neuroscience" which probes the everyday behavior of human beings. There are chapters in this fascinating book on yawning, laughing, vocal crying, emotional tearing, whites of the eyes, coughing, sneezing, hiccupping, vomiting or nausea, tickling, itching and scratching, farting and belching, and prenatal behavior.
In the same way that we divide our time into exciting pursuits and boring chores, scientists have given little time or study to "undignified" human habits and behavior. Provine explains the evolutionary origins of these neglected peculiarities and instinctive acts and, and proves by the enthusiasm with which he pursues them that nothing human should be looked down upon as unimportant.
When we sit in a circle with a person who is yawning, it isn’t long before we too are doing so. Yawns are contagious and part of the human herd behavior. Although we respond to others in this regard, it is impossible to yawn on command. In the animal kingdom, turtles, snakes, and birds yawn as well.
Most of us are familiar with laughter yoga where this human habit is used to spark spiritual exhilaration, healing, and holiness. Provine points out that the roster of animals who laugh is growing and that research shows that women are attracted to men who have a good sense of humor.
The author has some interesting things to say about tears as signs of sadness, the neurological sneeze center in the brain, the playful dimensions of tickling, farting as a version of buttspeak, and the hiccupping of fetuses.
Hats off to Provine and others who believe that "everyday life is teeming with the important and the unexpected." His research helps us gain a fresh perspective on the human herd and the habits and behaviors which we tend to ignore or take for granted.
