Wray Herbert
Our lives are composed of millions of choices, ranging from trivial to life-changing and momentous.
Luckily, our brains have evolved a number of mental shortcuts, biases, and tricks that allow us to quickly negotiate this endless array of decisions
I grew up on the Jersey shore, and besides loving all things that taste and smell of saltwater, I developed an early curiosity for life sciences.
In fact, I was originally a pre-med major before my 60′s-style search for meaning and my love of all things bookish drew me into more literary pursuits. I loved school so much that I kept going until I could no longer afford it.
Then, in the mid-70s, I moved to Washington, DC, to try my hand at journalism—which I’ve been doing ever since.
Passions, circumstances and opportunity intersected to shape my journalism career, but I have always had a strong focus on human behavior and health.
I started out writing for the National Institute of Mental Health, where I was immersed in cutting-edge work on the brain and neuroscience.
My subsequent jobs included: psychology editor at Science News; editor-in-chief of Psychology Today, health and science editor at US News & World Report; columnist for Newsweek, Scientific American Mind and, most recently, the Huffington Post.
I now write two popular psychology blogs—”We’re Only Human” and “Full Frontal Psychology.” Each of these jobs has reinforced my belief that every story, whether it is about war, or love, or crime, or economics,
is at its heart about human psychology—how each of us uses our brain and mind to interpret the world, make choices, and learn from our experience.