Scarcity Brain: Fix Your Craving Mindset and Rewire Your Habits to Thrive with Enough

Michael Easter is a writer and academic whose work probes the intricacies of human behavior, health, and the modern human condition. Easter’s explorations are characterized by a rigorous blend of scientific inquiry and personal narrative, and his multifaceted approach endeavors to make complex topics accessible and engaging for a broad audience. Scarcity Brain extends his investigation into how evolutionary predispositions clash with contemporary lifestyles, particularly focusing on the pervasive sense of scarcity that shapes our decisions, behaviors, and ultimately, our well-being.

Easter’s academic background and his role as a professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, underscore his goal of merging rigorous research with narrative storytelling to engage with a broader pantheon of philosophical ideas. His ability to synthesize information from diverse fields sets his work apart, and he includes both scientific and anecdotal support drawn from fields as wide-ranging as psychology and neuroscience and anthropology and evolutionary biology. This eclectic approach sets his work apart. Scarcity Brain follows this pattern by drawing readers into a nuanced discussion of how the modern world’s abundance and technological advancements exploit the ingrained scarcity mindset of modern society.

Before Scarcity Brain, Easter garnered acclaim with The Comfort Crisis, which investigates the human tendency to avoid discomfort and examines the implications of this phenomenon for personal growth and resilience. This earlier work has been translated into multiple languages and is now embraced by a wide range of professional organizations, sports teams, and military units. The widespread popularity of the work highlights Easter’s knack for challenging prevailing norms and encouraging readers to embrace hardship as a path to improvement. Like its predecessor, Scarcity Brain is marked by Easter’s distinctive narrative style, which blends statistical analysis with an appreciation for the qualitative aspects of human experience.

Easter’s writing process is distinguished by his commitment to blending firsthand experiences with immersive research. In his preparations for writing Scarcity Brain, Easter ventured beyond the confines of traditional academic study to boldly engage with subjects as varied as astronauts, elite military personnel, and individuals living in conflict zones. These encounters imbue his work with a variety of perspectives that inform the publication’s broader exploration of scarcity’s effects on human psychology and societal structures.

In Scarcity Brain, Easter positions himself as an active participant in the narrative. This approach allows readers to journey with him as he navigates the complexities of the scarcity mindset, from the deserts of Las Vegas to the front lines of conflict in Iraq. His personal experiences and transformations lend authenticity and depth to his arguments, making the book both a scholarly exploration and an authentic human narrative.

Beyond his writing, Easter contributes to the academic community as a co-director of the Public Communications Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he also teaches. His work in academia and his contributions to public discourse reflect his dedication to understanding and addressing the challenges of the modern human condition. Easter resides in Las Vegas with his wife, where he continues to write, teach, and explore the boundaries of human potential and well-being.