A successful Wall Street trader turned neuroscientist reveals how
risk taking and stress transform our body chemistry
Before he became a world-class scientist, John Coates ran a
derivatives trading desk in New York City. He used the expression
“the hour between dog and wolf” to refer to the moment of
Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation traders passed through when under
pressure. They became cocky and irrationally risk-seeking when on
a winning streak, tentative and risk-averse when cowering from
losses. In a series of groundbreaking experiments, Coates
identified a feedback loop between testosterone and success—one
that can cloud men’s judgment in high-pressure decision-making.
Coates demonstrates how our bodies produce the fabled gut
feelings we so often rely on, how stress in the workplace can
impair our judgment and even damage our health, and how sports
science can help us toughen our bodies against the ravages of
stress. Revealing the biology behind bubbles and crashes, The
Hour Between Dog and Wolf sheds new and surprising light on
issues that affect us all.
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The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: How Risk Taking Transforms Us, Body and Mind