Humanish

"Everyone who is interested in both human and animal behavior will love this book. Justin Gregg uses interesting stories to explain anthropomorphism."—Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human

"Going beyond a delightful explanation of why we dress our dogs in cute costumes, this is an engaging and timely investigation of how we interact with technology, politics, and religion through a unique narrativizing lens—demonstrating that what makes us human is what we see as human-ish."—Adam Aleksic, author of Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language

"Justin Gregg's Humanish is hilarious, engaging, informative, timely, astute, and truly addictive to read." —Alie Ward, host of Ologies podcast

"A comprehensive and enlightening look at a topic that becomes more important as the world around us becomes less human."—Adam Waytz, author of The Power of Human

"Humanish is at once a riveting read and a breath of fresh air. Justin Gregg opens our senses and our hearts to nature’s whims and to the other beings with whom we share our one and only planet. Identifying with them is a win-win for all."—Marc Bekoff, PhD, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals

"From M3gan to Companion, from spiders to sapient briefcases—to how bonding emotionally with your guitar actually increases your inclusive fitness—Humanish taught me a lot. Thanks to the jokes, I barely even realized I was being educated. Neat trick." —Peter Watts, Hugo Award winning author of Blindsight

"Justin Gregg's Humanish looks beyond whether it's right or wrong to anthropomorphize, focusing instead on what prompts us to see human qualities in the non-human world and how it affects our decision-making. Thoughtfully reported and nuanced, Gregg's book will forever change the way you look at your pets, other people, and the last, sad stuffed animal for sale on the shelf."—Tove Danovich, author of Under the Henfluence

"Filled with intriguing stories and astute explanations, this is a superb work of popular science."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Gregg’s work is both a dissection and an ode to the irresistible allure of anthropomorphism, our tendency to apply human characteristics to non-humans, whether animals, objects, AI, or God. An expert on animal cognition who also teaches improv, Gregg deftly guides us through our alternately charming, destructive and wrong-headed fantasies about everything from marine mammals to our iPhones.”—The Guardian