The overarching theme of the book is stated in the title, "Instrumental Intimacy", and is the notion that the capacity for machines to read physiological (specifically, neurological) signals and thus understand feelings, moods, and states of arousal is better than the person themselves. For example, the book highlights cases in which certain companies claim they can optimize one's mental state for peak athletic performance using neurofeedback from EEG. The idea stems from research showing correlations between a specific brain states and task performance. Companies can use these research claims to suggest that peak performance can result from specific brain states, and if one can train themselves to recognize them, they can perform at higher levels. While this is a clear violation of the correlation != causation argument, this seems to be the business foundation of many of the cases in Dr. Littlefield's book. The translation of quantified body signals into subjec