The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain
- Downloads：6478
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-27 03:19:10
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Annie Murphy Paul
- ISBN：B07FKB3V5S
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
David Wineberg
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The brain is not a telephone switchboard， and it is not a computer。 It is a kingdom unto itself， ruled by the prefrontal cortex。 The PFC contains the giant lobes above the eyes， behind the forehead。 It takes 21 years for it to fully grow out， and when it does， it takes control。 The result is we only see what it wants us to see， and make connections that it allows us to make。 It is what takes away our childhood wonder and excitement， and filters out （what it considers） irrelevant and unfocused fa The brain is not a telephone switchboard， and it is not a computer。 It is a kingdom unto itself， ruled by the prefrontal cortex。 The PFC contains the giant lobes above the eyes， behind the forehead。 It takes 21 years for it to fully grow out， and when it does， it takes control。 The result is we only see what it wants us to see， and make connections that it allows us to make。 It is what takes away our childhood wonder and excitement， and filters out （what it considers） irrelevant and unfocused factors。 Humans uniquely spend their adult lives trying to overcome their own PFC’s harsh administration， mostly with alcohol。Into this intriguing scenario， Annie Murphy Paul has written a book called The Extended Mind。 Without her saying so explicitly， it is about the tricks and tips humans need and continue to refine to overcome the capacity limits set by the PFC。 As it goes on， it becomes the model for why readers need a PFC to filter out the irrelevant and the unfocused。It starts out well enough， with discussion of how using the hands in speaking adds information and ideas that speech alone does not convey。 The same goes for writing things down and sketching。 Adding perspectives adds to creativity and analysis。 Errors and solutions appear in models where the mind alone could not imagine them。Breaking up a long sit with a walk outdoors does wonders for resetting the PFC and inspiring new thoughts。 Paul quotes famous scientists and writers who say things like all their best thinking takes place during a walk。 Radiologists notice far more in X-rays when they examine them while moving around， and even on a treadmill。 They can also accurately analyze far more of them while running in place。 Many times as many， and far more accurately too。 Sadly， observation and creativity are otherwise a child’s domain。Also sadly， only 26% of children today play outdoors， missing out on the golden years of thinking and observing without being restricted by the PFC。 Their parents are too busy， or they fear kidnappers， or just plain old injury。 Far better to keep the kids indoors and have them watch television or computers。 It goes against half a million years of evolution。The high point of the book， at least for me， came very early on， where Paul writes about dementia and Alzheimer’s victims。 She says the endless so-called mind exercises， graphic novels， word games and photo albums are pointless; they do nothing to stimulate the brain back to a healthy state。 It simply continues to deteriorate。 What they （and everyone） needs is real physical exercise。 That is what causes the brain to stay functional or even rejuvenate。 The walk outdoors is far more than a change of pace; it is the solution。 A workout in the morning leaves people energized， awake and with more capacity to think things through。 Exercising after work is not unhealthy， but a waste of the good and the potential it can deliver if done earlier。She goes on about how students need to move around to absorb lessons。 The whole institution of sitting quietly all day， facing the front and not fidgeting is completely wrong。 It is the most inefficient way to educate。 And it shows。 In study after study。 Recess does more for the mind that all the classes that precede it every day。The other extreme is the noise。 Studying while wearing earbuds and with the tv on simply does not work。 The brain is not capable of separately absorbing those three streams of data in parallel。 Worse， it is highly attuned to the human voice。 People talking on tv， and singers singing their lyrics all detract from whatever the reader is meant to be absorbing， which rates a much lower priority in the brain than speech does。 It is being called the Attention Draining Effect and it results in far less progress than would be otherwise achieved。There is also an early chapter on how the brain itself tries to circumvent the PFC， pushing signals out elsewhere。 Paul focuses on professional stock traders， who use their gut instinct to make split second buy and sell decisions。 The stomach speaks to the mind with cramps。 The hands speak with sweat。 Heeding these signals， she says， can extend the mind beyond just the brain， which is not only overloaded but also restricted by the PFC。 （It also leads to the discovery there are two kinds of people in the world: those who hear their every heartbeat， and those who don’t。） She implies that paying attention to these sorts of communications is a path to success， when that is so obviously untrue （or we’d all be trillionaires by the age of 30）。 You have only to know that for four years， President Donald Trump ignored all intelligence reports and relied totally on his “gut”， which he explained， was never wrong。 And how many traders have taken down entire billion-dollar companies and even national economies by relying on their gut reaction？ This was my first disagreement with The Extended Mind， but far from the last。The book itself degenerates into a seemingly endless list of trivial facts and studies on how scientists can trick the brain into absorbing more data。 Most of the book is about that， a kind of self-help manual。 Worse， Paul overexplains everything， going on endlessly in totally skippable paragraphs where nothing new is transmitted， but the same point is hammered in again。 Studies show that making students teach others forces them to understand the topic better themselves。 Privacy screens allow workers in open office setups to be more productive。 Surveillance cameras inhibit。 Figuring things out in the mind is less thorough than also using the eyes and the hands。 Personal meetings transmit more data than electronic contact。I like to think we know all this。 That’s my gut reaction。But then the silliness starts。 People who dine together in restaurants or even just in a conference room sign contracts that are 12% more profitable than those who simply negotiate a deal。 Profitable for whom？ How would anyone know？ What was the Control？ The people who sign the deals don’t do the actual work to make the profits; the number of factors involved is infinite。 Signing a deal that comes out of dinner means not signing a similar deal with no dinner with that same partner， so there’s nothing to compare。But when Paul gets into groupthink at the end， her arguments go totally off the rails。 She cites a scientific paper authored by 5，154 scientists and academics as proof that groupthink can move mountains。 Nothing could be further from the truth。 This is an unfortunately common trick to win the game of Publish Or Perish。 Getting one’s name on a published paper is a neverending goal。 Those 5，154 scientists did not all run the same experiment。 They did not all devise the same study or discover the same theory。 They did not each contribute their own two or three words to the text of the paper。 Five thousand people did not hold a three day conference to interpret the data and decide the findings together。 The actual authors allowed the rest to co-author the paper for two very good reasons: there is safety in numbers， and they will want the favor returned when another of them actually researches and writes a paper of their own。 It happens all year long and it’s just a game to keep their name in lights （and sometimes their jobs if it is school policy）。 It has nothing whatever to do with the amazing power of groupthink to overcome the limitations of one brain alone。 It was infuriating to read this as if it were evidence of neuroscience in bloom。Then there’s the problem of what Paul missed。 She never goes into the explanation of the prefrontal cortex as rigid censor and director， which is remarkable because she talks endlessly about the effects。 She never shows how alcohol， psychedelics and other mind-altering drugs target the PFC， disconnect it and thereby restore the ability to make infinite connections in the mind。 How innumerable studies show that even just alcohol leads to far more creativity and innovation than working alone in an office。 Drinking extends the brain far more than cubicle dividers or a walk in the park。Some of the tips on learning more and better might inspire some readers。 But The Extended Mind is not definitive and not a revelation。David Wineberg 。。。more
William
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The Extended Mind is so good， it needs to be read twice to truly savour all that it offers。 This is essential reading for HR people， Learning & Development， Educators or anyone involved in designing workplaces for the future of work。Amazingly， the author has interweaved evidence based research with storytelling， history and culture into this thought provoking book。 It is heavily laden with so many nuggets I am going to buy the paperback version after reading the online version。The Extended Mind The Extended Mind is so good， it needs to be read twice to truly savour all that it offers。 This is essential reading for HR people， Learning & Development， Educators or anyone involved in designing workplaces for the future of work。Amazingly， the author has interweaved evidence based research with storytelling， history and culture into this thought provoking book。 It is heavily laden with so many nuggets I am going to buy the paperback version after reading the online version。The Extended Mind provokes thought and creates insights on how we utilise our environment， creating spaces that impact on how we teach， learn， memorise， collaborate， be innovative and creative。 。。。more
Lydia
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This book will change the way you think — about everything。 The author sent a copy of the book to me after I expressed my interest in the book on Twitter， and I am forever grateful。 In the realm of teaching and learning the implications of the research Annie Murphy Paul shares in The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain are vast。 It's making me rethink the way I teach and study and consult。 It's already caused me to change some of my own behavior。 The author's sources are solid This book will change the way you think — about everything。 The author sent a copy of the book to me after I expressed my interest in the book on Twitter， and I am forever grateful。 In the realm of teaching and learning the implications of the research Annie Murphy Paul shares in The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain are vast。 It's making me rethink the way I teach and study and consult。 It's already caused me to change some of my own behavior。 The author's sources are solid， and her writing is readable and relatable。 At first， the concept of thinking beyond the confines of our heads sounds strange， but after a few pages I think you'll find， as I did， that you can cite examples of your own to support the information she presents。 I look back on the past experiences as I read and get that aha light bulb， "So that's why that worked and that other thing didn't！" New understandings in neuroscience have already made us reevaluate teaching and learning， training and development。 The Extended Mind pushes back the boundaries of our ignorance even more。 We're going to have to deal with this new information — in learning sciences， the way we work， in office and classroom designs， and everyday life。 。。。more
Theresa
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THE EXTENDED MIND: THE POWER OF THINKING OUTSIDE THE BRAIN by Annie Murphy Paul is a powerful read， inviting readers to look more extensively at how we can best use sources outside of our brains， such as our environment and movement， to focus our attention， extend our memory， actuate creativity and more。 I found the author's findings and claims throughout the book to not only be intriguing but well-supported with extensive research and studies that she intersperses her analysis with。Paul divides THE EXTENDED MIND: THE POWER OF THINKING OUTSIDE THE BRAIN by Annie Murphy Paul is a powerful read， inviting readers to look more extensively at how we can best use sources outside of our brains， such as our environment and movement， to focus our attention， extend our memory， actuate creativity and more。 I found the author's findings and claims throughout the book to not only be intriguing but well-supported with extensive research and studies that she intersperses her analysis with。Paul divides the book into three equally page-turning parts: Part 1: Thinking With Our Bodies; Part 2: Thinking With Our Surroundings; Part III: Thinking With Our Relationships。 She uses historical anecdotes of scientists， authors and artists who've previously studied brain function to preface current research on how we can extend our brain capacity using outside sources。 As an educator， I completely appreciate the new practical advice she gives on such items as channeling anxiety when taking tests， using small movements or gestures to aid memory or understanding， how design of a room affects cognition and more。 And as a lifelong fitness enthusiast， I enjoyed reading the positive affirmations for exercise and its effect on our brain capacity。 The author's writing style is easy to follow while presenting theories we can connect to our everyday lives。 When she talks about， for instance， how we think differently socially than when we think non-socially， she gives specific examples coupled with current research。 Overall， I found this book to be useful for me professionally and personally。 I'll be recommending this book to my colleagues and friends and look forward to getting my hands on a hard copy when it is released。 I enjoyed and am thankful for the opportunity to review this helpful book。 。。。more
John
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Great I won the giveaway， can't wait to start reading Great I won the giveaway， can't wait to start reading 。。。more
Sarah
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I was sent a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an impartial review。 I had mentioned that I enjoyed her previous book but it looks like I did not actually read it。 I must have heard her on a podcast。 In any case， this is a decent popular science book， but it raises a few more questions for me。In any case， if we pay attention to the research presented in this book， we have the potential to transform the way we work and learn。 For instance， a workplace may consist of open spaces where I was sent a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an impartial review。 I had mentioned that I enjoyed her previous book but it looks like I did not actually read it。 I must have heard her on a podcast。 In any case， this is a decent popular science book， but it raises a few more questions for me。In any case， if we pay attention to the research presented in this book， we have the potential to transform the way we work and learn。 For instance， a workplace may consist of open spaces where employees can move， using kinetics and interaction to solve problems， as well as smaller， concentrated places like library study carrels where they can carry out work uninterrupted。 In other words， the modern cubicle setup is possibly the most stressful environment for our minds。As an educator， I had the most interest in discussions of education。 I have seen basic ESL instructors pair vocabulary with gestures， a technique described in this book。 I haven't determined how to do that with higher-level English or academic words。 It's possible I'm not the teacher with the vision to implement this， so I will keep looking for information。 The issue is， are we ready for this change？ Success has been achieved by people who can sit still and work in the current environment。 Changing this opens the door for many new perspectives。 What will change？ Will we let it？ I also would like more information about non-Western cultures and how learning and innovation takes place there。 I imagine we have a lot to learn from those people， and in fact， we need to learn how to live and learn alongside them。 。。。more
Claudio
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Think outside the box is an old mantra。 This is finally a book that goes int this subject， without reverting to the old cheesy example of the usual business handbooks。 Thinkinkg outside the box is actually very hard。 The human brain is limited in its ability to pay attention， limited in its capacity to remember， limited in its facility with abstract concepts， and limited in its power to persist at a challenging task。 The author shows how things we normally do not associate with thinking are in e Think outside the box is an old mantra。 This is finally a book that goes int this subject， without reverting to the old cheesy example of the usual business handbooks。 Thinkinkg outside the box is actually very hard。 The human brain is limited in its ability to pay attention， limited in its capacity to remember， limited in its facility with abstract concepts， and limited in its power to persist at a challenging task。 The author shows how things we normally do not associate with thinking are in effect an important aspect to consider， like gestures or movement， and how thinking is dependent on the environment or on the interaction we have with others。 A very interesting read， absolutely recommended。 。。。more
Ell
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