The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-22 11:54:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Daniel J. Levitin
- ISBN：0147516315
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Summary
“Smart， important， and， as always， exquisitely written。” —Daniel Gilbert， author of Stumbling on Happiness
Readers of Daniel J。 Levitin’s two previous New York Times bestsellers have come to know and trust his unique ability to translate cutting edge neuroscience into an informative and entertaining narrative。 Now Levitin turns his attention to an issue that affects everyone in the digital age: organization。 It’s the reason that some people are more adept than others at managing today’s hyper flow of data。 The Organized Mind explains the science behind their success and—with chapters targeted specifically to business readers—shows how all of us can make small but crucial changes to regain mastery over our lives。
Readers of Daniel J。 Levitin’s two previous New York Times bestsellers have come to know and trust his unique ability to translate cutting edge neuroscience into an informative and entertaining narrative。 Now Levitin turns his attention to an issue that affects everyone in the digital age: organization。 It’s the reason that some people are more adept than others at managing today’s hyper flow of data。 The Organized Mind explains the science behind their success and—with chapters targeted specifically to business readers—shows how all of us can make small but crucial changes to regain mastery over our lives。
Reviews
Rajan
，
This book is confusing like most self help books。 It talks of information overload management。 However it is loaded with too much unnecessary and useless information。 It is a textbook of probability。 Useless book。 Contrary to what is promised。 "Part of the answer has to do with how comfortable we are in allowing ourselves to enter the daydreaming mode under pressure of time。 Most people say that when they’re in that mode， time seems to stop， or it feels that they have stepped outside of time。 Cr This book is confusing like most self help books。 It talks of information overload management。 However it is loaded with too much unnecessary and useless information。 It is a textbook of probability。 Useless book。 Contrary to what is promised。 "Part of the answer has to do with how comfortable we are in allowing ourselves to enter the daydreaming mode under pressure of time。 Most people say that when they’re in that mode， time seems to stop， or it feels that they have stepped outside of time。 Creativity involves the skillful integration of this time-stopping daydreaming mode and the time-monitoring central executive mode。 When we think about our lives as a whole， one theme that comes up over and over is whether we feel we made any contributions with our lives， and it is usually the creative contributions， in the broadest sense， that we’re most proud of。 In the television series House， Wilson is dying of cancer， with only five months to live。 Knowing he’s going to die， he implores Dr。 House， “I need you to tell me that my life was worthwhile。”We learn that his sense of his life’s worth comes from having effected new and creative solutions for dozens of patients who wouldn’t otherwise be alive。 Achieving insight across a wide variety of problems—not just word problems but interpersonal conflicts， medical treatments， chess games， and music composition， for example—typically follows a pattern。 We focus all our attention on the aspects of the problem as it is presented， or as we understand it， combing through different possible solutions and scenarios with our left prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate。 But this is merely a preparatory phase， lining up what we know about a problem。 If the problem is sufficiently complex or tricky， what we already know won’t be enough。 In a second phase， we need to relax， let go of the problem， and let networks in the right hemisphere take over。 Neurons in the right hemisphere are more broadly tuned， with longer branches and more dendritic spines—they are able to collect information from a larger area of cortical space than left hemisphere neurons， and although they are less precise， they are better connected。 When the brain is searching for an insight， these are the cells most likely to produce it。 The second or so preceding insight is accompanied by a burst of gamma waves， which bind together disparate neural networks， effectively binding thoughts that were seemingly unrelated into a coherent new whole。 For all this to work， the relaxation phase is crucial。 That’s why so many insights happen during warm showers。 Teachers and coaches always say to relax。 This is why。" 。。。more
Nadia
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dnf There are some good bits， but the presentation of information is ironically all over the place
Nancy
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There is a lot to unpack here - I don't recommend listening to it as an audiobook unless you've got a notebook nearby。 There is a lot to unpack here - I don't recommend listening to it as an audiobook unless you've got a notebook nearby。 。。。more
Nicole Hillyer
，
A lot of interesting ideas in here for better organizing。 As well as lots of information for understanding how our brains work。
Katie
，
I enjoyed this book that explains why our brains do the things they do， and organizational strategies to deal with it。 There is definitely a lot more science than you normally see in a “life hack” book， but I enjoyed that！ The amount of type he references the importance and value of getting an assistant brought down the relatability for me。
Alok Pepakayala
，
For a book titled organized mind， the book is not up to my expectation， it could have been more concise。 After just a few weeks， all I can remember about it is that grouping and categorization， affordances/offloading information from our mind， we are sensitive only to changes， being not able to understand large data and probability correctly etc。， but overall it was still very informative and I liked what I read， I would totally recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how we think。
Hélder Filipe
，
The first 150 pages were difficult， but the rest of the book is amazing。 One of the best books about learning and memory。
Andreea
，
This book feels like the author's junk drawer， but it can teach you a thing or two about neuroscience， critical thinking， and how to approach data。 This book feels like the author's junk drawer， but it can teach you a thing or two about neuroscience， critical thinking， and how to approach data。 。。。more
Hugh
，
I found the first chapters to be fascinating and exactly what I expected from the title。 A lot of the subsequent material dealt with organizing companies and organizations。 For example， there were some paragraphs on how to craft the perfect backup system so that computer files don't get lost。 While that is relevant to staying organized， it seemed to have little to do with the how and why of "thinking straight in the age of information overload。" I found the first chapters to be fascinating and exactly what I expected from the title。 A lot of the subsequent material dealt with organizing companies and organizations。 For example， there were some paragraphs on how to craft the perfect backup system so that computer files don't get lost。 While that is relevant to staying organized， it seemed to have little to do with the how and why of "thinking straight in the age of information overload。" 。。。more
April
，
Too scientifically written based on the subject & 500 pages could've been cut in half。 It was very interesting to read about cognitive behavior ; how it applies to organization and other subjects Too scientifically written based on the subject & 500 pages could've been cut in half。 It was very interesting to read about cognitive behavior ; how it applies to organization and other subjects 。。。more
Julia V。
，
Unnecessarily long。 If I had a disorganized mind， I don't think this book would have helped。 Unnecessarily long。 If I had a disorganized mind， I don't think this book would have helped。 。。。more
Jennifer
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Those who say。。。 the title is misleading are right。 。。。way way too much information。。。some inaccuracies 。。。too many tangents。。。at times interesting Basically every review is part of the truthThis book is about the overwhelming world we are in and how put brains can interpret out experience。 And perhaps how we could give our brains a break and perhaps how we should remember to not get mislead。I wish this book had more editing。
Tina Hu
，
A bit lengthy for me in terms of a lot of examples to reiterate the same point but I think a lot of people will find value in this book。 I enjoyed it and it made me learn about how my mind and brain works and categorizes things。
GONZA
，
I've wanted to read this book for a long time and I'm glad I found the audio book at the library。 This essay made me think of a number of other authors such as Kahnemann （Thinking fast and slow） and even Doctorow with his "Information doesn't want to be free"。Among the many topics in fact， the one that interested me most， especially in this time of pandemic and vaccines， how important it is to know your sources and investigate why not all experts can be considered such and what are the problems I've wanted to read this book for a long time and I'm glad I found the audio book at the library。 This essay made me think of a number of other authors such as Kahnemann （Thinking fast and slow） and even Doctorow with his "Information doesn't want to be free"。Among the many topics in fact， the one that interested me most， especially in this time of pandemic and vaccines， how important it is to know your sources and investigate why not all experts can be considered such and what are the problems that we most often run into， even as experts， when dealing with information。The part that interested me the least was the one about the organization of information， but probably because there were few things that I was not already aware of。 Volevo leggere questo libro da tempo e sono contenta di aver trovato l'audio libro in biblioteca。 Questo saggio mi ha fatto pensare ad una serie di altri autori come Kahnemann （Thiniking fast and slow） e anche Doctorow con il suo "Information doesn't want to be free"。Tra i tanti argomenti infatti， quello che piú mi interessava specialmente in questo tempo di pandemia e di vaccini， quanto sia importante conoscere le proprie fonti ed indagare per quale ragioni non tutte gli esperti si possano considerare tali e quali sono i problemi in cui piú spesso si incorre， anche da esperti， nel trattare un'informazione。La parte che meno mi ha interessato é stata invece quella sull'organizzazione delle informazioni， ma probabilmente perché c'erano poche cose che non mi fossero giá note。 。。。more
Char
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3。5*Love the subject matter and the research but it took me forever to finish。 So many parts were burdened down with too many details。
Adam Kanter
，
Got 275 pages in and I can’t do it anymore。 This book is absolutely draining to read。 There are a few good nuggets through out， but he expands on topics for pages upon pages without any real connection to staying organized。 I began to dread every time I wanted to read something because this book was that dry。 I don’t recommend this book whatsoever， it’s incredibly boring and verbose。
Lauren
，
This was an extremely fascinating book！ It goes into detail about how the brain processes information （or chooses not to process information， which was very interesting）， how it pays attention or if it applies what I can only call an attention shield （because I don't remember how the author refers to it）， and so much more。 There was advice on how to organize things--physically and mentally--from objects to memories。 Honestly my biggest takeaway from this book is that brains are incredible and po This was an extremely fascinating book！ It goes into detail about how the brain processes information （or chooses not to process information， which was very interesting）， how it pays attention or if it applies what I can only call an attention shield （because I don't remember how the author refers to it）， and so much more。 There was advice on how to organize things--physically and mentally--from objects to memories。 Honestly my biggest takeaway from this book is that brains are incredible and powerful and still so mysterious。 。。。more
Zachary King
，
Couple good nuggets but a few chapters are hardly related to the topic at hand and a bit of a slog。
Jun
，
The brain is a super computer but what is it’s limits and how do we navigate the complexity of the world we live in today？ Organising information， recalling a memory and making informed decisions requires a lot of brain power。 The book contains hundreds of case studies and experiments which points out the strength and weaknesses of our cognitive abilities。
Edward Evjen
，
At times the analysis is shallow the connection between brain science and how to apply it in life seems pop-sci。 This is especially apparent in the business section。 I like to believe that having healthy work-life balance is good but this book doesn't lay out a convincing argument for it。Daniel Levitin is an honest person， I want to read more of his work。 At times the analysis is shallow the connection between brain science and how to apply it in life seems pop-sci。 This is especially apparent in the business section。 I like to believe that having healthy work-life balance is good but this book doesn't lay out a convincing argument for it。Daniel Levitin is an honest person， I want to read more of his work。 。。。more
Kate Lane
，
The author takes what sounds like a rather dry topic and pours lots of life into it; I really did enjoy making my way through it after I’d gotten into the swing of things。 Lots of tips and tricks and suggestions about how to make yourself more mentally organized， and so become more efficient， more “put-together，” and in general more effective at getting through life。
Jon Barr
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Enjoyable and educational， but slightly dated。
Roshi
，
the whole time I’m like “I can’t focus on this book” and the book tells me why
E
，
Unable to finish this book， I found it a bit boring！
Roman
，
Неплохая книга， в особенности со второй половины。 Глава «Чему учить детей» лучшая。 Можно начинать прямо с нее， хоть она и последняя。。。 к прочтению или прослушиванию явно советую。
K。J。 Charles
，
Ironically， there was just a lot too much information in this and I overloaded。 The basic premise was interesting--looking at how much more mental work we have （numbers of people known， tasks to do， things to keep track of） and noting that our brains aren't wonderfully adapted to this scale of managing。 However， this was expanded at what really felt unnecessary length and I ran out of steam at 28% although it's not like I have a lot of steam these days so this may be my fault。 Ironically， there was just a lot too much information in this and I overloaded。 The basic premise was interesting--looking at how much more mental work we have （numbers of people known， tasks to do， things to keep track of） and noting that our brains aren't wonderfully adapted to this scale of managing。 However， this was expanded at what really felt unnecessary length and I ran out of steam at 28% although it's not like I have a lot of steam these days so this may be my fault。 。。。more
S。
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Ridiculously rambling and verbose。
Lynea Finn
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I skipped through a lot of this book。 Run on sentences and ideas that didn’t connect well together。 Such a hard read。 In the first 50 pages I didn’t have a good idea on how to organize anything in my head。 I just got example after example of how I am overloaded。 This book could easily be 200 pages and how it won an award is beyond me。
Rajiv
，
This book could have been at least a third of its size and still retain all of the important information。
Ashutosh Upadhyay
，