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This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking

by John Brockman

ISBN13: 9780062109392
ISBN10: 0062109391
Condition: Standard
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Publisher Comments:

Featuring a foreword by David Brooks, This Will Make You Smarter presents brilliant—but accessible—ideas to expand every mind.

What scientific concept would improve everybodys cognitive toolkit? This is the question John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org, posed to the worlds most influential thinkers. Their visionary answers flow from the frontiers of psychology, philosophy, economics, physics, sociology, and more. Surprising and enlightening, these insights will revolutionize the way you think about yourself and the world.

Daniel Kahneman on the “focusing illusion” • Jonah Lehrer on controlling attention • Richard Dawkins on experimentation • Aubrey De Grey on conquering our fear of the unknown • Martin Seligman on the ingredients of well-being • Nicholas Carr on managing “cognitive load” • Steven Pinker on win-win negotiating • Daniel C. Dennett on benefiting from cycles • Jaron Lanier on resisting delusion • Frank Wilczek on the brains hidden layers • Clay Shirky on the “80/20 rule” • Daniel Goleman on understanding our connection to the natural world • V. S. Ramachandran on paradigm shifts • Matt Ridley on tapping collective intelligence • John McWhorter on path dependence • Lisa Randall on effective theorizing • Brian Eno on “ecological vision” • Richard Thaler on rooting out false concepts • J. Craig Venter on the multiple possible origins of life • Helen Fisher on temperament • Sam Harris on the flow of thought • Lawrence Krauss on living with uncertainty

Synopsis:

Edge.org presents brilliant, accessible, cutting-edge ideas to improve our decision-making skills and improve our cognitive toolkits, with contributions by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Richard Dawkins, Brian Eno, Steven Pinker, and more. Featuring a foreword by New York Times columnist David Brooks and edited by John Brockman, This Will Make You Smarter presents some of the best wisdom from todays leading thinkers—to make better thinkers out of the leaders of tomorrow.

About the Author

The founder and publisher of the influential online science salon Edge.org, John Brockman is the editor of This Will Make You Smarter, This Will Change Everything, What Is Your Dangerous Idea?, What We Believe but Cannot Prove, and other volumes. He is the CEO of the literary agency Brockman Inc., and lives in New York City.

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: islander12, June 13, 2012 (view all comments by islander12)
I love reading essays, and this is a collection of short essays, that inspire even more thinking. They aren't all "new", but they are all answers to the key question "What scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit". Not all of them are that "scientific", but they are definitely about processing, thinking, cognition, and lots of other concepts. A treasure trove of ideas to stretch the brain.
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: Barbara K Roberts, May 27, 2012 (view all comments by Barbara K Roberts)
IMO the book is better than its title. In moments of discursive thought I find myself making up different titles for it.
Some of the language is beyond a so called average reader. If one perseveres, however, there is enough redundancy to get the ideas. There are lots of blow- your -mind ideas. That's the idea. There is a chasm between what Science thinks and what and how most Americans, (think voters) -- think. Using the words of William James (Pragmatism 1907). this book intends to disturb your "Epistemological equilibrium". In everyday words: if you Believe in absolutes, these essays are apt to upset you. To that I say learning is change. We need to learn. We need to change.

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Product Details

ISBN:: 9780062109392
Subtitle:: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking
Author:: Brockman, John
Author:: Brockman, John, Ed.
Publisher:: Harper Perennial
Subject:: General science
Subject:: Science Reference-General
Subject:: Science Reference-Essays
Edition Description:: Trade PB
Publication Date:: 20120214
Binding:: Paperback
Language:: English
Pages:: 448
Dimensions:: 8 x 5.3125 in 10.4 oz

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