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Learn to Improve Your Thinking Skills
Brain Power introduces the six functional thinking abilities you need to become an adaptive, innovative, thinker. As you develop your ability to think on your feet, to isolate and arrange facts, and to avoid logic pitfalls you will see how to use creative problem solving strategies, both in business and private life.
312 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 5, 2011
Albrecht brings together into one volume, simply titled yet not simply addressed, per his own list, a treating of:
1. Fact finding
2. Crap detecting
3. Thinking on your feet
4. Idea production
5. Problem solving and decision making
6. Happying.
You gather knowledge, filter the pseudo-facts, use the knowledge for everyday living, creativity, making the right decisions and the author links the intellectual and emotional components of the mind.
An excellent read.
1. Fact finding
2. Crap detecting
3. Thinking on your feet
4. Idea production
5. Problem solving and decision making
6. Happying.
You gather knowledge, filter the pseudo-facts, use the knowledge for everyday living, creativity, making the right decisions and the author links the intellectual and emotional components of the mind.
An excellent read.
April 21, 2015
Supposed to "sharpen all of your thinking skills." It is filled with quotations and trite statements. Condemns TV. Mentions unconscious ("hunches" and "preconscious") but is conscious-oriented and mechanical with a "you can do it" positivism approach.
Seeks to develop the science of thinking by starting with criticism of the modern "instant," "unfashionable to think," "TV controlled," "cult of feelings" orientation of society. Has a problem of definition of cultural standards. Discusses the use of words and how they shape thoughts and can hide meanings. Other concepts discussed such as "crap detecting," perceptions, creativity, awareness, logic fallacies, mental sets.
Seeks to develop the science of thinking by starting with criticism of the modern "instant," "unfashionable to think," "TV controlled," "cult of feelings" orientation of society. Has a problem of definition of cultural standards. Discusses the use of words and how they shape thoughts and can hide meanings. Other concepts discussed such as "crap detecting," perceptions, creativity, awareness, logic fallacies, mental sets.
Read
September 25, 2015USeful amalgam of info. One criticism I would have is that the author is insightful for sure but he puts info forth at times on the basis of his own patterns observation as truth rather than on the basis of scholarship. This is sometimes subtle and not easy to detect but on a couple of occasions he put something forth that I knew wasn't strictly speaking correct. It wasn't so much that the content was wrong so much as it was the method he was using for asserting the info was not always a sound one.
February 21, 2011
I'm re-visiting this book after many years. Now I realize that much of the problem-solving processes I learned in corporate jobs in the 1990's were in this book, published in 1980,
I'm using info in Chapter 12 to work on changing some habits.
I'm using info in Chapter 12 to work on changing some habits.
September 23, 2024
I had no idea what to expect coming into this book, although I liked what the title cover reflected. There's always room for improvement with respect to sharpening one's quality of thinking, and it always helps to learn more about one's thinking.
This is a most organized book. Albrecht was diligent in organizing the book's different sections, although because the book is comprehensive, it takes a lot of time to read through. I like that despite it having been written 35 years ago, many of its tenets have withstood the test of time. Crap detecting, for instance, was revisited by Carl Bergstrom in Calling Bullshit.
Albrecht also advises against dogmatic and categorical thinking, and espouses mental freedom. To fight against this dogmatism, it is important for us to "recognize our mental sets (biases) under certain circumstances, and in some cases to change them, rearrange them, or abandon them." Dogmatic and categorical thinking is also mechanical thinking, which is characteristic of many Filipinos nowadays: "he simply doesn't use his brain very much unless it's necessary."
To think more effectively, however, it is not only necessary to be adaptive and dynamic: humility is also of the utmost importance, because recognizing what one doesn't know goes a long way toward building the foundation of what one knows.
Other points Albrecht raised was regarding emotion: "Emotion is a valid and important aspect of your functioning, but it is a very poor basis for making decisions." He offers, instead, option thinking as an alternative, which is similar to the Husserlian bracketing: rather than wallow in emotion in emergent situations, "identifying useful options for proceeding in a challenging situation maximizes chances for meeting your own needs and goals."
Albrecht also amusingly refers to the work done by Alfred Korzybzki and S. I. Hayakawa in semantics: learning to speak in nuanced ways allows one to reach nuanced places. Through his concept of opinionitis, which is "a general tendency to adopt and hold on to strong opinions with little consideration of the evidence for an against them," he also alludes to Karl Popper's theory of falsification, which is actually seeking to disprove one's hypothesis, rather than prove them. This is particular true in Philippines' patronage politics where people learn to ignore bad aspects of the person they are rooting for simply because he or she is the patron in a particular bailiwick. Many of these people lack Korzybzki's extensional orientation which is a highly adaptive reliance on one's own senses to acquire new information and keep memory models up to date.
One pertinent recent example is malfeasance from a beloved figure in Davao City. Instead of identifying the legitimate concern that there was misuse of Php 237 million worth of funds, people will instead double down for no sane reason. This is, precisely, a manifestation of mechanical thinking and opinionitis. In psychology, these people fail at the skill of reality testing.
Leon Festinger, most ably, coined the term cognitive dissonance which describes the subjectively experienced mental "tension" resulting from the conflict of two ideas in one brain. Many Davaoenos, for instance, defensively result to rationalizing to reduce this cognitive dissonance. This was also identified by Festinger in cultist behavior.
It's a most potent book that cites other trailblazers in the path toward quality thinking and memory development. However, it's also the type of book that preaches to the choir, seeing that its comprehensive nature and depth will repel the person that this book is most suited for.
This is a most organized book. Albrecht was diligent in organizing the book's different sections, although because the book is comprehensive, it takes a lot of time to read through. I like that despite it having been written 35 years ago, many of its tenets have withstood the test of time. Crap detecting, for instance, was revisited by Carl Bergstrom in Calling Bullshit.
Albrecht also advises against dogmatic and categorical thinking, and espouses mental freedom. To fight against this dogmatism, it is important for us to "recognize our mental sets (biases) under certain circumstances, and in some cases to change them, rearrange them, or abandon them." Dogmatic and categorical thinking is also mechanical thinking, which is characteristic of many Filipinos nowadays: "he simply doesn't use his brain very much unless it's necessary."
To think more effectively, however, it is not only necessary to be adaptive and dynamic: humility is also of the utmost importance, because recognizing what one doesn't know goes a long way toward building the foundation of what one knows.
Other points Albrecht raised was regarding emotion: "Emotion is a valid and important aspect of your functioning, but it is a very poor basis for making decisions." He offers, instead, option thinking as an alternative, which is similar to the Husserlian bracketing: rather than wallow in emotion in emergent situations, "identifying useful options for proceeding in a challenging situation maximizes chances for meeting your own needs and goals."
Albrecht also amusingly refers to the work done by Alfred Korzybzki and S. I. Hayakawa in semantics: learning to speak in nuanced ways allows one to reach nuanced places. Through his concept of opinionitis, which is "a general tendency to adopt and hold on to strong opinions with little consideration of the evidence for an against them," he also alludes to Karl Popper's theory of falsification, which is actually seeking to disprove one's hypothesis, rather than prove them. This is particular true in Philippines' patronage politics where people learn to ignore bad aspects of the person they are rooting for simply because he or she is the patron in a particular bailiwick. Many of these people lack Korzybzki's extensional orientation which is a highly adaptive reliance on one's own senses to acquire new information and keep memory models up to date.
One pertinent recent example is malfeasance from a beloved figure in Davao City. Instead of identifying the legitimate concern that there was misuse of Php 237 million worth of funds, people will instead double down for no sane reason. This is, precisely, a manifestation of mechanical thinking and opinionitis. In psychology, these people fail at the skill of reality testing.
Leon Festinger, most ably, coined the term cognitive dissonance which describes the subjectively experienced mental "tension" resulting from the conflict of two ideas in one brain. Many Davaoenos, for instance, defensively result to rationalizing to reduce this cognitive dissonance. This was also identified by Festinger in cultist behavior.
It's a most potent book that cites other trailblazers in the path toward quality thinking and memory development. However, it's also the type of book that preaches to the choir, seeing that its comprehensive nature and depth will repel the person that this book is most suited for.
February 8, 2022
I'd call it 3+. It's not a 'bad' book... Dated, some of the anecjokes are stale, some are offensive. But I still got some useful ideas on improving my thinking. Maybe I can find something along the same lines but more recent. The Bilbiography is also dated (of course), but I was reminded of how much I loved Hayakawa.
June 28, 2023
This book is underrated, in my opinion. It goes over such a fundamentally important topic in a way that is not dull or dense. Albrecht shares many ideas that are bound to improve quality of life if implemented, such as "crap detecting", thinking on your feet or under pressure, communication, maturity, and others.
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December 2, 2019good book
October 15, 2022
Superior organisation and clarity make this a better book than others.
July 27, 2014
What can I tell you, it changed my life.
When I read this 30 years ago I was into a lifestyle of excess. Lots of drinking and smoking of pot. My mates and me were by no means Hunter S. Thompson but there were similarities. The part of the book promoting sobriety and similar healthy and practical approaches to maximum brain functioning seemed to also be a bit of a contradiction to the premise of looking for answers where ever they may be. We were full time partiers but knew enough to plan an acid trip with regard to proper "set end setting". I re-read this book the day before. If you are familiar with the way LSD works you know that in particular your system of prejudices are suspended. You see the world as a child free to see things as if for the first time. Along with the fun activities we planned the concepts of this book had free reign to re write some of my base code, so to speak. The next day I cut my hair short and started to dress and act differently. I picked a new path for my life and followed it for many years.
The downside to this approach to thinking is that, at least for me, I felt free to make observations that in their clarity seemed to others like negative opinions. My intention was always to provide my version of clarity. As is my habit these observations were spun off as witty remarks. Instead of making them more palatable as they should have it only intensified the hurt and sting. Truth being what makes a joke funny. I had to learn to, as the locals might say, 'keep that shit to myself'.
Still, once you make those 6 steps part of your process, avenues open up for you.
When I read this 30 years ago I was into a lifestyle of excess. Lots of drinking and smoking of pot. My mates and me were by no means Hunter S. Thompson but there were similarities. The part of the book promoting sobriety and similar healthy and practical approaches to maximum brain functioning seemed to also be a bit of a contradiction to the premise of looking for answers where ever they may be. We were full time partiers but knew enough to plan an acid trip with regard to proper "set end setting". I re-read this book the day before. If you are familiar with the way LSD works you know that in particular your system of prejudices are suspended. You see the world as a child free to see things as if for the first time. Along with the fun activities we planned the concepts of this book had free reign to re write some of my base code, so to speak. The next day I cut my hair short and started to dress and act differently. I picked a new path for my life and followed it for many years.
The downside to this approach to thinking is that, at least for me, I felt free to make observations that in their clarity seemed to others like negative opinions. My intention was always to provide my version of clarity. As is my habit these observations were spun off as witty remarks. Instead of making them more palatable as they should have it only intensified the hurt and sting. Truth being what makes a joke funny. I had to learn to, as the locals might say, 'keep that shit to myself'.
Still, once you make those 6 steps part of your process, avenues open up for you.
January 23, 2011
I have had this book for a long time, and just rediscovered it while packing to move. Not sure how much of it I got through initially. It is not a cover to cover read, at least for me; but certainly worth a second look; many interesting tips.
May 7, 2008
Might be old but I still refer to it often. Practical ways to improve thinking.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews