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Scatterbrain: How the Mind's Mistakes Make Humans Creative, Innovative, and Successful
In this mind-bending book, an esteemed neuroscientist explains why perfectionism is pointless—and argues that mistakes, missteps, and flaws are the keys to success.
Remember that time you screwed up simple math or forgot the name of your favorite song? What if someone told you that such embarrassing “brain farts” are actually secret weapons, proof of your superiority to computers and AI?
In Scatterbrain, we learn that boredom awakens the muse, distractions spark creativity, and misjudging time creates valuable memories, among other benefits of our faulty minds. Throughout, award-winning neuroscientist Henning Beck’s hilarious asides and brain-boosting advice make for delightful reading of the most cutting-edge neuroscience our brains will (maybe never) remember.
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
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1065 people want to read
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February 8, 2023
I received an uncorrected proof from the publsher Greystone Books through LibraryThing. I finished this on a return flight from vacation two weeks ago and had to sort out my plethora of sticky notes!
Now, I’ve developed a habit of checking the notes before reading non-fiction. If there are none, I tend toward reading it as more opinion than not. If there are, but are not cited in the text, my opinion of the author is diminished - that’s lazy and irresponsible (on the author’s part, not mine) yet sadly increasingly common.
And then there is Dr. Beck, who opens his notes section in a novel way: “You can google data. If you are really good, you can google information. But googling knowledge is quite a bit harder.” Beck is a degreed neuroscientist who gives public talks on the subject of this book, the brain “flaws” that give us our creativity. I don’t know if he’s always been this way or if the talking changed him, but this book is written with a style and approach that makes it easy to impart to the reader what he’s saying. That’s not to say there is not depth and detail...just that Beck presents them well. The entire book is one to three page soundbites; large enough to encapsulate the micro-topic and small enough to capitalize on the brain’s short attention span.
Beck looks at fourteen "so-called brain blunder"s and explains why they aren't at all: forgetting, learning (why we're bad a rote learning), memory (a false memory is better than none), blackout (choking under pressure), time (misjudging it forges valuable memories), boredom (hard to turn the switch off), distraction (which leads to more creativity), mathematics (best calculations don't involve numbers), decisions (we risk much yet still manage to choose wisely), selection (choosing is hard), pigeonholing (biases can help, and of course hurt), motivation ("inner critic limits us"), creativity (doesn't happen on demand), perfectionism (can't improve without mistakes.) There, in a nutshell, that says nothing. Dr. Beck cites the biology behind his points and the studies that support those points. It's not burdensome at all and quite enlightening. He consciously emphasizes the good things about the brain's fallacies ("Even biases have their good sides - if you use them correctly,")
Now...sticky notes (some of which are for me to look up or follow up)... Beck talks about his neighbor who is "a truly extraordinary character", and who happens to be two years old. That neighbor (who makes appearances throughout the book) is "a pretty clever guy with the ability to master things that would bring any supercomputer to its knees." He is constantly making little mistakes. "Every mistake, every imprecision is an incentive for him to try it differently next time and maybe even to get a little better." It occurred to me that I've never thought of our learning process as Bayesian (Beck doesn't put it that way.)
Subtitle for Forgetting is Why You Won't Remember the Contents of This Book - Thereby Retaining the Most Important Information. Counter-intuitive but he goes into wonderful detail on why rote doesn't work and we shouldn't try to force it. We need to walk away because the brain needs time to dynamically combine information. "If you sort your information too early on, it's much harder to put things into a different kind of order later down the road."
Learning - "[...] information stored in a brain is not located in any particular physical location but is rather an ever-changing state of mind." Constantly rewritten, which is why no memory is accurate.
Memory - on the difference between an orchestra playing a score and a brain, which "doesn't play the order of notes as they are written on the score but instead alters the melody a little bit each time it practices." Memory is not fixed. Ever. Memory retrieved is subject - and vulnerable - to the influences at the time of retrieval. Studies demonstrate that memories can be altered by peer pressure and "participants were no longer able to distinguish between truth and fiction." Some, namely jeenyuses, are better at that than others.
Blackout - "Secret Formula for Fending Off Stage Fright". Beck says a better solution than preparing calculations for a test is "to combat the anxiety directly by simulating the pressure-situation in practice, thus growing accustomed to it." When I prepared to take the Professional Engineer license test, two four hour sessions of forty questions each, I did so by laying out my books and notes as I would on test day. And I've coached others to do the same - muscle memory goes a long way. Instead of freaking out looking for an index or a certain book...I already knew where it was!
Boredom - we need to have productive daydreaming. Not no daydreaming, more productive. On distractability
On distraction, the brain is wired to filter. "[...] the importance of a piece of information is not determined by its contents but rather by its variation." I am distracted easily (unless I don't want to be). I rely on distraction to help organize tasks, memories, thoughts I have. Sounds opposite, but not for me. Beck thinks it is a problem to not allow ourselves to be distracted. He says "[c]reative people allow themselves to get more easily distracted because their filter mechanisms do not work as well as those of other, less creative people." Or, perhaps they work exactly well?
Decisions - "Our brain's goal is not to be happy but to become happy." "Becoming happy is always a little bit nicer than being happy." And unhappy people are the world changers - we don't like uncertainty.
Selection - another section I'd read of in other books, we don't do well when we have a lot of choices. Beck said his local market in Germany has..."about 118 different varieties" of muesli! He notes the chain Aldi limits the different number of each product. Shopping is much easier when we don't have to sift hundreds of options. To avoid "the agony of choice", Beck offers five tricks: Narrow your goal, Be satisfied (my note: close enough is often good enough), decide important things with your gut (still not on board with that myself...but that's for Kahneman's book...), resist the excess (you don't have to make a decision for every option), and up the pressure (get off the pot, so to speak."
Pigeonholing - have to always be alert to avoid the trap of stereotyping. Stereotypes are necessary for our brain to function well, but we have to make sure we don't create false correlations. We look for patterns, connections, and we overinterpret them when we find them.
Motivation - how many of you are familiar with the marshmallow study? Children told they can have one marshmallow now, or two if they wait. One famous 1970s study found years later that those who waited were more successful, wealthier, better educated, etc. Well... "There is one important factor that is often left out when people refer to this Marshmallow Test: the children who participated in the experiment came from a privileged circle of society (they were largely the children of professors and scientists at Stanford University [...])" A repeat of the experiment in 2016 with poorer children discovered the exact same neural mechanisms that influenced the 1970s children to wait influenced the 2016 to eat the marshmallow now. They "must be able to afford the luxury of holding back." Lightbulb. I like Beck's addressing demotivational techniques that are passed off as motivational - "employee of the month", pay for performance... I think formal performance evaluations are demotivational.
Creativity - autopilot is often the best way to be creative. And forced breaks help. Struggle with a problem for a while and walk away for a bit. Isaac Asimov said in his memoirs that he never had writer's block because he had so many writing projects going on at once. If he got stymied by one, he'd shift to another and couldn't help but take a break from the one threatening to block him.
Perfectionism - avoiding mistakes can obviously be a good thing, but "just because you don;t make a mistake does not necessarily imply that your are right." Keep that in mind. Chaos is beneficial - Spock would cry to know that "[i]f our brains were to switch to a logical system of thought, we would lose our mental flexibility entirely."
So...soundbites from soundbites, hopefully enough to spark an interest. Excellent book that I'll revisit after I loan it to a couple of people.
Note to the publisher:
- page 161, second paragraph, "Sometimes people sayz that they think they are..." Deliberate typo? Beck has a deliberate misspelling on page 173, but doesn't mention this one.
- page 218, middle of last paragraph: "protein-fat-ration" should be "protein-fat-ratio"?
Now, I’ve developed a habit of checking the notes before reading non-fiction. If there are none, I tend toward reading it as more opinion than not. If there are, but are not cited in the text, my opinion of the author is diminished - that’s lazy and irresponsible (on the author’s part, not mine) yet sadly increasingly common.
And then there is Dr. Beck, who opens his notes section in a novel way: “You can google data. If you are really good, you can google information. But googling knowledge is quite a bit harder.” Beck is a degreed neuroscientist who gives public talks on the subject of this book, the brain “flaws” that give us our creativity. I don’t know if he’s always been this way or if the talking changed him, but this book is written with a style and approach that makes it easy to impart to the reader what he’s saying. That’s not to say there is not depth and detail...just that Beck presents them well. The entire book is one to three page soundbites; large enough to encapsulate the micro-topic and small enough to capitalize on the brain’s short attention span.
Beck looks at fourteen "so-called brain blunder"s and explains why they aren't at all: forgetting, learning (why we're bad a rote learning), memory (a false memory is better than none), blackout (choking under pressure), time (misjudging it forges valuable memories), boredom (hard to turn the switch off), distraction (which leads to more creativity), mathematics (best calculations don't involve numbers), decisions (we risk much yet still manage to choose wisely), selection (choosing is hard), pigeonholing (biases can help, and of course hurt), motivation ("inner critic limits us"), creativity (doesn't happen on demand), perfectionism (can't improve without mistakes.) There, in a nutshell, that says nothing. Dr. Beck cites the biology behind his points and the studies that support those points. It's not burdensome at all and quite enlightening. He consciously emphasizes the good things about the brain's fallacies ("Even biases have their good sides - if you use them correctly,")
Now...sticky notes (some of which are for me to look up or follow up)... Beck talks about his neighbor who is "a truly extraordinary character", and who happens to be two years old. That neighbor (who makes appearances throughout the book) is "a pretty clever guy with the ability to master things that would bring any supercomputer to its knees." He is constantly making little mistakes. "Every mistake, every imprecision is an incentive for him to try it differently next time and maybe even to get a little better." It occurred to me that I've never thought of our learning process as Bayesian (Beck doesn't put it that way.)
Subtitle for Forgetting is Why You Won't Remember the Contents of This Book - Thereby Retaining the Most Important Information. Counter-intuitive but he goes into wonderful detail on why rote doesn't work and we shouldn't try to force it. We need to walk away because the brain needs time to dynamically combine information. "If you sort your information too early on, it's much harder to put things into a different kind of order later down the road."
Learning - "[...] information stored in a brain is not located in any particular physical location but is rather an ever-changing state of mind." Constantly rewritten, which is why no memory is accurate.
Memory - on the difference between an orchestra playing a score and a brain, which "doesn't play the order of notes as they are written on the score but instead alters the melody a little bit each time it practices." Memory is not fixed. Ever. Memory retrieved is subject - and vulnerable - to the influences at the time of retrieval. Studies demonstrate that memories can be altered by peer pressure and "participants were no longer able to distinguish between truth and fiction." Some, namely jeenyuses, are better at that than others.
In general, every one of our memories is false and, each time we recall one, it becomes even more false.
Blackout - "Secret Formula for Fending Off Stage Fright". Beck says a better solution than preparing calculations for a test is "to combat the anxiety directly by simulating the pressure-situation in practice, thus growing accustomed to it." When I prepared to take the Professional Engineer license test, two four hour sessions of forty questions each, I did so by laying out my books and notes as I would on test day. And I've coached others to do the same - muscle memory goes a long way. Instead of freaking out looking for an index or a certain book...I already knew where it was!
Boredom - we need to have productive daydreaming. Not no daydreaming, more productive. On distractability
For example , if we are concentrating on reading a book while simultaneously wondering about a strange look that a colleague gave us earlier in the day, it is going to be hard to remember the text. Perhaps something like that already happened to you while reading this chapter. You may have been reading along and then suddenly realized that your thoughts were somewhere else entirely, But whereas this might make the average author feel sad or distressed, I personally feel happy to hear it. Because it shows that your own thought-journey function is working beautifully.This. All the time.
On distraction, the brain is wired to filter. "[...] the importance of a piece of information is not determined by its contents but rather by its variation." I am distracted easily (unless I don't want to be). I rely on distraction to help organize tasks, memories, thoughts I have. Sounds opposite, but not for me. Beck thinks it is a problem to not allow ourselves to be distracted. He says "[c]reative people allow themselves to get more easily distracted because their filter mechanisms do not work as well as those of other, less creative people." Or, perhaps they work exactly well?
Decisions - "Our brain's goal is not to be happy but to become happy." "Becoming happy is always a little bit nicer than being happy." And unhappy people are the world changers - we don't like uncertainty.
Selection - another section I'd read of in other books, we don't do well when we have a lot of choices. Beck said his local market in Germany has..."about 118 different varieties" of muesli! He notes the chain Aldi limits the different number of each product. Shopping is much easier when we don't have to sift hundreds of options. To avoid "the agony of choice", Beck offers five tricks: Narrow your goal, Be satisfied (my note: close enough is often good enough), decide important things with your gut (still not on board with that myself...but that's for Kahneman's book...), resist the excess (you don't have to make a decision for every option), and up the pressure (get off the pot, so to speak."
Pigeonholing - have to always be alert to avoid the trap of stereotyping. Stereotypes are necessary for our brain to function well, but we have to make sure we don't create false correlations. We look for patterns, connections, and we overinterpret them when we find them.
Motivation - how many of you are familiar with the marshmallow study? Children told they can have one marshmallow now, or two if they wait. One famous 1970s study found years later that those who waited were more successful, wealthier, better educated, etc. Well... "There is one important factor that is often left out when people refer to this Marshmallow Test: the children who participated in the experiment came from a privileged circle of society (they were largely the children of professors and scientists at Stanford University [...])" A repeat of the experiment in 2016 with poorer children discovered the exact same neural mechanisms that influenced the 1970s children to wait influenced the 2016 to eat the marshmallow now. They "must be able to afford the luxury of holding back." Lightbulb. I like Beck's addressing demotivational techniques that are passed off as motivational - "employee of the month", pay for performance... I think formal performance evaluations are demotivational.
Creativity - autopilot is often the best way to be creative. And forced breaks help. Struggle with a problem for a while and walk away for a bit. Isaac Asimov said in his memoirs that he never had writer's block because he had so many writing projects going on at once. If he got stymied by one, he'd shift to another and couldn't help but take a break from the one threatening to block him.
Perfectionism - avoiding mistakes can obviously be a good thing, but "just because you don;t make a mistake does not necessarily imply that your are right." Keep that in mind. Chaos is beneficial - Spock would cry to know that "[i]f our brains were to switch to a logical system of thought, we would lose our mental flexibility entirely."
So...soundbites from soundbites, hopefully enough to spark an interest. Excellent book that I'll revisit after I loan it to a couple of people.
Note to the publisher:
- page 161, second paragraph, "Sometimes people sayz that they think they are..." Deliberate typo? Beck has a deliberate misspelling on page 173, but doesn't mention this one.
- page 218, middle of last paragraph: "protein-fat-ration" should be "protein-fat-ratio"?
December 3, 2019
I really enjoyed Scatterbrain : How the mind's mistakes make humans creative, innovative and successful by Henning Beck. He has a wonderful writing style that is both informative and fun.
Each chapter discusses a specific topic, the brain’s relevant quirks and practical observations. For example in the motivation chapter, we learn how the brain does and does not work. Much of the chapter is dedicated to describing three demotivation strategies, why they don’t work and science-based alternatives. The chapter topics include: forgetting, learning, memory, blackout (choking under pressure), time, boredom, distraction, mathematics, decisions, selection, pigeonholing, motivation, creativity and perfection.
After reading this, I feel more forgiving of my brain. After all, we can “make mistakes and, in doing so, give rise to new ideas.” (Page 310)
Each chapter discusses a specific topic, the brain’s relevant quirks and practical observations. For example in the motivation chapter, we learn how the brain does and does not work. Much of the chapter is dedicated to describing three demotivation strategies, why they don’t work and science-based alternatives. The chapter topics include: forgetting, learning, memory, blackout (choking under pressure), time, boredom, distraction, mathematics, decisions, selection, pigeonholing, motivation, creativity and perfection.
After reading this, I feel more forgiving of my brain. After all, we can “make mistakes and, in doing so, give rise to new ideas.” (Page 310)
June 15, 2020
Der Autor vermittelt hier Wissen auf einem hohem Niveau und schreibt trotzdem auch für Laien verständlich.
Ich war hier auf absolutem Neuland für mich unterwegs und der Autor hat mich immer wieder mit guten und simplen Beispielen abgeholt.
Immer wieder wird der Leser direkt angesprochen, wodurch das ganze nie in eine monotone Wissensansammlung abzuschwenken drohte.
Insgesamt hat mich das Buch gut unterhalten.
Ich war hier auf absolutem Neuland für mich unterwegs und der Autor hat mich immer wieder mit guten und simplen Beispielen abgeholt.
Immer wieder wird der Leser direkt angesprochen, wodurch das ganze nie in eine monotone Wissensansammlung abzuschwenken drohte.
Insgesamt hat mich das Buch gut unterhalten.
April 23, 2020
Very interesting and worth a read... I feel much less guilty about not remembering much of it after remembering the beginning, where the author explain how we retain information :D
August 31, 2021
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*4 stars*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
A few days ago, downtown, I drove on the opposite side of a one-way street twice. It took a few seconds of watching a truck move headlong towards me to realize what I had done. Today, I missed my first day at work because I misread my supervisor's email. Tomorrow, God knows what will happen.
In all my blunders, there simply isn't a word that describes me better than "scatterbrain," which is exactly what prompted me to pick this book up and read it. I admit that I partially did it out of a need to reconcile with my earthly mistakes and find justification for them. And maybe this was another terrible decision on its own, but whoops, too late. This book did it for me.
Essentially, it claims that our brain's mistakes are exactly what forge the path to innovation and success. And it proves this in a very effective and engaging way, starting from explaining how forgetting things and making false memories actually goes hand in hand with the formation of new ideas and problem solving.
One of the most interesting concepts I came across in this book was that time does not exist in our brain as there is no sensory organ in it that exists for time. Instead, the brain creates an emotional timeline and artificially fabricates time; any experiences that involved more emotions take up more space in our brain and we perceive it as having taken more time. This is why time seems to be passing faster as you get older because the things we experience are less exciting and emotional. (Unless you live a hell of a varied lifestyle).
Another wonderful concept this book reinforced for me is the importence of taking a lot of breaks. As humans, we can’t avoid distraction, so instead, we have to use it by switching between tasks as and allowing our brains to process information better through intervals. These intervals, whether they are used up in social interaction or mundane activities such as taking a shower, can also unleash out creativity, which was another topic this book covered intensively.
Interestingly, humans get creative only when something gets under their skin. We look for solutions when we are hungry, not satisfied. And to be optimistically dissatisfied is the perfect mode for creativity. So the next time a person tells me that the newest breakthrough in science or technology came because of some happy, inspiring pickle who merely sat down and wanted to make the world a better place, I'm going to shove this book into their face.
I am also going to shove this book into the face of the next person that tells me that AI are going to take over the world. This book made many great points about how different humans are from computers, and how much potential humans have because of the mistakes and blunders the brain purposely makes. The cheapest calculators have computational abilities better than any human, but this should not be viewed as a threat, because even the best computers are as dumb as a pocket calculator. Computers compute; humans experience emotions, make connections, and understand the world. They also make mistakes, which is exactly, as the book proves, what makes humans innovative and successful. “Make mistakes and, in doing so, give rise to new ideas. After all, to err is what we do best.”
Yup, this book gave me a nice degree of justification for my incessant blunders. It gave many good arguments as to why accepting our brain's mistakes paves a path to creativity and success. Definitely a recommendable read, it introduced me to concepts that will stick with me for (hopefully) a long time.
A few days ago, downtown, I drove on the opposite side of a one-way street twice. It took a few seconds of watching a truck move headlong towards me to realize what I had done. Today, I missed my first day at work because I misread my supervisor's email. Tomorrow, God knows what will happen.
In all my blunders, there simply isn't a word that describes me better than "scatterbrain," which is exactly what prompted me to pick this book up and read it. I admit that I partially did it out of a need to reconcile with my earthly mistakes and find justification for them. And maybe this was another terrible decision on its own, but whoops, too late. This book did it for me.
Essentially, it claims that our brain's mistakes are exactly what forge the path to innovation and success. And it proves this in a very effective and engaging way, starting from explaining how forgetting things and making false memories actually goes hand in hand with the formation of new ideas and problem solving.
One of the most interesting concepts I came across in this book was that time does not exist in our brain as there is no sensory organ in it that exists for time. Instead, the brain creates an emotional timeline and artificially fabricates time; any experiences that involved more emotions take up more space in our brain and we perceive it as having taken more time. This is why time seems to be passing faster as you get older because the things we experience are less exciting and emotional. (Unless you live a hell of a varied lifestyle).
Another wonderful concept this book reinforced for me is the importence of taking a lot of breaks. As humans, we can’t avoid distraction, so instead, we have to use it by switching between tasks as and allowing our brains to process information better through intervals. These intervals, whether they are used up in social interaction or mundane activities such as taking a shower, can also unleash out creativity, which was another topic this book covered intensively.
Interestingly, humans get creative only when something gets under their skin. We look for solutions when we are hungry, not satisfied. And to be optimistically dissatisfied is the perfect mode for creativity. So the next time a person tells me that the newest breakthrough in science or technology came because of some happy, inspiring pickle who merely sat down and wanted to make the world a better place, I'm going to shove this book into their face.
I am also going to shove this book into the face of the next person that tells me that AI are going to take over the world. This book made many great points about how different humans are from computers, and how much potential humans have because of the mistakes and blunders the brain purposely makes. The cheapest calculators have computational abilities better than any human, but this should not be viewed as a threat, because even the best computers are as dumb as a pocket calculator. Computers compute; humans experience emotions, make connections, and understand the world. They also make mistakes, which is exactly, as the book proves, what makes humans innovative and successful. “Make mistakes and, in doing so, give rise to new ideas. After all, to err is what we do best.”
Yup, this book gave me a nice degree of justification for my incessant blunders. It gave many good arguments as to why accepting our brain's mistakes paves a path to creativity and success. Definitely a recommendable read, it introduced me to concepts that will stick with me for (hopefully) a long time.
June 8, 2021
Dużo ciekawostek o funkcjonowaniu mózgu. Można lepiej zrozumieć swoje zachowania i procesy decyzyjne.
Książka napisana w przyjemny i zabawny sposób.
Książka napisana w przyjemny i zabawny sposób.
January 17, 2020
This is a great, easy-to-read, synthesis of the present state of the human mind functioning that incorporates the recent work on our basic irrationality. It deals directly with our decision making process that generally starts with intuition and then adds a layer of rationality.
To hear that humans are motivated by fear, greed - and curiosity - is a very useful expansion of long-standing model.
There are many other important insights that modern readers need to be appreciate.
To hear that humans are motivated by fear, greed - and curiosity - is a very useful expansion of long-standing model.
There are many other important insights that modern readers need to be appreciate.
February 8, 2022
I didn't have any specific expectations about this book as I got it as a gift. The first few pages caught my attention instantly with a good balance of anecdotal examples and scientific explanations.
The book is a fantastic overview on most of the recent discoveries in the field of cognitive sciences - from memory and learning, through decision-making to creativity. It's like a brief summary of Dan Pink's "Drive", Angelica Duckworth's "Grit", Carol Dweck's "Growth mindset" and many other similar books, but it also provides neurobiological explanations to these processes.
Beck's experience as a live-performer is also evident. The book's pace is very dynamic and smart writing tricks are used all the times to captivate reader's attention.
In the end, unless you're a neurobiologist or a cognitive scientist, I recommend this book to you. Especially if you're a teenager - the information here might change the way you think about your brain, learning and yourself in general.
The book is a fantastic overview on most of the recent discoveries in the field of cognitive sciences - from memory and learning, through decision-making to creativity. It's like a brief summary of Dan Pink's "Drive", Angelica Duckworth's "Grit", Carol Dweck's "Growth mindset" and many other similar books, but it also provides neurobiological explanations to these processes.
Beck's experience as a live-performer is also evident. The book's pace is very dynamic and smart writing tricks are used all the times to captivate reader's attention.
In the end, unless you're a neurobiologist or a cognitive scientist, I recommend this book to you. Especially if you're a teenager - the information here might change the way you think about your brain, learning and yourself in general.
February 5, 2020
Not a page turner. I listened to this book in my car. I’m glad I did, there is a lot of useful information. However, I think if I was reading, I wouldn’t have been able to get through it.
The brain is constantly compared to a computer - saying how different each is from the other. But it goes on and on and on. I get it already!
And the Jokes! Gag! One liners poorly placed, always at the end of a point. Always formulated—they could make you appreciate bad dad jokes.
However, there has been some significant understanding of how the brain is divided up for different tasks, how each interacts with the others, and how that results in memories and decisions. I’m glad I listened to it.
The brain is constantly compared to a computer - saying how different each is from the other. But it goes on and on and on. I get it already!
And the Jokes! Gag! One liners poorly placed, always at the end of a point. Always formulated—they could make you appreciate bad dad jokes.
However, there has been some significant understanding of how the brain is divided up for different tasks, how each interacts with the others, and how that results in memories and decisions. I’m glad I listened to it.
January 31, 2022
Hmm… chyba mam taki problem, że jeśli nie przeczytam jakiejś książki naukowej w max tydzień to będę ją wałkować 100 lat. Ale nie o tym.
Na początku mi się bardzo podobała, z czasem coraz mniej. Na pewno nie jest to zła książka. Wyniosłam z niej pare ciekawych informacji i rad ale mam mieszane uczucia co do tego jak była napisana - początek rozdziału to ogólne wprowadzenie do tematu, a następne podrozdziały to tylko lekkie urozmaicenie tego początku. Z jednej strony fajnie, z drugiej niekoniecznie, bo miałam wrażenie ze w kółko czytam to samo. Jak na 350 stron to dość mało cennych informacji i po czasie bardzo irytowało mnie, ciagle powtarzanie „dobrze, ze mozg się myli bo dzięki temu jest niezastąpiony” - okej, rozumiem, ale nie potrzebuje tego powtarzać 10 000 razy.
Na początku mi się bardzo podobała, z czasem coraz mniej. Na pewno nie jest to zła książka. Wyniosłam z niej pare ciekawych informacji i rad ale mam mieszane uczucia co do tego jak była napisana - początek rozdziału to ogólne wprowadzenie do tematu, a następne podrozdziały to tylko lekkie urozmaicenie tego początku. Z jednej strony fajnie, z drugiej niekoniecznie, bo miałam wrażenie ze w kółko czytam to samo. Jak na 350 stron to dość mało cennych informacji i po czasie bardzo irytowało mnie, ciagle powtarzanie „dobrze, ze mozg się myli bo dzięki temu jest niezastąpiony” - okej, rozumiem, ale nie potrzebuje tego powtarzać 10 000 razy.
December 20, 2020
This was one of my first books in a long list of ebooks I started reading during quarantine. It did take me two times of checking it out so it wasn't a fast read (maybe more of a 3.5 rating?), but I do recall repeating information to family members. I also appreciated Beck's take on mistakes which makes it an encouraging book to read.
June 9, 2023
To be human is to err in our decisions, problem-solving, behaviours and actions. If we didn’t, we would not be creative or innovative. If you haven’t made a mistake yet, you’re bound to. If you have made a mistake and recovered from it, you’re a genius. Don’t be afraid of mistakes, accept them for things you can grow from.
Good read! Would recommend. :)
Good read! Would recommend. :)
January 27, 2021
Such a fun book! For starters, I find the brain fascinating (I studied the brain for my thesis). Then there are the other factors. The narrator was dynamic, personable, and interesting. The content, while generally not too new, brought to my conscious thought what seemed familiar to my subconscious awareness. At times I wish I had the physical copy of the book so I could highlight and bookmark sections. Then at the same time, I wonder if I’d actually ever reference the book again or browse through my bookmarkings. Maybe the book better fit with my current circumstances and frame of mind. In any case, listening was time well spent. I digested the book in little chunks—snacking on a section here and there while completing menial tasks, musing over a part for a minute, letting some others sit a little longer, playing with points by thinking of personal and world application, or just allowing my mind to be active while my body rested.
Contemplations:
-AI vs humans—advantages and disadvantages of both
-False memories
-Perception of time and how to live longer (spoiler: it’s in reflecting back on a life full of interesting, diverse, engaging moments)
-State of happiness or achievement compared to the process of feeling a little more happy or achieving (humans prefer the latter)
-Need for novelty
-Risk taking
-Rewards (and motivation by rewards)
-Creativity
-Perfectionism/flawlessness that freezes thinking
-Timing of feedback (spoiler: typically after a short time has elapsed; avoids fear)
-Etc
Contemplations:
-AI vs humans—advantages and disadvantages of both
-False memories
-Perception of time and how to live longer (spoiler: it’s in reflecting back on a life full of interesting, diverse, engaging moments)
-State of happiness or achievement compared to the process of feeling a little more happy or achieving (humans prefer the latter)
-Need for novelty
-Risk taking
-Rewards (and motivation by rewards)
-Creativity
-Perfectionism/flawlessness that freezes thinking
-Timing of feedback (spoiler: typically after a short time has elapsed; avoids fear)
-Etc
April 12, 2023
5/5
W jednym słowie ta książka była fenomenalna. Już od pierwszych stron wiedziałam, że będzie to jedna z moich ulubionych pozycji.
Informacje są podawane w bardzo przystępny sposób, co oznacza, że nie posiadając wiedzy na dany temat, jesteśmy w stanie zrozumieć funkcjonowanie naszego mózgu. Rozdziały są dopasowane w sposób niesamowicie interesujący, dotyczą one codziennych sytuacji, przez co możemy zrozumieć dlaczego działamy tak, a nie inaczej.
Autor świetnie dawkuje wiadomości – powoli wtacza kolejne ciekawostki, często podsumowuje i przytacza, to co już wcześniej było wspomniane. Oczywiście jest to jak najbardziej na plus – nie mamy wrażenia, że czytamy o tym samym setny raz, a czujemy, że lepiej przyswajamy wiedzę.
Książka zawiera to, co w książkach uwielbiam najbardziej – bibliografię. Zawarte w niej przypisy dotyczą między innymi badań naukowych, które są publikowane w recenzowanych czasopismach naukowych. Zawsze w takich momentach mam wrażenie, że pisarz odpowiednio przygotował się do pracy, zrobił porządny przegląd źródeł, tak aby podać nam najbardziej rzetelne informacje.
Niestety, nie mam jeszcze na koncie zbyt wielu przeczytanych publikacji z gatunku popularnonaukowego, ale postaram się to nadrobić w najbliższej przyszłości. Nie daje mi to pełnego obrazu, nie mam możliwości porównania. Ale czy jej potrzebuję? W tym przypadku uważam, że nie. Powodem takiej opinii jest fakt, że lektura jest tak świetnie napisana, że niezależnie od ilości książek w tej tematyce, ta również znalazłaby się na szczycie mojego osobistego rankingu.
W jednym słowie ta książka była fenomenalna. Już od pierwszych stron wiedziałam, że będzie to jedna z moich ulubionych pozycji.
Informacje są podawane w bardzo przystępny sposób, co oznacza, że nie posiadając wiedzy na dany temat, jesteśmy w stanie zrozumieć funkcjonowanie naszego mózgu. Rozdziały są dopasowane w sposób niesamowicie interesujący, dotyczą one codziennych sytuacji, przez co możemy zrozumieć dlaczego działamy tak, a nie inaczej.
Autor świetnie dawkuje wiadomości – powoli wtacza kolejne ciekawostki, często podsumowuje i przytacza, to co już wcześniej było wspomniane. Oczywiście jest to jak najbardziej na plus – nie mamy wrażenia, że czytamy o tym samym setny raz, a czujemy, że lepiej przyswajamy wiedzę.
Książka zawiera to, co w książkach uwielbiam najbardziej – bibliografię. Zawarte w niej przypisy dotyczą między innymi badań naukowych, które są publikowane w recenzowanych czasopismach naukowych. Zawsze w takich momentach mam wrażenie, że pisarz odpowiednio przygotował się do pracy, zrobił porządny przegląd źródeł, tak aby podać nam najbardziej rzetelne informacje.
Niestety, nie mam jeszcze na koncie zbyt wielu przeczytanych publikacji z gatunku popularnonaukowego, ale postaram się to nadrobić w najbliższej przyszłości. Nie daje mi to pełnego obrazu, nie mam możliwości porównania. Ale czy jej potrzebuję? W tym przypadku uważam, że nie. Powodem takiej opinii jest fakt, że lektura jest tak świetnie napisana, że niezależnie od ilości książek w tej tematyce, ta również znalazłaby się na szczycie mojego osobistego rankingu.
March 13, 2023
5 enthusiastically. I give a book 5 stars if I would 1) read it again, 2) heartily recommend it to others, and/or 3) consider that it changed my perspective in some important way. I would consider this to be all of the above. Not only was it entertaining, accessible, and engaging, but it was clearly scientifically-based. In addition, it was a very interesting perspective on not just how our brains work but how those can be either strengths or weaknesses depending on your perspective. That "depending on your perspective" bit is important, because if we constantly focus on the negative (of anything), we will 1) miss a lot of really great things and 2) not be as happy. I would actually consider buying this book (I get most of my books from the library), it was that good-- and I'm that interested in being able to refer back to it whenever I need a refresher.
April 30, 2024
Kellel on vaja isesõitvat Google'i autot, kui meie aju valdab juba ammu autonoomse sõitmise kunsti?
Mida sagedamini me oma mälu teiste inimeste kommentaaride, hinnangute ja seisukohtadega võrdleme, seda suuremal määral me seda võltsime.
Meie motivatsioonisüsteem on selle peal väljas, et võimalikult kiiresti tasu kätte saada.
Kõige kõvem tasu on teiste inimeste tähelepanu.
Ilma riskita vigu teha ei ole ka julgust luua uut. Edusammud on võimalikud ainult siis, kui inimene julgeb vigu teha.
Kes alati uusi asju proovib, selle jaoks on minevik pikem. Mida rohkem sa midagi teed, seda kiiremaks sa selles muutud ning seda kiiremini aeg ka liigub. Näiteks kui sõidad autoga sõprade poole ning pärast tagasi koju, siis kodutee tundub alati lühem.
Mida sagedamini me oma mälu teiste inimeste kommentaaride, hinnangute ja seisukohtadega võrdleme, seda suuremal määral me seda võltsime.
Meie motivatsioonisüsteem on selle peal väljas, et võimalikult kiiresti tasu kätte saada.
Kõige kõvem tasu on teiste inimeste tähelepanu.
Ilma riskita vigu teha ei ole ka julgust luua uut. Edusammud on võimalikud ainult siis, kui inimene julgeb vigu teha.
Kes alati uusi asju proovib, selle jaoks on minevik pikem. Mida rohkem sa midagi teed, seda kiiremaks sa selles muutud ning seda kiiremini aeg ka liigub. Näiteks kui sõidad autoga sõprade poole ning pärast tagasi koju, siis kodutee tundub alati lühem.
June 7, 2020
Page 127 (Australian edition)
"..... You could also choose to meditate. This has been shown to decrease the activity of the default mode network. Of course, this will result in less creativity....."
DUDE!
I pushed through the rest of the book regardless of being reinforced in my understanding through skimmed research after reading this that meditation increases creativity.
This is a book written for the lay person and is so obviously dumbed down, that it is an excruciating experience to finish it.
Advice to Henning Beck.
Please conduct better research.
Please respect your reader.
Above all, please avoid humour.
"..... You could also choose to meditate. This has been shown to decrease the activity of the default mode network. Of course, this will result in less creativity....."
DUDE!
I pushed through the rest of the book regardless of being reinforced in my understanding through skimmed research after reading this that meditation increases creativity.
This is a book written for the lay person and is so obviously dumbed down, that it is an excruciating experience to finish it.
Advice to Henning Beck.
Please conduct better research.
Please respect your reader.
Above all, please avoid humour.
August 15, 2020
Tõsistest ja keerulistest asjadest saab rääkida ja kirjutada lihtsas ja humoorikas keeles. Seda raamatut lugedes tabasin ennast mitmel korral itsitamas või suisa naermas. Ei see kindlasti ei ole mingi naljaraamat. Väga olulistest asjadest räägib. Pigem nagu sissejuhatav õpik teemasse, mis sind liigsete keerukustega ei koorma, aga annab samas päris laia ja kohati ka detailse ülevaate.
Soovitan lapsevanematele, juhtidele, kõigile, kes tahavad endast ja/või teistest inimestest paremini aru saada. Eriti soovitan aga perfektsionistidele ja inseneridele ;)
Soovitan lapsevanematele, juhtidele, kõigile, kes tahavad endast ja/või teistest inimestest paremini aru saada. Eriti soovitan aga perfektsionistidele ja inseneridele ;)
May 26, 2021
Niektóre zagadnienia bardzo ciekawie opisane, jak na przykład mechanizm działania mózgu podczas stresu czy ciekawostki związane z popełnianiem błędów. Była to ciekawa lektura, którą warto przeczytać, chociaż wiele rzeczy pokrywa się z „Pułapki myślenia. O myśleniu szybkim i wolnym”- Daniela Kahneman’a. Ogromnym plusem jest język użyty w książce, który był łatwy do przyswojenia, w związku z czym mogłam ją bez większych problemów czytać wieczorem.
August 13, 2022
3.5* maybe
It was a good informative book. Quite interesting actually. My only issue with it was that it was very repetitive sometimes and could've been a lot smaller because of that. But I loved how each chapter was innovative and had interesting topics. I'm a neuro girly and love learning about the brain and this book fulfilled that. It could've maybe been a little more researched but overall it was a good read.
It was a good informative book. Quite interesting actually. My only issue with it was that it was very repetitive sometimes and could've been a lot smaller because of that. But I loved how each chapter was innovative and had interesting topics. I'm a neuro girly and love learning about the brain and this book fulfilled that. It could've maybe been a little more researched but overall it was a good read.
July 8, 2020
This book provides a very insightful defense of the first half of Alexander Pope’s famous quote: “To ere is human, to forgive is divine.”
It really made the case that the fact that our brains are not perfect and that we are prone to make mistakes is our real secret sauce as humans. It’s what makes us superior to computers and it’s what enables us to be creative.
It really made the case that the fact that our brains are not perfect and that we are prone to make mistakes is our real secret sauce as humans. It’s what makes us superior to computers and it’s what enables us to be creative.
March 15, 2021
Świetna książka popularnonaukowa. Nie jestem fanką projektu okładki... Niemniej, treść jest bardzo przemyślana. Widać, że autor jest naukowcem, ale nie dławi czytelnika nadmiarem pojęć czy anatomicznych szczegółów. Ciekawy jest również pomysł - opisywanie słabości działania mózgu i zestawianie ich z możliwymi sposobami ubijania błędów. Zdecydowanie warto przeczytać.
May 20, 2023
Great use of examples to illustrate complex scientific concepts, combined with a sense of humour and practical perspective - while including scientific descriptions of the brain for those who are interested. Very good writing style for communicating to non-scientific readers without talking down to us.
January 23, 2020
Couldn't finish this one. Made it to about 78% in... but had to return it.
It's not that it was bad, I just felt that I was completely distracted the entire time reading this. It didn't hold my attention.
It's not that it was bad, I just felt that I was completely distracted the entire time reading this. It didn't hold my attention.
March 5, 2020
Quirky and witty. I love how the author makes it engaging and interesting at the same time. It's a worthwhile experience to the non-specialists who want to know more about some ditzy (hence, the title) facts about neuroscience especially the brain.
April 8, 2020
This has been a tough month. You would think that being stuck in a house in quarantine, I would have lots of time to read. But I fought this book the entire month. Reading this book was a grind and an uphill battle. I just couldn't get into this book.
July 12, 2023
A very accessible and sometimes humorous introduction to how the brain works. I particularly enjoyed sections on our perception of time, why we get bored and how daydreaming helps, decision-making, and Beck’s explanation of creative thinking vs ‘intelligence’.
March 28, 2024
Sometimes too science-y, & even then fascinating to watch how my own brain wanders. And also, so funny! This neuroscientist-author has an incredible wit. I’ll get my hands on the physical book to take notes…
January 11, 2020
An extremely interesting, yet comfortably chatty, book about the way the mind works.
February 5, 2020
So interesting!
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