Friends, friends, friends.
Welcome back to Teatime Reading where there are books in progress.
Sometimes, a book has a title that just grabs you and pulls you in for more.
Sorry, I got distracted there for a minute.
Today’s book was one of those stop-you-in-your-tracks types of titles: The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain. Author Annie Murphy Paul (or whoever specifically came up with the title) got me really curious to see exactly what she was talking about here.
I’ll confess that I thought that this book was a sci-fi thriller before I saw the subtitle. I had visions of supercomputers and artificial intelligence.
However, this book is much more of a practical experience. It is about utilizing some techniques to expand our minds beyond our physical brain.
The theory got confusing, but I appreciated the different ways that the author describes and lays out her actual principles. From using movement to getting optimal surroundings to having strong relationships with experts, peers, and groups, this book was an interesting and unique take on a nuanced and potentially wooly subject.
I personally found the most value in the section on movement. From gesturing while thinking to walk-and-talks with coworkers or mentors, I realized how much I’ve utilized movement in my life. It may not be a coincidence that I’ve felt sharpest when I’m walking or pacing or gesturing.
Overall, author Annie Murphy Paul had nine key principles that made up the bulk of the book. The ones that stood out the most for me, either because I already try to practice them, or because I need to were the following
1. Offload information, externalize it, move it out of our heads and into the world.
3. Alter our own mental state by moving or getting out in nature.
4. Re-embody information via interception or gesturing.
5. Re-spatialize information via concept maps, drawings or memory palaces.
6. Re-socialize information by discussing, debating and explaining to others.
The Extended Mind is a book that is a little complicated and I don’t think it is the easiest read. In some ways, it highlights our obsessions with productivity. However, in others, it contains unique principles that could offer a lot of benefits that go beyond a corporate balance sheet.
In some ways, therefore, The Extended Mind could make individual people a little happier too.
That question is a difficult one to conclusively answer, but I do think that The Extended Mind is a book worth reading.
Until next time, keep your bookmarks close everyone.
Peace, Love, Pages
Note: As Always, Affiliate Links are here for your convenience at no cost to you. All reading was at my own expense.