A selection of books on how to learn, think and make effective decisions.
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Today we have compiled a collection of books that are looking at ways to improve the efficiency of work and study in terms of patterns of thinking.
Photo: g_u / Flickr / CC BY-SA
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Smart people sometimes make very stupid mistakes. Those who blindly believe in their competence often fall into blind spots that they themselves are unaware of. The essays presented in this book look at the bad habits of intellectuals, from ignoring obvious causal relationships to the tendency to overestimate one’s own experience. This book will help you be more critical about how we think, learn and work.
American educator John Holt is one of the most prominent critics of established educational systems. This book is based on his teacher's experience, and on how fifth-graders experience learning failures. The chapters resemble diary entries — go around situations that the author gradually examines. Careful reading will allow you to rethink your own experience and understand what "educational" habits you have taken root since childhood. The book was published in Russian in the 90s, but has since been published.
According to the authors, a number of human problems — such as global warming, social inequality, and an epidemic of mental illness — remain unresolved due to the approach to education that we were taught in childhood. In order to lead a meaningful life and actively change the world for the better, it is first necessary to change the attitude towards knowledge as such and the process of their extraction. The authors argue in favor of critical thinking and the organization of the educational process around questions, rather than answers to them.
In the book you will find both a description of the educational process from the point of view of psychology, and practical tips for optimizing it. Special attention is paid to educational strategies that do not work in practice. The authors will explain why this is happening, and tell you what can be done about it. For example, they argue that it is useless to adapt to the student’s educational preferences. Studies say that a predisposition to certain learning methods does not affect the effectiveness of studies.
The most famous work of psychologist Mihai Cikszentmihai. In the center of the book - the concept of "flow". The author assures that the ability to regularly “flow into the stream” makes human life more meaningful, happy and productive. The book tells about how representatives of different professions - from musicians to climbers - find this state, and what you can learn from them. The work is written in an accessible and popular language - closer to the literature of the “self-help” genre. This year the book was once again republished in Russian.
The classic work of the Hungarian mathematician Györdi Poya - an introduction to working with the mathematical method. It contains a number of applied techniques that can be used to solve both mathematical problems and problems of another kind. A valuable resource for those who want to develop the intellectual discipline necessary for the study of exact sciences. In the Soviet Union, the book was published back in 1959 under the title “How to Solve a Problem”.
Not all people want to study the exact sciences, but this does not mean that they have nothing to learn from mathematicians. Barbara Oakley thinks so - Professor of Oakland University, an engineer, philologist and translator. “Think like a mathematician” examines the workflows of representatives of the exact sciences and shares with the readers key lessons that can be learned from them. It will be about mastering the material without cramming, memory is short-term and long-term, the ability to recover from failures and the fight against procrastination.
Soon after the book by the cognitive and Pulitzer Prize winner Douglas Hofstadere “ Godel, Escher, Bach ” was published, the writer began to publish regularly in the journal Scientific American. The columns he wrote for the magazine were subsequently supplemented with comments and combined into a weighty book called Metamagical Themas. Hofstader touches various topics related to the nature of human thinking: from optical illusions and Chopin's music to artificial intelligence and programming. Theories of the author are illustrated by mental experiments.
What is "common sense"? How is knowledge formed? How does our view of the world relate to reality? These and other questions are answered by the work of William Poundstown, a physicist by training and a writer by vocation. William addresses questions of epistemology and answers them, talking about the paradoxical features of human thinking that are easy to miss. Among the fans of the book are the cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadher mentioned by us, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov and mathematician Martin Gardner.
Daniel Kahneman is a professor at Princeton University, a Nobel Prize winner, and one of the founders of behavioral economics. This is the fifth and last book by the author, in which some of his scientific findings are popularly retold. The book describes two types of thinking: slow and fast, and their influence on the decisions we make. Much attention is paid to the methods of self-deception, in which people are engaged in order to simplify their lives. No cost and no tips on working on yourself.
PS More interesting books on this topic can be found in this repository .
Today we have compiled a collection of books that are looking at ways to improve the efficiency of work and study in terms of patterns of thinking.
Photo: g_u / Flickr / CC BY-SA
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Thinking habits
Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid
Robert Sternberg (Yale University Press, 2002)Smart people sometimes make very stupid mistakes. Those who blindly believe in their competence often fall into blind spots that they themselves are unaware of. The essays presented in this book look at the bad habits of intellectuals, from ignoring obvious causal relationships to the tendency to overestimate one’s own experience. This book will help you be more critical about how we think, learn and work.
How children fail
John Holt (1964, Pitman Publishing Corp.)American educator John Holt is one of the most prominent critics of established educational systems. This book is based on his teacher's experience, and on how fifth-graders experience learning failures. The chapters resemble diary entries — go around situations that the author gradually examines. Careful reading will allow you to rethink your own experience and understand what "educational" habits you have taken root since childhood. The book was published in Russian in the 90s, but has since been published.
Teaching as a Subversive Activity
Neil Postman & Charles Weingartner (Delacorte Press, 1969)According to the authors, a number of human problems — such as global warming, social inequality, and an epidemic of mental illness — remain unresolved due to the approach to education that we were taught in childhood. In order to lead a meaningful life and actively change the world for the better, it is first necessary to change the attitude towards knowledge as such and the process of their extraction. The authors argue in favor of critical thinking and the organization of the educational process around questions, rather than answers to them.
Learning to learn
Make It Stick: The Science Of Successful Learning
Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. McDaniel (2014)In the book you will find both a description of the educational process from the point of view of psychology, and practical tips for optimizing it. Special attention is paid to educational strategies that do not work in practice. The authors will explain why this is happening, and tell you what can be done about it. For example, they argue that it is useless to adapt to the student’s educational preferences. Studies say that a predisposition to certain learning methods does not affect the effectiveness of studies.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
Mihaly Cziksentmihalyi (Harper, 1990)The most famous work of psychologist Mihai Cikszentmihai. In the center of the book - the concept of "flow". The author assures that the ability to regularly “flow into the stream” makes human life more meaningful, happy and productive. The book tells about how representatives of different professions - from musicians to climbers - find this state, and what you can learn from them. The work is written in an accessible and popular language - closer to the literature of the “self-help” genre. This year the book was once again republished in Russian.
How To Solve It: A New Aspect Of Mathematical Method
George Polya (Princeton University Press, 1945)The classic work of the Hungarian mathematician Györdi Poya - an introduction to working with the mathematical method. It contains a number of applied techniques that can be used to solve both mathematical problems and problems of another kind. A valuable resource for those who want to develop the intellectual discipline necessary for the study of exact sciences. In the Soviet Union, the book was published back in 1959 under the title “How to Solve a Problem”.
Think like a mathematician: How to solve any problems faster and more efficiently.
Barbara Oakley (TarcherPerigee; 2014)Not all people want to study the exact sciences, but this does not mean that they have nothing to learn from mathematicians. Barbara Oakley thinks so - Professor of Oakland University, an engineer, philologist and translator. “Think like a mathematician” examines the workflows of representatives of the exact sciences and shares with the readers key lessons that can be learned from them. It will be about mastering the material without cramming, memory is short-term and long-term, the ability to recover from failures and the fight against procrastination.
Learning to think
Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern
Douglas Hofstadter (Basic Books, 1985)Soon after the book by the cognitive and Pulitzer Prize winner Douglas Hofstadere “ Godel, Escher, Bach ” was published, the writer began to publish regularly in the journal Scientific American. The columns he wrote for the magazine were subsequently supplemented with comments and combined into a weighty book called Metamagical Themas. Hofstader touches various topics related to the nature of human thinking: from optical illusions and Chopin's music to artificial intelligence and programming. Theories of the author are illustrated by mental experiments.
Labyrinths of Reason: Paradox, Puzzles, and the Frailty of Knowledge
William Poundstone (Anchor Press, 1988)What is "common sense"? How is knowledge formed? How does our view of the world relate to reality? These and other questions are answered by the work of William Poundstown, a physicist by training and a writer by vocation. William addresses questions of epistemology and answers them, talking about the paradoxical features of human thinking that are easy to miss. Among the fans of the book are the cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadher mentioned by us, science fiction writer Isaac Asimov and mathematician Martin Gardner.
Think slowly ... decide quickly
Daniel Kahneman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011)Daniel Kahneman is a professor at Princeton University, a Nobel Prize winner, and one of the founders of behavioral economics. This is the fifth and last book by the author, in which some of his scientific findings are popularly retold. The book describes two types of thinking: slow and fast, and their influence on the decisions we make. Much attention is paid to the methods of self-deception, in which people are engaged in order to simplify their lives. No cost and no tips on working on yourself.
PS More interesting books on this topic can be found in this repository .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/446116/
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