deepstash

Beta

deepstash

Beta

How to Train Your Brain to Think in New Ways

.no-js-aHR0cHM6Ly9lbmNyeXB0ZWQtdGJuMC5nc3RhdGljLmNvbS9pbWFnZXM_cT10Ym46QU5kOUdjU1FYak1DdzBJaG5OSm5NZkJwSmpMQTdwV09PNkFOTFVpSF9LSmlDM1BiLWZsc2djNDEmcw { display: none !important; }

“All the wisdom of the world is not to be found in one little academic department.”

Charlie Munger

647 SAVES

1.25k READS

EXPLORE MORE AROUND THESE TOPICS:

How to Think

.no-js-favicons?domain=fs { display: none !important; }

fs.blog

I wrote a response on quora recently to the question 'how do I become a better thinker' that generated a lot of attention and feedback so I thought I'd build on that a little and post it here too. Thinking is not IQ.

Key Ideas

Thinking is not IQ

We often make the mistake of thinking that people with high IQs think better. But it's not true. That's not the type of knowledge or brainpower that makes you better at life, happier, or more succe...

Principles for seeking wisdom

Go to bed smarter than when you woke up.
"I’m not smart enough to figure everything out myself, so I want to master the best of what other people have already figured out."

If you want to think better...

Become better at probing other people’s thinking. Ask questions. Simple ones are better. “Why” is the best.
Slow down. Make sure you give yourself time to think.
Probe yourself. Try and understand if you’re talking about something you really know something about or if you’re just regurgitating something you heard.

2 more ideas

.no-js-aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWI1ZGoxNDdmOTdjM2F4LXppcHB5a2lkLm5ldGRuYS1zc2wuY29tL3dwLWNvbnRlbnQvdXBsb2Fkcy8yMDEzLzA0L3NoZXJsb2NrLmpwZw { display: none !important; }

How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

.no-js-favicons?domain=fs { display: none !important; }

fs.blog

When it comes to using our minds, we all want to learn how to think like Sherlock Holmes. This isn't just a way of solving a crime. It's a way of thinking. Maria Konnikova's book, Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes, takes a deep look at Sherlock Holmes's methodology to develop the habits of mind that will allow us to mindfully engage the world.

Key Ideas

Think like Sherlock Holmes

“What Sherlock Holmes offers isn’t just a way of solving a crime. It is an entire way of thinking."

"Holmes provides... an education in improving our faculty of mindful thought...

Engagement

As children, we are remarkably aware to the world around us. This attention wanes over time as we allow more pressing responsibilities to attend to and demands on our minds to address. And as the demands on our attention increase so, too, does our actual attention decrease.

As it does so, we become less and less able to know or notice our own thought habits and more and more allow our minds to dictate our judgments and decisions, instead of the other way around.

Pitfalls of the Untrained Brain

Daniel Kahneman believes there are two systems for organizing and filtering knowledge:

System one is real-time. This system makes judgments and decisions before our mental apparatus can consciously catch up.
System two, on the other hand, is a slow process of thinking based on critical examination of evidence. Konnikova refers to these as System Watson and System Holmes.

To move from a System Watson- to a System Holmes-governed thinking takes mindfulness plus motivation.

6 more ideas

.no-js-aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWI1ZGoxNDdmOTdjM2F4LXppcHB5a2lkLm5ldGRuYS1zc2wuY29tL3dwLWNvbnRlbnQvdXBsb2Fkcy8yMDE4LzA2L0RvdWJsZS1Mb29wLWxlYXJuaW5nLnBuZw { display: none !important; }

Double Loop Learning: Download New Skills and Information into Your Brain

.no-js-favicons?domain=fs { display: none !important; }

fs.blog

We're taught single loop learning from the time we are in grade school, but there's a better way. Double loop learning is the quickest and most efficient way to learn anything that you want to "stick." *** So, you've done the work necessary to have an opinion, learned the mental models, and considered how you make decisions.

Key Ideas

Single & Double Loop Learning

The first time we aim for a goal, follow a rule or make a decision, we are engaging in single loop learning.
If we question our approaches and make honest self-assessments, we shift...

How Success Becomes an Impediment

Many skilled people excel at single loop learning where they become accustomed only to success.

They aren’t used to failing, so they struggle to learn from their mistakes and often respond by blaming someone else.

“their ability to learn shuts down precisely at the moment they need it the most.”

The Key to Double Loop Learning

Push the single loop to the point of failure, to strengthen how you act in the double loop.

Stop getting defensive. Instead, collect and analyze relevant data, draw conclusions and test them.
Change your mental models. Problem-solving isn’t a linear process where you can make one decision and then sit back and await success.
Fail early. Fail fast. If you learn to deal with failure you can have a worthwhile career.

one more idea