The World's Best Book Summaries
What is ethos in the context of persuasion? How can you use the three elements of ethos to make a persuasive argument? Ethos is used in persuasive arguments to establish trustworthiness and credibility as a speaker or writer. There are three essential elements to developing ethos: virtue, personal disinterest, and practical wisdom. Keep reading to learn about the three building blocks of ethos and how to use them in a persuasive argument.
What is a persuasive argument? What are the key building blocks of an argument that is meant to persuade? A persuasive argument consists of three steps: choosing a goal, choosing a tense, and choosing an appeal. In a persuasive argument, you’ll typically use Aristotle’s three classical persuasive appeals—ethos, logos, and pathos—to achieve your goal. Continue below to learn how to construct a persuasive argument.
What is Jay Heinrichs’s Thank You for Arguing about? What is the key message to take away from the book? In his book Thank You for Arguing, Jay Heinrichs explains not only how to persuade people to do what you want, but also how to help opposing groups find common ground, get a bully to talk himself down, and spot the faulty logic others use to manipulate you. He also discusses the importance of teaching rhetoric in schools. Here’s a brief overview of the key themes.
Tim Ferriss is a famous American entrepreneur, author, podcaster, investor, and lifestyle guru. He is probably most famous for his podcast The Tim Ferriss Show, which is one of the top Apple Podcasts in business, and for his 4-Hour book series. Since Ferriss’s advice is held in high regard, we put together a list of Tim Ferriss’s book recommendations and mentions. Some of these books were directly recommended by Ferriss—whether on his website or his podcast—and others were ones he’s discussed or mentioned. Our list starts with Tim Ferriss’s number one book recommendation, The Magic of Thinking Big. Ferriss said
What are the top myths surrounding mindfulness? Have you let those misconceptions hold you back from practicing mindfulness? Author Dan Harris is no stranger to the myths surrounding mindfulness and meditation. Harris was a former skeptic and critic himself. In this post, Harris, the author of 10% Happier, explores the most common mindfulness myths and debunks them. Let’s take a closer look at the four most common myths.
What makes information easy to remember? What are some specific factors of memorability? If you want to get information to stick in your memory, it helps to recall it often. Of course, it also has to be memorable to begin with. Memorability increases as the information connects to more and more parts of your brain. Read more to learn how to remember something by making it more memorable in the first place.
What are the three different types of choices? How can having more options make decisions even more difficult? In his book The Paradox of Choice, Professor Barry Schwartz discusses the three categories of choice: consumer choices, complex choices, and personal choices. Schwartz focuses on the fact that today we have more options than ever, and although that may appear to be a good thing at first, it actually causes more problems than it solves. Continue below to learn about each type of choice.
How well do you remember what you learn? What are some techniques that can help? Barbara Oakley, in her book A Mind for Numbers, discusses how to improve your memory for studying. She shares ways to make information more memorable and techniques for effective recall. These strategies, combined with insights from Moonwalking with Einstein author Joshua Foer, can help you remember what you learn. Keep reading for ideas on how to improve your memory for studying.
How do you learn? What are the actual brain mechanics of absorbing and recalling information? Understanding how people learn is helpful if you want to maximize your learning. You can alternate between your two modes of thinking in order to learn and solve problems more effectively. You also can store and recall more information when you have a handle on how memory works. Read on to better understand how people learn.
How are your learning habits? Is procrastination one of them? You can make the most of your study time when you take control of your habits. A Mind for Numbers includes four strategies for changing your learning habits—and three ways to overcome the habit of procrastination. Keep reading to discover how to establish effective learning habits.