{"id":92584,"date":"2023-02-12T15:12:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-12T19:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=92584"},"modified":"2023-02-20T11:45:21","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T15:45:21","slug":"the-extended-mind-annie-murphy-paul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-extended-mind-annie-murphy-paul\/","title":{"rendered":"The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul: Book Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Want an overview of Annie Murphy Paul’s The Extended Mind<\/em>? How can you learn to think more productively and efficiently?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Extended Mind<\/em>, Annie Murphy Paul teaches you several simple cognitive strategies and habits that will help you better understand complex ideas and focus more intently on your goals. Her simple methods show you ways to unlock more creative ideas and connect more deeply with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for an overview of Annie Murphy Paul’s The Extended Mind<\/em> book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Extended Mind<\/em> Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you imagine a genius scientist or philosopher, you may picture someone sitting alone, lost in thought, slowly formulating their world-changing ideas entirely in their head. However, truly effective thinking could look very different. In The Extended Mind<\/em>, Annie Murphy Paul argues that optimal cognition isn\u2019t about withdrawing deeper into our minds\u2014it\u2019s about engaging more with the world outside of our heads.<\/strong> As a science writer, Annie Murphy Paul argues in The Extended Mind<\/em> that intelligence has less to do with our neurobiology and more to do with how well we use the external world to enhance our thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Paul, people who know how to make use of external aids have such a cognitive advantage because modern society is at odds with our neurobiology. <\/strong>Our brains evolved to suit a hunter-gatherer lifestyle in which we were actively engaged with our bodies, the world around us, and our relationships with each other. However, the world has quickly changed, and our society, full of abstract ideas, artificial environments, and social isolation, no longer stimulates our brains in a way that unlocks their full potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you start thinking in a way that suits your brain\u2019s biology, Paul argues that you can tap into your full cognitive potential. Specifically, you can learn and understand complex ideas more thoroughly, focus more intently on your goals, come up with more creative solutions to your problems, and communicate, collaborate, and empathize more effectively with those around you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Become Happier by Catering to Your Biology<\/strong>

The mismatch between our ancient neurobiology and modern society doesn\u2019t just make it harder for us to think optimally\u2014it also makes it harder for us to achieve optimal happiness<\/em>. In The Happiness Hypothesis<\/em><\/a>, Jonathan Haidt uses an evolutionary lens to analyze humanity\u2019s struggle to find happiness. 

Haidt explains that we evolved to have a negativity bias<\/a>: We typically fear and dislike bad things more than we enjoy good things. This negativity bias<\/a> gave our hunter-gatherer ancestors a strong aversion to risk, which helped them avoid life-threatening danger. However, in our modern society in which we\u2019re typically not in danger of sudden death, this negativity bias just makes us more likely to be unhappy.

But there\u2019s good news: Just like we can improve our thinking by engaging with the world outside our minds, Haidt argues that we can achieve happiness by similarly catering to our biology. Our brains are naturally satisfied by the gradual progression toward difficult goals<\/a>. By choosing gratifying goals that draw on our strengths, we can make ourselves happy. In particular, two goals that have the most positive impact on happiness are deepening meaningful connections with others and gaining more autonomy over your life.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Enhancing Cognition Using Your Body<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first way<\/a> you can use external aids to enhance your cognition is by actively engaging with your body. By paying attention<\/a> to how your body feels and how you\u2019re choosing to move it, Paul argues, you can access a more expansive way of thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s examine four strategies for how to use your body to think more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategy #1: Listen to Your Body<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In The Extended Mind<\/em>, Annie Murphy Paul asserts that by becoming more sensitive to how your body feels, you can access a wealth of quick and accurate subconscious knowledge<\/em>. <\/strong>The brain perceives and stores vastly more information than you\u2019re aware of, and it understands far more complex and subtle patterns than you can consciously grasp. This subconscious information manifests as an intuition you can feel in your body as subtle physical sensations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequently, research has shown that people with greater bodily awareness<\/a> display instinctive skills in cognitively demanding domains. In one study, researchers found that financial traders who could more accurately report the rhythm of their heartbeat made more profitable decisions than traders who were less aware of their bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategy #2: Exercise Strategically<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Another way you can use your body to improve your cognition is by exercising in a way that matches the kind of thinking you want to do. In The Extended Mind<\/em>, Annie Murphy Paul distinguishes among mild exercise, moderate exercise, and heavy, sustained exercise, and she asserts that each level of physical exertion has a different effect on your brain.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n