Why You're Smarter Than You Think

If you believe that some people are naturally smarter, that you’re born with inherent aptitudes and weaknesses, and that if you struggle to understand a subject then you’re not cut out for it, then everything you know about learning is wrong. In Limitless Mind, math educator Jo Boaler shows that the brain is capable of learning new skills and incorporating new ideas all throughout our lives, and that struggling to learn and making mistakes are integral parts of cognitive growth.

In this guide, we’ll explore our modern understanding of how the brain develops, the value of attitude over aptitude, and why flexible approaches to learning and teaching are more productive than older, more rigid practices. We’ll also examine what scientists say about brain development, what teachers and psychologists say about modern education, and the role that parents and society play in determining what and how we learn.

By studying the brain, the science of neurology brings the empiricism of science together with mankind’s deepest philosophical questions. What makes us human? What is the true nature of the self, memory, knowing, or action? The late neurologist Oliver Sacks dedicated his life to studying the mysteries and extraordinary powers of the human brain. In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Sacks presents the case histories of some of his patients. Each story is a profoundly human narrative of struggle, survival, and, in some cases, hope.

Many college students take a Psychology 101 class, but not many of them actually absorb and remember the material. If you like the study of the mind but would rather pass on dry lectures, The Psychology Book offers a broad overview of psychology and how it’s changed over time, exploring its various fields and the major figures and theories in those fields. The authors bring a wide range of expertise to the book, including clinical psychology, business psychology, journalism, writing and editing, and music.

In our guide, we’ll explore the origins of psychology before moving chronologically through six major fields: behaviorism, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, and differential psychology. We’ll also add historical context, criticisms and limitations of certain theories, and updated research that supports or contradicts some theories.

We love tales of geniuses and underdogs who rise to success through extraordinary talent and hard work—but this isn’t the whole story. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argues that these stories of supposedly self-made men and women mislead us into thinking that success is an individual achievement. But in reality, every successful person had circumstances that contributed to their success.

In this guide, we’ll explain why uncontrollable factors like when you’re born, how you’re raised, and the culture you grow up in impact your success just as much as personal attributes. We’ve also included commentary that adds context to the case studies, provides nuance to the principles, and offers alternative explanations for Gladwell’s conclusions.

When you hear the word “bias,” you may think of a conscious form of prejudice—but the most potent biases are actually subconscious. These implicit biases are normal neurological responses to the culture you grow up in. In the United States, everyone encounters and encodes antiblack bias to some degree, even in black communities. This racial bias doesn’t just influence how you make decisions—it determines what you notice in your environment and what becomes invisible. And in high-stakes situations like police encounters, the consequences of racial bias can be devastating.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how your brain creates bias; how that bias impacts every area of your life, from where you live to how you post online; and, most importantly, how to combat implicit bias to create a fairer world for everyone. We’ll also compare Dr. Eberhardt’s research on racial bias to other popular books on racism such as How to Be an Antiracist and White Fragility.

Many college students take a Psychology 101 class, but not many of them actually absorb and remember the material. If you like the study of the mind but would rather pass on dry lectures, The Psychology Book offers a broad overview of psychology and how it’s changed over time, exploring its various fields and the major figures and theories in those fields. The authors bring a wide range of expertise to the book, including clinical psychology, business psychology, journalism, writing and editing, and music.

In our guide, we’ll explore the origins of psychology before moving chronologically through six major fields: behaviorism, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, and differential psychology. We’ll also add historical context, criticisms and limitations of certain theories, and updated research that supports or contradicts some theories.

Although people spend their entire lives learning, most of them are doing it wrong. Strategies like rereading and drilling a skill over and over to commit it to memory take a lot of time and ultimately don’t work.

Make It Stick teaches you the strategies that help you achieve the two primary goals of learning: To understand and remember what you learn so you can use your knowledge in future situations. In this summary, learn how a little forgetting helps you remember, and why you’re not a good judge of how much you know.