Book Description

"In this comprehensive and insightful work, Dr. Sharon K. Farber provides an invaluable resource for the mental health professional who is struggling to understand self-harm and its origins. Using attachment theory to explain how addictive connections to pain and suffering develop, she discusses various kinds and functions of self-harm behavior." ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A high school teacher.
This is an impressive and fascinating book. As a high school teacher for well over 20 years, I picked it up because one hears so much nowadays about these disorders among adolescents.Since I have no specialized knowledge in this field (nor any personal issues here), I was apprehensive about my ability to read what I assumed would be highly technical material. To my delight, I found the writing style itself extremely clear, and the material deeply engrossing. I feel I've gained enormous understanding of an area that was not at all clear to me before, and, even better, new ways of thinking about people and myself in general. What a treat!

Lucid and insightful
This book is an academic exploration of some pretty heady topics, and although I have no experience in psychoanalysis, I found it to be a real page-turner. The writing is perfectly descriptive but Farber uses fascinating examples in order to avoid alienating the layperson. She is interested in what is so ordinary about certain impulses, and the cases in her book are not monsters. If you are interested in the mind and what makes us human, read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

In its fourth incarnation, Learning preserves its well-balanced academic rigor and accessibility. Klein continues to present a thorough coverage of both classic and current studies of animal and human research. Of particular interest are the recent findings of leading psychologists investigating animal learning. New pedagogical elements lead students through the logical processing of information. And the reorganization of chapter coverage and order allows instructors more options in planning their course. ... Read more

Book Description

This text's success has come in large part from its up-to-date coverage of important research and theories and offers the latest and most comprehensive overview of cognition on the market today. Recent developments in perception, imagery, problem solving, and creativity are highlighted along with advances in such areas as memory and language and expanded theoretical approaches. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Good information, terrible presentation
As a psychology minor, I think Matlin does a wonderfully thorough job of covering cognition. However, as an English major, I find her style of writing irritatingly repetitive, and much more confusing than it needs to be. She uses a lot of examples to define concepts, rather than stating them--which would be very helpful. Furthermore, the glossary does absolutely nothing to help the confused student, since it basically reprints the in-text sentence where the vocabulary word appears. I would recommend sending the book to a literary editor who could redo the text.

Very helpful!!
I took Dr. Matlin's Cognitive Psychology class last semester at SUNY Geneseo, and we used this book. It is excellent! Its style is very readable but the material is not watered down. The language makes the material very easy to understand. As I read it, I could almost hear her speaking! The examples are very useful in demonstrating the concepts presented. Dr. Matlin details many practical applications of cognitive psychology, such as study strategies, which would be of interest to educators, psychologists, and students alike.

A must read psychology book!
This book was recomended by my psychology teacher. He thaught that this book did an excellent job in defining cognition while hitting some important points about memory. ... Read more

Book Description

a unique, sophisticated treatment of the spontaneous and reflective dimension of human experience ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Philosophy of the Body
Reading this book contributed helpfully to my studies of the phenomenology of the embodied experience. The authors argue that we cannot understand ourselves to be isolated bodies controlled by a mind that stands apart from and judges an independent environment. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in cognitive science, phenomenological philosophy, philosophies of embodiment, and the relationship of Buddhism to these areas of thought.

This book is amazing!
This ranks up there with Chogyam Trungpa's books for clearly presented insights. Trunpa's genius is making Buddhist ideas come alive for Western readers by clearly presenting Buddhist ideas in everyday terms. This book is a wonderful addition to the same delicious feast, building a bridge from Eastern mindfulness/awareness traditions to Western scientific thought. The effect is to improve our understanding of both. Very powerful and thought-provoking. Each page is like a meal. Hungry? Chew this one slowly and enjoy every bite! ... Read more

Book Description

This book offers a unified account of the major research findings and theories on the development of children's thinking from infancy to adolescence; and also considers their practical implications. It examines the change processes through which development occurs, as well as the nature of the changes in language, perception, memory, conceptual understanding, and problem-solving that mark cognitive development. Eight central themes presented in the first chapter integrate and unify the presentation.The authors examine Piaget's theory of development, information-processing theories of development, sociocultural theories, perceptual development, language development, memory development, conceptual development, problem solving, social cognition and the development of academic skills.For anyone involved in the thinking processes and development of children. ... Read more

Book Description

This book balances coverage of theory, research, and data in order to promote a more complete understanding of how human memory works. The book strikes a balance between historically significant findings and current research. Actual experiments, both paper and pencil and online demonstrations, are included to help students see the link between theory and data. ... Read more

Book Description

Do you think you have a "bad memory"? Impossible, says Kevin Trudeau, the world's foremost authority on memory improvement training. There are no bad memories, only untrained memories. In order to release our natural photographic memory, Trudeau says, we just need to learn to retrieve what we already know. As founder of the American Memory Institute, Kevin Trudeau has already helped more than one million people do just that.

Each Mega Memory lesson in this book takes no more than thirty minutes per day and uses pictures, rather than the laborious word-association techniques of other memory systems, to activate our inborn photographic memory. With, this easy-to-follow system, you'll be able to instantly remember names, phone numbers, addresses, financial data, speeches, and schoolwork. Even better, Trudeau's system ensures instant recall and long-term Mega Memory. All you need is the desire to unleash your Mega Memory, and you can reap these incredible rewards!

Labeled with a learning disability at an early age,was convinced his problem was an inability to recall information. He read everyhing he could on memory improvement. Eventually, he developed his own program for memory retrieval and formed the American Memory Institute. His Mega Memory home study system is the most utilized self-improvement series of all time. Trudeau lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Reviews (40)

Probably the best book on memory improvment
Kevin Treudeau's Mega memory is probably one of the best book on memory improvment. His book is filled chapter by chapter with detailed instructions and step by step guides. Eveything is well written, organized and fun to learn. Sure, it does seem to treat you like "kid". But I think this approch makes the reader feel like being assisted by a real teacher and is better than just give you a set of basic instructions and let you practice them by yourself like in the tedious and boring "How to develop a super power memory" and "How to develop a perfect memory".

And by the way. I think The Federal Trade Commession seriously needs a lesson on memory study. As far as scientific research shows, true photographic memory doesn't exsist. People who were born with seemingly unbelievble memory abilities were people who born with a different way of processing information, a la visualization. For example, a guy who fell off a horse and injured himself, but after recovery gained the perfect memory. He could remember everything cause he was suddenly able to convert everything he sees or hear into pictures. If you tell him a story, he doesn't just listen, he would make images in his mind of everything he heard. He does this natrually, automatically and did it with every kind of information he could percieve. So, basically, he uses the same techniqueas any memory trainer use, except, he does it natrualy, other people have to do it manully at first. So you can see, you may think TFTC were composed of NASA scientists, but that's just not true.

And if you think memory techniques are useless for you, you might be right. You know there's a reason why none of the those memory geniuses I've ever known were millionires or brilliant scientists.

The techniques work, but the book is bad
Before I cut into this book, I have a few things to say up front. The techniques in this book work, there's no reason why they shouldn't, they've been working for years. I have to say, in some cases, I thought Trudeau's peg words were better than others I've read and he does all the usual techniques, albeit with different names.

That being said, I considered the book almost un-readable. After reading the much better "Your Memory" by Kenneth Higby (the best of all the memory books in my opinion), "Use Your Perfect Memory" by Tony Buzan and a couple of Harry Lorayne's books ("How to Develop a Super Powered Memory" and "The Memory Book" with Jerry Lucas), I found this book sub-standard. Trudeau baby feeds the information to the reader, constantly assuming that you are stupid. The amount of repetition is unnecessary, and seems just like padding (why not just tell you to re-read it?). There are a lot of statements like "Ok, now stand up and repeat the words out loud", "Now do it again" etc... He talks down to his readers throughout. If you don't mind that, you'll probably like the book.

On top of that, Trudeau never gives credit where credit is due. He leaves the reader to assume that all of these techniques are his own invention, when they are actually just variants of systems in common use. He uses a variation of a phonetic system created in the mid 1600's but never says as much, maybe he doesn't know. The book often reads like a Mega-Memory advertisement.

Finally, Trudeau gives tons of scientific "facts" about memory and imagery without ever feeling the need to back any of it up with a references (Apple didn't create icons by the way, that was Xerox). He says that you shouldn't take notes because it encourages you to forget what you've written, but saying it out loud enourages you to remember. Saying it out loud gets you to use your vocal cords and "Neruo-muscular memory" kicks in because you're using your vocal course which creates more memory links. What about your eye seeing you write something, your hand muscles moving the pen etc...? Aren't those neuro-muscular too? I don't know how many of the scientific "facts" are true or not, but I saw enough wrong to doubt most of the rest. The whole thing is written in a shoot from the hip fashion without verification from other sources.

All the other books I quoted either supplied references (Higbee), or avoided making scientific statements at all (the rest). Either way, I respect those authors much more.

Mega self-confidence!
I used to forget everything: appointments, my umbrela, names, information...etc. Then I started reading memory books but they were all too complicated. One day I read mega memory and started to use it and the results were amazing! People used to take my forgetfulnes for stupidity and my self-confidence was real low. After mega memory I became much more self-confident
and I think this book can help anybody who is serious about improving his/her memory.

Yes it works, and it isn't party tricks.
I have been studying memory techniques for about a year now. I am comparing the systems described in this book against those of Harry Lorayne's memory book with Jerry Lucas and against the information I can find about memory techniques on the web and in other books related to learning and visual perception.
Basically all of these books teach the same few basic systems. They are ways to make mnemonics, or memory aids for yourself instead of having to rely on traditional ones or ones that your teacher may have told you. No one that I know of selling these books to teach memory systems actually invented the systems, though they may have added some small thing to the art. The memory systems themselves are ancient, and they have been described in writing as far back in history as writing exists.
I recommend that you read the entire book through from cover to cover before deciding to try out the exercize. I believe having an overview of the methods can be of help, and is not likely to hurt you in any way. Kevin Trudeau suggests otherwise in this book, but I simply disagree with him.
These methods do work and they are not a party trick. They are of most use to those who will shortly be embarking on a program of study, or have jobs which involve public speaking, or require the memorization of numbers or lists. Anyone who deals with people and would benefit from being able to remember them all by name when you see their face, or their telephone numbers, addresses etc.

Applying these methods will require a lot of mental effort at first. Consider it a workout for your mind. You can't workout your body by passively observing the methods of your aerobics class, and you won't develop your memory by passively reading this book either. You don't become fit by buying a membership to a gym, it takes going and doing the exercises. It is the same with this book, you won't get a fit memory by buying the book, you have to do the exercises. And then you have to have enough imagination to apply the methods to what you want to remember in your daily life.
I prefer Trudeau's style of presentation to Harry Lorayne's. I think the prose sections of the book and the recommended schedule for doing the exercises help you to want to come back to it more, and give you a better idea of what you are doing. Mostly I think that Trudeau has improved on Lorayne's method by introducing other senses, besides just vision, into the imagined links. This approach will help more people. Though Lorayne's book is otherwise good enough, and I prefer the clarity with which he introduces the essentials.

As a claims adjuster.
I have used this book to successfully remember several numbers. I'm still not sure if this book isn't just a bunch of party tricks, but we will see in time. I would have to say that so far it seems to be working.... I just don't like the charges against Mr. Trudeau. That seems to bother me a bit. Before I saw those charges I seemed to be pretty satisfied. ... Read more

Book Description

Discover how today's corporations are benefiting from accelerated learning to speed training time, improve results, and reduce costs.

Accelerated learning is the use of music, color, emotion, play, and creativity to involve the whole student and enliven the learning experience. The Accelerated Learning Handbook is the first definitive book to explain state-of-the-art accelerated learning techniques to trainers and teachers, and features 40 techniques designed to save money while producing far better results.

Leading expert Dave Meier provides an overview of the background and underlying principles of accelerated learning, and reviews the latest supporting research results. Training professionals will look to The Accelerated Learning Handbook to:

• Improve the long-term value of training
• Cut course development time by half
• Discover tips for music- and computer-based learning

Reviews (6)

excellent training tool
I was getting ready to prepare a training program for 44 persons when I read this book. Immediately! after I used the guidelines to prepare my session. Preparation was fast and easy -and fun! I really couldn't believe that it was that easy to apply and it has been one of my best sessions to date. I refer to it when I need a refresher or a new perspective. I definately reccomend this book for trainers who need to keep their material fresh and interesting (esp. in-house trainers).

Accelerated Learning Handbook
Finally, teachers and administrators have a useful tool to recharge their classrooms/schools. We have become so test oriented that many times we forget that the process of learning comes from the doing. The statement comes to mind that we utter with new approaches," When do I have the time to get it all in?". That is where the problem lies! We are so pressured with these new demands that we loose sight of what is important, the process. This book will give us a clearer picture of how we can recharge our teaching and can provide the key so we can use the ideas to change the way we teach or approach the students' learning who are in our care.

Inspirational! This book lives up to its title!
I am a subject matter expert who was occassionally requested to make training presentations. I began to realize that training was my calling. I was then hired to plan training programs. By chance, I ran across this book. After reading the book, I was so inspired I wanted to read it again to ensure that I didn't miss anything important. Here is what happened next. I needed to plan training for professionals in a country I had never visited -- truly a risky venture! Relying on the principles in this book, I designed a program that really involved the participants (the students). For example, in the afternoon of the first day of the workshop, students were meeting with each other in breakout sessions, identifying "promising practices" and "best practices" and making presentations to the whole group. The workshop lasted three days. My supervisors really liked the design of the program. The instructors/facilitators loved participating in the program. And, most importantly, the students/participants loved it so much that I am told to expect twice as many students/participants at the next session. As one instructor/facilitator put it, if the goal of the program was to both create joy and share knowledge, the goal was achieved. Without the information in this book (about how the brain works, about the importance of joy to successful training, about the importance of giving the students/participants the opportunity to create knowledge, etc., etc.), my program would not have been the success that it was. To the author -- Dave Meier (whom I have never met) -- I have these words: "Your book inspired me. It inspired me to design a great training program ... a training program even better than I could have imagined. Because of the importance of the training program, I will look back at the program as one of the great achievements in my life. And I owe it to you. Thank you."

Accelerated Learning
The Accelerated Learning Handbook provides wonderful insight to the different senses that must be stimulated in order to create an optimum learning environment. A.L. Theory advocates a very interactive approach that requires less prep time by the trainer while various topics are explored and cooperatively self-taught by participants. Learning is a full body experience. This book seeks to change the ideas in teaching that were developed in the 1800's and never changed. Although the book tends to get repetitive in convincing the reader that American learning has been wrong for 150 years, the book has many very good thought provoking and eye-opening points. Some of the latest brain research (very simplified for those who aren't neurosurgeons) helps to psychologically justify the innovative new ways of teaching and explains how and why certain methods work particularly well while others do not. Large emphasis is placed on how to get away from standard methods of teaching that bombard the student with verbal or written information, expecting them simply to regurgitate that information. Filled with wisdom in the first part of the book and full of creative applications in the latter part, this book is an excellent well-formatted resource that is very easy to read.

Designing Training Programs
With the content of this book I have combined three aspects two generate Programs in 50% reducing my time to desing courses and programs. You need combine : The four Phases of Learning with SAVI and the Rapid Instrutional Design (RID) and you get an excellent product : Your Training program or Workshop or Conference faster and very practical. ... Read more

Book Description

A McGraw-Hill Advertising Classic

A Technique for Producing Ideas reveals a simple, sensible idea-generation methodology that has stood the test of time.

First presented to students in 1939, published in 1965, and now reissued for a new generation of advertising professionals and others looking to jump-start their creative juices, this powerful guide details a five-step process for gathering information, stimulating imagination, and recombining old elements into dramatic new ideas.

Reviews (6)

Just do "this"!
Creating idea must be the most difficult part not
only in great invention but also in business or daily
life.
This book offers us simple principles of
the way to creat idea step by step.
I thought that I could do it, it completely
makes sense when I read it long
time ago. It was the same opinion which I have
when I read it this time. It is clear that by implementing
the principles I can make progress to achievement even if I do
not hit upon idea immediately.
Then, all I need to do is "just do it". Whether
you can start gathering information or not would be
the watershed of utilizing this book.

Like and instruction manual for your brain...
How to Get Ideas and other books on the subject of creative thinking are mainly just elaborations on the core thoughts laid down by James Webb Young. This is a classic read; short, pointed, and truthful. If you are in the business, you will find your hunches confirmed in simple, memorable language. The other books on the subject are very rah-rah; this book just tells it like it is. Not a self-help book, more like an instruction manual for your brain.

a secret treasure you should only share with closest friends
without giving too much away, the "technique" is so darn commonsensical you will no doubt whack yourself on the head at the simplicity of it all

i have tried his technique and shared it with close friends and it has become (so far) a fail proof way of striking creative oil. won us a fair amount of new business.

another plus is the book so small and concise it fits in most purses and can be read cover-to-cover during your morning latte.

O'really..
The contents' probably great, but what happened to the cover of the book? Did Young & Bernbach over-squeezed their "creativities" and left the cover of this book out cold? Wake up guys...bright yellow is a definite NO-NO for a book cover...leave the "neons" for Las Vegas...!!

"A must have for any educational institution"
Very often I notice that the execution of an ad is translated as "Creativity." James Webb Young reminds us in his small book that ideas are the soul of any good ad. This book is a critical tool for any teacher who wishes to instruct his or her students in the same principle. ... Read more

Book Description

The dean of American philosophers shares his views on methods of training students to think well. His considerations include inductive and deductive logic, interpreting facts, concrete and abstract thinking, the roles of activity, language, and observation, and many other aspects of thought training. This volume is essential reading for teachers and other education professionals.
... Read more

Reviews (2)

Better the second time around.
I had never heard of John Dewey until I took a philosophy class. When I first received the book, I read through it relatively fast. Much of the material went over my head. However, on the second reading it was as if the pages were illuminated. In this book, Mr. Dewey gives his opinion on how we humans learn. It takes every day simple actions, breakes them up into their smallest unit and discusses why we did it that way.

What have I gained from this book? Everytime I do something, I attempt to break it down into its simples being, and determining how this breakdown fosters greater intelligence within myself.

As a text book or a book one wants to learn something from, I give it five stars. For just general reading it will garner 1/2 of a star.

Basic ideas to develop your thinking skills

It is very good to see this book appearing in new editions. This is a classic book about thinking. Dewey studies thought from the psychological and philosophical points of view and derives practical ideas for education.

Reading this book, I was surprised to see the applicability of its contents to my main activity field, which is business management. Today's main effort in business research is toward innovation and learning. Thus, thinking skill is probably the most important resource of any organization.

Dewey's view of thinking is surprisingly consistent and as fresh as any of the new management theories. Just to mention one aspect, he warns about the confusion of mental analysis (looking for the general aspects of an object) with physical analysis (dissection into parts), which leads to study living objects as if they were dead. This is the essence of systems thinking, which is so fashionable today!

The ideas Dewey presents about education are very useful for today's business environment. Business leaders, consultants and scholars should look carefully at his advices! His study of work and play is a great lesson of wisdom.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone seriosly aiming at world class business performance. ... Read more

Book Description

Thisbook was written to give teachers and students a better and morecomprehensive critical thinking book; one that presents aninterdisciplinary, systematic, practical, and friendly approach tothinking—a valuable skill that can enlarge the readers/students' ability tothink through life.The Second Edition reflects theanalyses, ideas, and support of the teachers, reviewers, editors, and studentswho contributed their feedback. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Oversteer
A great book; a keystone of my management science bookshelf that continues to influence my day-to-day thinking 4 years after the first read.

This book goes well beyond a mere summary of Dorner's research. His work investigates the fundamental flaw in human behavior that drives us over and over again to make the wrong decisions: oversteer.

If you have only 30 minutes, order this book and read just the chapter on Chernobyl-- the only intelligent analysis of the disaster I have ever encountered. Chilling.

Essential Reading for Business and Govt Leaders
Wow - a superb analysis of why we fail even when doing things right! The lessons contained herein are invaluable to every professional, and more so for those who are in critical decision making and leadership roles. The fallacy of our thinking is something we dont like to admit or understand, this book reveals the pitfalls of the same. You will need some guts to read and understand this book since it will uncover flaws that you will probably hate to admit.
In some places the translation could have been better, however that should not prevent anyone from reading this book. I suggest "Dont just read - but grasp the lessons." It may take more than one reading to get a better understanding, but that investment of time will be well worth the effort. Equally important - reflect on what you read as you try to assimilate the material discussed.

Wow! Bloody brilliant!
In clear language citing specific studies and without dogma, Dietrich Dorner, et al, shows why we make the wrong decisions and why, sometimes, we make the right ones. It does not have "An Answer" or even a simple set of rules to follow: different situations call for different responses, and The Logic of Failure clearly explains that.

What makes people poor problem solvers?
Dietrich Dörner is an authority on cognitive behavior and a psychology professor at the University of Bamberg, Germany. His research shows that our habits as problem solvers are typically counterproductive.

Probably our main shortcoming is that we like to oversimplify problems. Dörner offers a long list of self-defeating behaviors, but common to all of them is our reluctance to see any problem is part of a whole system of interacting factors. Any problem is much more complex than we like to believe. And failure doesn't have to come from incompetence. The operators of the Chernobyl reactor, as Dörner points out, were "experts." And as experts, they ignored safety standards because they "knew what they were doing."

Dörner identifies four habits of mind and characteristics of thought that account for the frequency of our failures:
1. The slowness of our thinking-We streamline the process of problem solving to save time and energy.
2. Our wish to feel confident and competent in our problem solving abilities-We try to repeat past successes.
3. Our inability to absorb quickly and retain large amounts of information-We prefer unmoving mental models, which cannot capture a dynamic, ever-changing process.
4. Our tendency to focus on immediately pressing problems-We ignore the problems our solutions will create.

Successful problem solving is so complex that there are no hard-and-fast rules that work all the time. The best take-away from the book (and this is my favorite quote): "An individual's reality model can be right or wrong, complete or incomplete. As a rule it will be both incomplete and wrong, and one would do well to keep that probability in mind." The book is 199 easy-to-read pages, and Dörner gives lots of interesting examples from lab tests illustrating people's actual behavior in problem-solving situations.

It's a thought-provoking book for anyone whose job is to tackle complex problems. In one way or another that includes anyone in just about any profession.

Perfect for managers
In the Logic of Failure, Dietrich Dorner lays out the root causes of decision-making failures in a straightforward, easy-to-read, and even entertaining manner. Dorner covers the psychological and emotional failings that occur when individuals are faced with a myriad of complex systems. Anyone who has been bitten by the law of unintended consequences will see a bit of himself in the pages as Dorner helps one envision the inherent inadequacies that prevent people from predicting and preparing for what becomes painfully obvious in hindsight. Although a bit short on what to do in order to permanently correct the problems identified, simply bringing the pitfalls to light will go a long way to alleviate the problem. This is a must read for managers and strategic planners......perhaps even on an annual basis. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is about the inner sources of spontaneous creation. It is about where art in the widest sense comes from. It is about why we create and what we learn when we do. It is about the flow of unhindered creative energy: the joy of making art in all its varied forms.

Free Play is directed toward people in any field who want to contact, honor, and strengthen their own creative powers. It integrates material from a wide variety of sources among the arts, sciences, and spiritual traditions of humanity. Filled with unusual quotes, amusing and illuminating anecdotes, and original metaphors, it reveals how inspiration arises within us, how that inspiration may be blocked, derailed or obscured by certain unavoidable facts of life, and how finally it can be liberated - how we can be liberated - to speak or sing, write or paint, dance or play, with our own authentic voice.

The whole enterprise of improvisation in life and art, of recovering free play and awakening creativity, is about being true to ourselves and our visions. It brings us into direct, active contact with boundless creative energies that we may not even know we had. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

It blows my mind!
thankyou to mr. nachmanovitch. i treasure this book a great deal. it is one of those books you could read over and over, and each time learn something new or gain a new insight into "something", there are so many topics covered.
i would only read a chapter at a time of this book. i think it is very intensely packed with information, and you must let material sink inside you. to scan the book in a day or two will not do it justice. i enjoyed carrying around with me a chapter for a day, or week for that matter, before advancing to the next chapter. the best way to use this book is to take the things to heart, not just to read them, but put them into action.
i constantly would have to rest the book on my lap, gaze up through my ceiling and just kinda let my mind wander. his use of language is extremely clear and imaginative. i would even get goose bumps after certain paragraphs, especially when he talked about the audience and the performers melting into a cohesive organism.
i am still learning from this book, and i always will. i deeply recommend it to any musician, anyone who loves creativity, or anyone who would just like to know what the heck any of this stuff means. great for the professional or amatuer, musician or not.

A Book For Everyone
Excellent!! It is a book to read many times. Short but deep into what creativity and improvisation really are.

It clearly explains what Creativity is and how to unlock the inner obstructions we have to be more creative in any field we would like to perform.

Do you have a passion? forget about everything, if you can unlock your creativity you will reach a state which is unknown to many.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, no matter what they do.

Deep and satisfying
A feel for the deep insides of creativity, no matter what path you walk in life. Life can be lived as art, and this book shows you how. Every page a blessing.

Passion Unveiled
Reading Free Play is a journey; and as such, it is not an easy one. That is its most enduring reward. When a good friend gave me the book to read in 1993, I doubted what I could possibly gain from it, since I considered myself hopelessly awkward compared to her. Through such a toxic prism, I couldn't make any sense of the book, much less embrace it. It read like one big abstraction, with no relevance to me or my life. After a month of fitful starts and stops, I returned the book to my friend in frustration.

Something about it, though, made me buy my own copy in 1998. I started taking voice lessons for singing early last year, and am preparing for a major performance next week. Two weeks ago, I decided to take another stab at reading Free Play. In doing so, I found my key to appreciating the book, and relishing all it has to offer, from beginning to end. Although Nachmanovitch is a musician, he beautifully expands the idea of Improvisation to include any medium through which we express ourselves, and live.

Some friendly advice: When sitting down to read this book, get rid of all negative thoughts and judgments about yourself. While reading it, think of all the things in life you love to do, regardless of how well you or others think you do them. Whoever you are, and whatever you do, this book will help you discover what creativity is, where it comes from, how we block it, and how we can make it sizzle. If you stick with Free Play, you will get to know what's possible when you conquer fear and self-doubt just long enough to do what you love, for its own sake and on your own terms. Stephen Nachmanovitch has written a labor of love, and encourages us to see and live our lives this way. For that, Free Play is a true classic.

Excellent Overview of a Fascinating Subject
I am currently using sections from this book to teach a course in creativity. It is a superb overview of the subject; both motivational and rich in anecdote about the creative process of high-level artists and scientists. Great for breaking through any blocks you may have and extremely well written as well. ... Read more

Book Description

Edwin Hutchins combines his background as an anthropologist and an open ocean racing sailor and navigator in this account of how anthropological methods can be combined with cognitive theory to produce a new reading of cognitive science. His theoretical insights are grounded in an extended analysis of ship navigation - its computational basis, its historical roots, its social organization, and the details of its implementation in actual practice aboard large ships. The result is an unusual interdisciplinary approach to cognition in culturally constituted activities outside the laboratory - "in the wild." Hutchins examines a set of phenomena that have fallen in the cracks between the established disciplines of psychology and anthropology, bringing to light a new set of relationships between culture and cognition. The standard view is that culture affects the cognition of individuals. Hutchins argues instead that cultural activity systems have cognitive properties of their own that are different from the cognitive properties of the individuals who participate in them. Each action for bringing a large naval vessel into port, for example, is informed by culture: the navigation team can be seen as a cognitive and computational system. Introducing Navy life and work on the bridge, Hutchins makes a clear distinction between the cognitive properties of an individual and the cognitive properties of a system. In striking contrast to the usual laboratory tasks of research in cognitive science, he applies the principal metaphor of cognitive science - cognition as computation (adopting David Marr's paradigm) - to the navigation task. After comparing modern Western navigation with the method practiced in Micronesia, Hutchins explores the computational and cognitive properties of systems that are larger than an individual. He then turns to an analysis of learning or change in the organization of cognitive systems at several scales. Hutchins's conclusion illustrates the costs of ignoring the cultural nature of cognition, pointing to the ways in which contemporary cognitive science can be transformed by new meanings and interpretations. A Bradford Book ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A fresh and valuable approach
I decided to read that book because of its frequent appearance in other highly interesting scriptures on 'situated cognition', most notably in Andy Clark's "Being There".

It's a book about the cognitive task of ship navigation, but at the same time it's a book about distributed cognition in general, including organisational learning, the question of representation, and other highly relevant topics.

The field of cognitive science is still a place of almost religious debate about turing machines, problem solvers, representation, intelligence and other theoretical concepts that have in common that they can be discussed, but usually not observed directly. One could easily gain the impression that there was some kind of uncertainty principle special to cognitive science that prevented us from watching "the mind".

It's the biggest strength and achievement of Hutchins' book that he came up with the elegant solution to watch "the mind" by observing humans deal with problems using the cognitive tools (systems of representation and 'real' tools as well) that have developed over the centuries. It's almost ironic to see how well this works. By providing further evidence that cognition is generally a distributed task that is done by interacting with cognitive tools, Hutchins proves to be a philosopher in the Wittgensteinian sense who "shows the fly the way from the fly bottle (of mentalism)."

Mindblowing!
In early 1997, this book helped change the course of my career.

I study software engineering processes, especially software quality assurance techniques. I'd been troubled by the linear, cartesian reasoning we use in our field to justify some practices and deprecate others. What Hutchins did for me is open the door to a whole different way of thinking about cognitive processes in relation to technology. Up to the moment I was drawn to the interesting title on the shelf of a Barnes and Noble bookstore, I had only a vague idea that there are people who study how other people think and make decisions. Since then, I've discovered interesting ideas about how to organize and train software testers from lots of different fields. But it all started with Cognition in the Wild.

What's so special about Cognition in the Wild? I think there are a few factors at work:

- Hutchins style of writing is personable and readable.

- His conclusions are supported by vivid and detailed accounts from the bridge of a warship. I felt like I was there, with him.

- His ideas about naturally situated cognition are so immediately applicable to any system where a group of people are producing an intellectual product.

- His description of the paradigmatic differences between Western and Micronesian navigation practice helped me make sense of similar fundamental differences among factions in my own field.

Since I discovered this stuff, I've oriented my SQA process work squarely toward helping people think better in groups-- a social cognition focus. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Quite valuable despite a bit of tilting at windmills
Smith, a cognitive psychologist, presents an informal interpretation of two disparate perspectives on human learning. On one extreme he presents the "classical view" in which learning is the natural, implicit, and unconscious byproduct of social contexts. On the other extreme he presents the "official theory" of learning that assumes learning is the result of effort, structure, repetition, and discipline.

This type of dichotomizing, while quite useful in highlighting the distinctions Smith is making, does tend to oversimplify the issues. In this case, he demonizes the official theory while divinizing the classical view. As a result, his tone of voice is a bit extreme, his conclusions faulty, and his suggestions for educational reform unrealistic.

Then why give this slim volume a four star rating? Educators need to be continually reminded, as they are here, that learning is not about recall of facts, but about the restructuring of the students' long-term memory. Long-term memory is arranged semantically. This means that new concepts must build on old ones in some kind of meaningful way. The catch for the educator is that the student is the one who gets to decide what is meaningful.

Education is not about recitation of facts, completion of tests, or skill development. Education is about connecting the student to meaningful content in a way that builds on the innate capacity to learn. It is not taught until the student owns it. Because Smith will settle for nothing less than this, I recommend the book.

Short, concise book on the right and wrong of learning
This excellent book on learning reemphasizes the mistakes that are being made as far as teaching children (and actually adults). In educational departments in universities, too often more importance is placed on rote learning and not on helping learning to be an enjoyable experience. I am afraid too many teachers are being churned out that feel the pressure to produce for standardized testing, without realizing that learning this same information can happen in such a way as to make it enjoyable, make sense, and be remembered for a lifetime. At this time, too many times students remember for only short-term recall, and then promptly lose the knowledge after the test. Learning is a continual and lifetime process, and Frank Smith reiterates the mistakes that teaching in the U.S. is making in emphasizing the wrong way to learn.

The information Smith gives is vitally important, and he makes several very quotable statements concerning learning and memory which I have used (citing him) in papers. The book is almost too short, and not as readable as I would have liked it. Nevertheless this is an absolute must read for educators, and for would-be teachers prior to entering their teaching jobs. It is also important for those going into educational research and educational testing to be aware of. We can and should expect children to learn, but we definitely are not approaching it the right way. This book can provide plenty of topics for discussions in education departments across the country. Testing should not be the ends, but rather the ability to learn over a lifetime and the ability to continue this process from indirect sources once out of the school system. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

Ammunition for the battle to restructure education
Frank Smith has given educators substantial arguments for resurrecting the need for change debate. Smith goes underneath the surface and exposes the governing ideas that shaped western learning environments. He nicely explains how the influence of the triple whammy of military, behaviorism, and testing all contributed to making the monolithic educational machine more blind and resistant to natural learning. I love the way he ties the forgetting into the equation, and forces us to reflect on our methodologies and goals. In essence, learning according to the "official" system simply is a matter of compliance for the students, and control for the teachers. This is good material for those teaching overseas.

I like the way he addressed how teachers may focus on measuring what is not learned and may fail to see what is actually learned. Instead of finding fault with the student, he comments on the deficiency of the institutionalized "official" policy that goes unquestioned. Simply marvelous. Smith includes objections to his ideas and answers them in a fair manner. The book is easy to read, nicely dotted with interesting educational insights, and does a superb job in contrasting the official view with the classical view of learning. His ideas are no nonsense and resonate with any teacher and student. While his analysis is quite helpful, his simple three step solution was too simple for me. Smith proposes we be more understanding, honest, and I wish he would have given more examples or data that demonstrate how the changes have affected other teachers and systems. I also wish he would have said more about rewarding the self-directed learner.

I found chapter 10 on online education to be a bit alarmist as he portrays the popular notion that technology may end up replacing teachers. I believe, however, that good teachers will always be needed and that good teachers know how to incorporate technology into their learning plans and not be threatened by it. Still, he has a valid point about cognitive science or educational programmers being the new gatekeepers of information. Definitely worth the money. I am recommending it to all of my colleagues as a professional reading group discussion book. Thank you, Dr. Smith.

Excellent read for students, parents, teachers and coaches.
I read this book as part of a graduate teaching class assignment. It was my first introduction to the works of Frank Smith and I must admit it is quite stimulating and thought-provoking. For those of us who have been trained that "memorization" is the key to academic success, this book will open your eyes to a different world of learning power. I would highly recommend it to all students, teachers, parents and coaches...anyone who wants to understand how they can improve their learning skills and teach others to do the same.

Engaging content -- helps you rethink your teaching methods
This book is an easy read -- but filled with engaging content that helps you rethink your teaching methodology. Frank Smith stresses that students learn what is modeled, not just content. He occasionally reassures us not to memorize the book's content, but to read with interest. Do we take away that interest from our students by making them memorize information?

Frank Smith talks about how we build up our own identity by "interacting with the significant people in our lives." He talks about the "clubs" we belong to -- those communities of influential people (both formal and informal).

"Work experience and learning," should be recognized as a significant educational experience. Many times the greatest learning experiences do not come from classroom "sit time." What can we do as educators to effectively link our classrooms to the world of work?

You'll be so glad to read about correct and incorrect spellings of words stored in our memory -- sometimes we aren't able to sort them out. I thought it was just me -- I was glad to know I wasn't the only one!

I have always heard that once something is placed in long-term memory, it's always there. It's also nice to know that just because it's securely stored away, it's not always easy to access it. Frank Smith talks about creating a trail to that stored information. One thought triggers another and so on. That's why brainstorming is such an effective way of pulling together all those concepts so safely packed away in our heads.

Frank Smith goes into the militaristic history of the educational system, and explains why we do certain things -- and challenges educators to understand and change some of that tradition. The language includes "drills" and "batteries of tests," which "perfectly illustrates the insidious infiltration of militaristic thinking in education." Kind of scary, but very interesting and sad as well.

Frank Smith doesn't just point out frailties in o! ur educational system, he offers possible solutions. This book should be read with an open mind -- it is very stimulating indeed. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (4)

Arguing them out of it.
Many depressed people have a negative self-image and are always expecting something bad to happen. Beck's theory is that this is the cause, rather than a result, of depression. The depressed make "depressogenic assumptions" and have to be shown that these are false. It sounds as if zealous Beckian therapists must spend a lot of time arguing with their patients.
"Cognitive Therapy of Depression" is an excellent book, obviouly written by a wise and experienced clinician. It reads as if directed at other professionals, and is full of sound advice to them.
Like other neo-Freudians (and I would classify him as a neo-Freudian) Beck recommends ignoring the patient's childhood memories. I suspect this is an effort to distinguish them from the orthodox Freudians. Sometimes it makes sense but in cases it is like "apart from that Mrs. Lincoln how did you enjoy the play?" (For example childhood bereavement is well-documented as associated with depression).
I thought Chapter 10 "Specific Techniques for Dealing with the Suicidal Patient" could have been improved or else the reader referred to a general psychiatry text. The authors seem undecided as to whether they are writing a comprehensive review of how to handle the suicidal or merely giving advice about the content of therapy sessions. Suicidal risk factors are covered in an incomplete way. Suicide hotlines are not mentioned.
Chapter 14 on "Technical Problems" could be read with profit by anyone who works with the depressed.
Chapter 17 "Cognitive Therapy and Anti-depressant Medications contains a wonderfully succinct and clear summary of the taxonomy and natural history of depression. (My copy want printed in 1979 but I did not think the information was outdated). It contains a frank and full list of the kind of patient who does NOT respond to cognitive therapy, which is basically the kind of patient psychotherapists avoid. (Although in non-academic real life we do have to spend time, often a lot of time, talking to such patients and have to know how to do it)
Beck and his co-authors (all male judging by their first names) write in a pleasant, readable and old-fashioned style, with frequent references to "our clinic" and an assumption that the therapist is male. Most of the advice is completely in accordance with psychodynamic technique and common sense. The warm (but not too warm) and empathetic (but not too empathetic) therapist is to let the patient talk and to be nice to to her. The talking will uncover previously unsuspected conflicts, at which point the patient may show strong emotion, which is to be encouraged because it produces "catharsis" (sic). Freudian mechanisms of defense are assumed.One case described is a woman suffering from fatigue and lack of energy, which were finally found to be due to her struggle to avoid unpleasantness in her relationship with her husband. All was well when she learned to accept his imperfections. One detects a flavor of old Vienna.
The biggest selling point of Beckian therapy has been its use of controlled trials to demonstrate its superiority to other brands of psychotherapy. Controlled trials run by psychotherapists are often in the same category as Dr Johnson's preaching woman and dancing dog. The evidence is well presented in Chapter 18 "Outcome Studies of Cognitive Therapy." Obviously you don't go to a book by Beck to get and completely unbiassed meta-analysis of the evidence for Beckian therapy, so you'd have to supplement this with following the reviews in the professional journals.

A classic by a preeminent expert.
Aaron T. Beck's "Depression" is regarded as a classic. Its emphasis is on the diagnosis and treatment of depression, including manic depression (bipolar disorder), and other affective (mood) disorders. There is much more detail regarding the diagnosis of affective disorders than one would find in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-IV). Of particular importance is the inclusion of the Beck Depression Index, a psychological test used to evaluate people for depression. People with a background in both mental health and psychological testing are familiar with the Beck Depression Index. A good portion of the book is devoted to the Beck Depression Indicator (as a subjective assessment medium). Additionally, Beck discusses patterns of behavior and the manifestation of depression in dreams.

A portion of the book is devoted to theories of depression, dealing primarily with 20th century theories of depression. If you want to view depression in a historical context, there is nothing better than Jackson's "Melancholia and Depression." However, we digress at this point. We must remember that this work was copyrighted in 1967, and that there has been significant research on affective disorders since then. The discussion of psychopharmacological intervention does not discuss the selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. The work of Martin E. P. Seligman, also of the University of Pennsylvania, is not mentioned because it was not completed by the time of the release of this publication. The strongest appeal of this book is the use of cognitive therapy in the treatment of depression.

This book has value to academic libraries, mental health professionals and students, as well as people who are interested in the study of depression and mood disorders. In addition, those who have a family member suffering from depression may be given an insight into the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder through reading this book. People who buy this book should also consider purchasing Martin E. P. Seligman's "Learned Optimism," as well as Jungian analyst Julia Kristeva's "Dark Sun."

An excellent introductory text!
Cognitive Therapy of Depression is a classic in its own right: It gives clear examples of the symptoms and how to treat them using cognitive therapy. For anyone remotly interested in psychology or the theories behind depression this book is a must have.

A classic
This book is the most important book ever written in the field of cognitive therapy. Clearly written, informative, helpful to beginning and advanced clinicians, it is a classic. For anyone interested in learning how to conduct cognitive therapy, this book is simply required reading. Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D., Director, American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, NYC ... Read more

Book Description

With its strong theoretical focus, this book serves as an essential resource on the functional neuroimaging of cognitive processes and on the latest discoveries obtained through positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques. It is organized into three sections. The first covers the history and methods of PET and fMRI, as well as cognitive networks, showing how the brain regions involved in the different cognitive processes interact. The second part, the book's core, covers PET and fMRI findings in specific domains: attention, visual recognition, language, semantic memory, episodic memory, and working memory. The third part covers the effects of aging on brain activity during cognitive performance and also examines research with neuropsychologically impaired patients.

Contributors
Jeffrey Binder, Randy L. Buckner, Roberto Cabeza, Mark D'Esposito, Paul Downing, Russell Epstein, Karl J. Friston, John D. E. Gabrieli, Todd C. Handy, Joseph B. Hopfinger, Nancy Kanwisher, Zoe Kourtzi, Jessica M. Logan, George R. Mangun, Alex Martin, A. R. McIntosh, L. Nyberg, Cathy J. Price, Marcus E. Raichle. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent & comprehensive intro
This is an excellent book, focusing on fMRI and PET, that goes over in detail methodology and applications. The methodology sections includes details on the underlying physiology (it's more complicated than just blood flow and 02 extraction)and critiques the commonly used subtraction method, preferring instead event-evoked studies. Going beyond the simplistic concepts of areas "lighting up" being "for" this or that cognitive function, there is coverage of network analysis. The methodology is obviously still in an early evolutionary phase, and each chapter has closing section on controversies and future directions. The application sections cover neuroimaging of attention, visual recognition, semantic, episodic and working memory, and language. There is good critical review of the literature here, and there is no tendency towards oversimplification of conflicting results. There is also a chapter on cognitive aging that I found particularly informative, showing how the elderly utilize different neural networks than younger people to perform various cognitive tasks. The book is about 400 pages and includes 22 color plates. This is a very rich and rapidly evolving research area, and I think this is a great intro book for clinicians in neurology, psychology and psychiatry, as well as neuroradiology, to get an appreciation of what just a few years ago was a science fiction concept...taking pictures of the mind as it thinks. ... Read more

Book Description

This unique guide provides a systematic overview of the idea of architectural space.

Bryan Lawson provides an ideal introduction to the topic, breaking down the complex and abstract terms used by many design theoreticians when writing about architectural space. Instead, our everyday knowledge is reintroduced to the language of design. Design values of 'space' are challenged and informed to stimulate a new theoretical and practical approach to design.

This book views architectural and urban spaces as psychological, social and partly cultural phenomena. They accommodate, separate, structure, facilitate, heighten and even celebrate human spatial behaviour.

* Helps to reconnect your everyday implicit knowledge with your professional conceptual knowledge
* Gain a greater understanding of clients by questioning the values you commonly hold
* Promotes easier communication by taking the abstract idea of 'space' and placing it in real terms ... Read more