“[This] book will convince you that forgetting helps you remember and distractions can make you more creative.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of TED’s Work Life podcast
“Illuminating, and a joy to read, [Scatterbrain] offers … a refreshingly accessible and relatable take on the brain’s inner workings that should appeal to both science buffs and casual readers.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
In this mind-bending book, an esteemed neuroscientist explains why perfectionism is pointless—and argues that mistakes, missteps, and flaws are the keys to success.
Remember that time you screwed up simple math or forgot the name of your favorite song? What if someone told you that such embarrassing “brain farts” are actually secret weapons, proof of your superiority to computers and AI?
In
Scatterbrain, we learn that boredom awakens the muse, distractions spark creativity, and misjudging time creates valuable memories, among other benefits of our faulty minds. Throughout, award-winning neuroscientist Henning Beck’s hilarious asides and brain-boosting advice make for delightful reading of the most cutting-edge neuroscience our brains will (maybe never) remember.
Table of Content
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 Forgetting: Why You Won’t Remember the Contents of This Book—Thereby Retaining the Most Important Information
Chapter 2 Learning: Why We Are Bad at Rote Learning, but Better at Understanding the World
Chapter 3 Memory: Why a False Memory Is Better Than None at All
Chapter 4 Blackout: Why We Choke under Pressure and the Secret Formula for Fending off Stage Fright
Chapter 5 Time: Why We Always Misjudge It—Thereby Forging Valuable Memories
Chapter 6 Boredom: Why We Have Trouble Switching Ourselves off—and How Daydreams Evoke the Muse
Chapter 7 Distraction: Why We Are so Flighty and Which Distractions Can Lead to More Creativity
Chapter 8 Mathematics: Why the Brain Calculates Best without Numbers
Chapter 9 Decisions: Why We Risk Too Much—and yet Still Choose Wisely
Chapter 10 Selection: Why Choosing Is Akin to Torture—Though We Still Manage to Select the Right Option
Chapter 11 Pigeonholing: How Prejudices Can Help Us, How They Can Harm Us—and How to Avoid Stereotypical Pitfalls
Chapter 12 Motivation: How Our Inner Critic Limits Us—and How We Can Inspire Others
Chapter 13 Creativity: Why We Can’t Be Innovative at the Push of a Button—and yet We Always Have New Thoughts
Chapter 14 Perfectionism: Why We Need Mistakes in Order to Improve
About the author
Henning Beck received his Ph D in neuroscience from the Graduate School of Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, and holds an international diploma in Project Management from the University of California Berkeley. He is a frequent lecturer, workshop leader, science slam speaker, and consultant on topics such as neuroscience and creativity.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
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