A whole new mind : why right-brainers will rule the future

In A Whole New Mind, Pink argues that in an age of computers and outsourcing, as well as relative abundance at lost cost, what we think of as "right brain" behavior will be what gets us ahead in the business world. Specifically, Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning, will be ways in

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which you can gain ground in a world that no longer has to be purely logical and utilitarian, since we have more time and more money to concentrate on aesthetics. He uses left brain/right brain as a metaphor, while emphasizing that a holistic approach is important.

I first heard of this book when I was reading a professional journal talking about what librarianship was going to be like future. The author suggested reading this book to get an idea of the qualities that we would need to have to be relevant in an increasingly electronic age. I read thinking about ways in which this is true: we make connections between books, movies, mood, a particular reader (Symphony), and we definitely need Empathy to figure out what kind of information someone is looking for, or finding the right book for someone whose taste is completely different from my own. I definitely have some food for thought about my profession.

At the same time, I discovered a lot about myself while I was reading. I found that I am very logical, analytic, and detail-oriented in my approach. Unlike many people (apparently), I have an easier time remembering random facts than stories. I found that I have a tendency towards a "male" brain - that is, tending towards logic, and not as good at reading facial expressions (I kind of knew that already, but some of the exercises in the book just confirmed that for me). Also, I like the Three Stooges just fine, which apparently is also more of a male tendency. On the other hand, I connected a lot more with his chapters on Play and Meaning, and these were the two chapters that I was most intrigued by his list of activities designed to help you stretch that sense in your own mind. Unfortunately, the stories and arguments Pink uses become repetitive after awhile, especially if you're reading several chapters in one sitting. Still, his ideas provide excellent food for thought, and I've added a few more books to read as a result.

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Whole New Mind is thought-provoking and very readable. Pink suggests ways that we can prepare ourselves(and by inference, our students) for the future.

Pink's book presents the urgency for our schools to move beyond the left brain alter in both curriculum and testing. Educators and parents should consider community book clubs to spread the awareness that economic viability is being threatened and perhaps more urgently than our collective

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consciousness has declared.

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The book has a first half arguing a strained premise based on a pseudoscientific half-baked acquaintance with neurology and some feebly-argued economic predictions. That said, I enjoyed the second half of the book and wish the author had stayed away from trying to justify his interesting ideas with

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airport bookstore self-help hucksterism.

All my teaching colleagues and I were required to read this book over the summer.

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I saw him make a humorous presentation about this book to AASL Oct.26, 2007. I think it is an important book for young people entering the job market to read.

A really great book!

It's kind of like a survival guide to "The World Is Flat".

I think my technical chops are pretty good (of course they need to be constantly sharpened), but the 'R-directional' thinking would definitely help my career as well.

(I would've liked to have seen 'Blogging' as a way to

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improve your 'Story' abilities)

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I like the ideas in this book more than I like the book itself. I found Pink's writing style somewhat pedestrian, but the whole "right-brained thinking" is such a profoundly intriguing idea, that he wins me over in spite of himself. Pink's premise is that the more creative and innovative parts of

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our thought processes will be the engine that drives the U.S. ahead into the 21st century.

The book has become au courrant in the Independent School world and lots of people are trying to design school programs that cater to Pink's ideas. I worry that this may be a bit of a trendy bandwagon and it would be easy to go overboard. Still, I'm glad to see that the arts are being given a second life, so to speak, with this trend.

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I read this for a conference I attended and found it very thought provoking. Definitely an interesting read. My son and husband are reading it now.

Pink opens by arguing that America’s need for left-brain (logical, linear) skills has been largely replaced by software (i.e. automation -- reminiscent of the industrial revolution’s replacement of physical labor with machinery) and by outsourcing to cheaper left-brains in developing countries.

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Then he describes what right-brain (creative, empathic) thinking adds that now makes it critical to business success. His text is somewhat shallow, but he follows up with dozens and dozens of interesting, playful sources for developing right-brain skills. Proponents of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way will consider each source a terrific Artist Date. For a somewhat similar, but deeper, exploration, take a look at Michael Gelb’s How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci.

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Very intriguing read. I enjoyed the suggested exercises which make it much more practical than most books offering insight on the future.

A fantastically written book on where the individual and organizational future is heading, from the human perspective. Why the integration of the creative and the emphatic is needed and necessary for the upcoming century and beyond.

This book provides the frameworks for thinking, learning, and creating in the years to come. I feel as though anyone in the field of education, teaching from little first graders to graduate level courses should read this book to gain insight as to how to prepare students for the newer working

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environments.

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Really enjoyed this book. Made me think a lot about the types of skills I should include in my future professional development, and I love the suggested exercises for improvement. Also made me feel like I missed the boat with much of my education (!), as very little of it was artistically based.

Creative thinking is the future of today

Move from the information age to the conceptual age. Why right-brainers will rule the future

This is the future. Thanks, Daniel, Its one of the best books I've ever read... Amanzing!

This book helps to provide the paradigm shift needed to move from the Information Age into the Concept Age. Pink's Six Senses: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning are essential to finding success, creativity, and happiness in the coming years. The chapter on Symphony is really a

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primer for thinking in terms of forms. I appreciated the portfolio sections as they open up ways to experience and practice engaging in the six senses. It's a fast, engaging read that helps you unleash your creativity and find meaning in the world.

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It takes the rather scary flat world economy and provides not only a little comfort for the right brained dominate folks, but a practical guide to learn how to thrive in the new economy. I LOVED this book!

Daniel Pink's popular book explores the role of creativity and creative thinking in US society. He explores many aspects of American life that may change over time and how the creative thinking will be poised to not only survive, but thrive in the new economy. His book also explores topics of

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benefit to instructors. In one chapter title "Story" he helps the reader understand that teaching (and then testing) facts benefits the binge/purge learners, but doesn't help get that information to long-term memory. On the othe hand, teaching by telling stories provides a structure that more easily enables the learner to "chunk" the information which, in turn, shifts the information to long-term memory and allows the learner to use that information in various settings.

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Daniel Pink’s "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future" not only entertains and provokes in a positive way, but also serves as an effective tool for trainer-teacher-learners. His SUCCESs stories—like the one about how he went from drawing stick figures to producing a

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reasonably accurate self-portrait in a one-week period under the guidance of a fantastic instructor – make us sit up and ask, “Why can’t I teach and learn like that?”

The encouraging answer is that we can. By adapting the lessons he offers, we recognize that old tools can bring new, powerful, and encouraging results which keep us all alert, inspired, and engaged.

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This book provides the frameworks for thinking, learning, and creating in the years to come. I feel as though anyone in the field of education, teaching from little first graders to graduate level courses should read this book to gain insight as to how to prepare students for the newer working

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environments.

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Daniel Pink aimed this treatise toward the corporate world where he posits that there will be major changes in how business will function in the future. The premise behind this book is that the L-directed thinking (“Left-Brainers”) that became so dominant in the 20th Century and led to such

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high salaries for computer scientists and lawyers will become less valuable in the 21st Century because so much of that work can be done much faster and more cheaply by the high power computers that have been developed or else outsourced to 3rd world technicians. (Yes, even a lot of the work of lawyers is already “computerized.”) In this century it will be important to learn to use the R-directed skills of “Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning.” At the end of each of these sections the author offers suggestions on ways to increase your ability in each area. The goal is to learn to use both sides of the brain in order to understand the “whole picture.” I enjoyed this book and agree with much of what he proposed, but since I am a Left-handed, Right-brained dyslexic who learned to function more than adequately in a Right-handed, Left-brained world, he was preaching to the choir. (I loved it when he said in the new “Conceptual Age” which is coming those with dyslexia will have an advantage.) At last we are finally realizing the importance of teaching “the arts” as necessary basic skills along with the math and the sciences. Even at the graduate level of business schools and medical schools courses are beginning to be required in some of these areas. We Right-Brainers are delighted the Left-Brainers are finally “getting it!” This is an easy read and I recommend it for anyone interested in how the way you think can impact the way you work and the way you live.

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Being not *quite* as brilliant as he thinks he is... Pink's advice is nebulous.

Interesting insights into how things are changing and how you might adapt to these changes.