Status
Available
Call number
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Publication
Dutton (2014), Epub, 528 pages
Description
Business. Psychology. Nonfiction. HTML:New York Times bestselling author and neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin shifts his keen insights from your brain on music to your brain in a sea of details. The information age is drowning us with an unprecedented deluge of data. At the same time, we�??re expected to make more�??and faster�??decisions about our lives than ever before. No wonder, then, that the average American reports frequently losing car keys or reading glasses, missing appointments, and feeling worn out by the effort required just to keep up. But somehow some people become quite accomplished at managing information flow. In The Organized Mind, Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, uses the latest brain science to demonstrate how those people excel�??and how readers can use their methods to regain a sense of mastery over the way they organize their homes, workplaces, and time. With lively, entertaining chapters on everything from the kitchen junk drawer to health care to executive office workflow, Levitin reveals how new research into the cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory can be applied to the challenges of our daily lives. This Is Your Brain on Music showed how to better play and appreciate music through an understanding of how the brain works. The Organized Mind shows how to navigate the churning flood of information in the twenty-first century with the same neuroscientific… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member pgmcc
I started reading The Organized Mind and have abandoned it as life is too short to waste time on verbose trivia.
In abandoning this book I am applying the author's approach to dealing with information overload: filtering out trivia.
The Introduction takes up fourteen pages to say what could be said
The main text is no less verbose. It contains endless anecdotes of people being overloaded with information and exhausted from making decisions. On page 77 it starts to offer advice on how to declutter. This too is verbose and tiresome.
I quickly got to the point of skimming by reading the first sentences of paragraphs. That only led me to the conclusion that most of the paragraphs were unnecessary.
As Levitin advises, avoid wasting your time on unimportant things. He is right. Apply his approach and avoid this book.
In abandoning this book I am applying the author's approach to dealing with information overload: filtering out trivia.
The Introduction takes up fourteen pages to say what could be said
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in one: Our minds are overloaded by the amount of information we receive and the number of decisions we have to make. Reduce the load on your mind by filtering out trivial information and not wasting time making decisions on trivial issued. Oh! I said it in two sentences. The main text is no less verbose. It contains endless anecdotes of people being overloaded with information and exhausted from making decisions. On page 77 it starts to offer advice on how to declutter. This too is verbose and tiresome.
I quickly got to the point of skimming by reading the first sentences of paragraphs. That only led me to the conclusion that most of the paragraphs were unnecessary.
As Levitin advises, avoid wasting your time on unimportant things. He is right. Apply his approach and avoid this book.
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LibraryThing member Writermala
"The Organized Mind" presents a wealth of information on all aspects of organizing. While the title indicates that the writer is going to be talking about the mind, he does much more than that. I learned how to organize my home, benefits of living in a clutter free environment; how to organize
The book tells us about the critical thinking skills essential to live in this Information age with brains which haven't caught up - physiologically evolving slowly from the hunter-gatherer phase.
An asset in any library; and Oh! you can go to that Google job interview with confidence after reading this book!
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paper and computer files, how an organization is organized and yes, how an organized person is able to make better decisions.The book tells us about the critical thinking skills essential to live in this Information age with brains which haven't caught up - physiologically evolving slowly from the hunter-gatherer phase.
An asset in any library; and Oh! you can go to that Google job interview with confidence after reading this book!
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LibraryThing member neurodrew
This long but readable book is hard to summarize, comprising neuoropsychology, Bayesian statistics, and practical advice about organizing time and spacThe first chapter is an overview of the psychology of organization, including information about the unreliability of perception and memory, factors
The claim is that the brain remembers details of a very large number of things, and the "act of remembering is bringing on line the collection of neurons that were active during the original experience". The pointers to the filing system are stored in the frontal cortex. Externalizing memory is essential for organization to function. The David Allen system for indexing notes on 3 by 5 cards is one such principle.
Transactive memory is the knowledge that other people in your social network have certain areas of expertise.
Most people discount situational explanations for behavior, inferring a stable personality trait in people who are only situationally shy, angry, irritating, etc.
The chapters on Bayesian statistics, and on time organization, were the most informative.
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that impair organization. The next chapter describes the daydreaming or "default mode" network, that I have read about elsewhere in fMRI experiments. The author claims to have discovered that the insula is the localization of the switch between the default mode network and the central executive network. The central executive is responsible for focusing attention on a task. There is also an attentional network that monitors incoming stimuli for salience. He claims consciousness occurs when brain areas that are monitored by the attention network have enough activity to turn on the executive. The claim is that the brain remembers details of a very large number of things, and the "act of remembering is bringing on line the collection of neurons that were active during the original experience". The pointers to the filing system are stored in the frontal cortex. Externalizing memory is essential for organization to function. The David Allen system for indexing notes on 3 by 5 cards is one such principle.
Transactive memory is the knowledge that other people in your social network have certain areas of expertise.
Most people discount situational explanations for behavior, inferring a stable personality trait in people who are only situationally shy, angry, irritating, etc.
The chapters on Bayesian statistics, and on time organization, were the most informative.
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LibraryThing member StephenBarkley
We are drowning in information. Levitin illustrates this with a biological example (15). Google Scholar reports 30,000 research articles on the nervous system of a squid. You can have a PhD in biology and never know all that’s been written on the topic!
This superabundance of accessible
Daniel Levitin draws on scientific research studies as well as time management gurus to help us understand the problem. More than that, he offers practical ways for us to (as the subtitle says), think “straight in an age of information overload.”
One of the most interesting parts of Levitin’s book was his attack on the myth of multi-tasking. While we think we can do many things at once, “what we really do is shift our attention rapidly from task to task” (306). This leads to two problems:
1. We don’t devote enough attention to any one task.
2. We decrease the quality of our attention to a task.
Levitin is aware that self-professed multitaskers will disagree with this research. In one of the best scientific jargon-laden insults I’ve read, “a cognitive illusion sets in, fueled in part by a dopamine-adrenaline feedback loop, in which multitaskers think they are doing great” (306). Uni-taskers unite!
Multitasking is just a small part of this 500 page book (400+notes and index) in which every section had something interesting and enlightening to offer. If you want to understand more about how your mind works and how you can stay in control of the modern information torrent, Levitin is a great guide.
This superabundance of accessible
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information has left us confused. We waste our time away making meaningless decisions that would not have been a matter of choice a few decades ago. This plethora of information can leave us overwhelmed. We have this vague sense that we can’t quite keep on top of everything we should know.Daniel Levitin draws on scientific research studies as well as time management gurus to help us understand the problem. More than that, he offers practical ways for us to (as the subtitle says), think “straight in an age of information overload.”
One of the most interesting parts of Levitin’s book was his attack on the myth of multi-tasking. While we think we can do many things at once, “what we really do is shift our attention rapidly from task to task” (306). This leads to two problems:
1. We don’t devote enough attention to any one task.
2. We decrease the quality of our attention to a task.
Levitin is aware that self-professed multitaskers will disagree with this research. In one of the best scientific jargon-laden insults I’ve read, “a cognitive illusion sets in, fueled in part by a dopamine-adrenaline feedback loop, in which multitaskers think they are doing great” (306). Uni-taskers unite!
Multitasking is just a small part of this 500 page book (400+notes and index) in which every section had something interesting and enlightening to offer. If you want to understand more about how your mind works and how you can stay in control of the modern information torrent, Levitin is a great guide.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JeffV
When I last read Levitin, he was waxing scientific about our brains on music. That book was a little on the dense side but well done. This time he picks what seems like it would be a more challenging topic -- how we process information, and crafts a thoroughly readable, enjoyable treatment that
Levitin tells us much about how memory works, what we are capable of achieving, and, just as importantly, what we cannot. He discusses at length the fallacy of multitasking: everyone thinks they do it, some even think they are good at it, but in reality, it is inefficient and wastes more time than it ever saves. In passing he also discusses a fundamental limitation of our attention span -- we can reasonably keep track of two, and not more than two, things at the same time. Two people talking at once we can manage, add a third, and it becomes jumbled noise.
Mental gymnastics are only part of what this book is about. Arranging information in conventional ways such as filing systems, both physical and digital. are covered. Techniques on remembering people and faces are covered. And probably my favorite part includes critical thinking: how to properly evaluate data and ask the right questions. One thing I found fascinating regarded treatment of prostate cancer. It is common among men, and often is aggressively treated by chemotherapy. Doctors point to a high rate of success, so they continue to prescribe this treatment to all who are afflicted. But after looking further into the numbers, Levitin discovered that only 5% of those treated have their life spans extended because of the treatment, while 25% experience negative effects from the treatment, including some (about 5%) who have their lives actually shortened by the treatment. When confronted with the data, oncologists appeared to be severely challenged by the simple math. That their patient is 95% more likely to be better off not getting the treatment is irrelevant to them. "But what if you are in the 5%?" they ask. Levitin contends that there is a lot of such deceptive practices, here and elsewhere. The media is a particularly egregious source. "Ebola cases in the US are up 300%", making it sound like an out of control epidemic rather than an increase from 1 patient to 3. Such percentages have their place among epidemiologists studying a disease, but alone they mean nothing but are often used to spread FUD.
The book wraps up with a critical slam against crowd-sourced information such as Wikipedia (he said the same thing I've been saying for years -- it's not a trustworthy source because anybody can edit and therefore the sources of the information cannot be trusted). Acceptable, peer-reviewed sources are available, he contends, if one takes the effort to find them. It's not just what you know, but having the confidence that what you know is true and correct.
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could easily have been even denser. Levitin tells us much about how memory works, what we are capable of achieving, and, just as importantly, what we cannot. He discusses at length the fallacy of multitasking: everyone thinks they do it, some even think they are good at it, but in reality, it is inefficient and wastes more time than it ever saves. In passing he also discusses a fundamental limitation of our attention span -- we can reasonably keep track of two, and not more than two, things at the same time. Two people talking at once we can manage, add a third, and it becomes jumbled noise.
Mental gymnastics are only part of what this book is about. Arranging information in conventional ways such as filing systems, both physical and digital. are covered. Techniques on remembering people and faces are covered. And probably my favorite part includes critical thinking: how to properly evaluate data and ask the right questions. One thing I found fascinating regarded treatment of prostate cancer. It is common among men, and often is aggressively treated by chemotherapy. Doctors point to a high rate of success, so they continue to prescribe this treatment to all who are afflicted. But after looking further into the numbers, Levitin discovered that only 5% of those treated have their life spans extended because of the treatment, while 25% experience negative effects from the treatment, including some (about 5%) who have their lives actually shortened by the treatment. When confronted with the data, oncologists appeared to be severely challenged by the simple math. That their patient is 95% more likely to be better off not getting the treatment is irrelevant to them. "But what if you are in the 5%?" they ask. Levitin contends that there is a lot of such deceptive practices, here and elsewhere. The media is a particularly egregious source. "Ebola cases in the US are up 300%", making it sound like an out of control epidemic rather than an increase from 1 patient to 3. Such percentages have their place among epidemiologists studying a disease, but alone they mean nothing but are often used to spread FUD.
The book wraps up with a critical slam against crowd-sourced information such as Wikipedia (he said the same thing I've been saying for years -- it's not a trustworthy source because anybody can edit and therefore the sources of the information cannot be trusted). Acceptable, peer-reviewed sources are available, he contends, if one takes the effort to find them. It's not just what you know, but having the confidence that what you know is true and correct.
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LibraryThing member dickmanikowski
Very interesting examination of the neurobiology underlying human memory and organizational techniques that can be used to make life run more smoothly.
LibraryThing member GShuk
I did not finish listening to this audio. It seemed to on, and on about experiments without adding anything I have not read elsewhere. Maybe it gets better but after 3 hours I had enough.
LibraryThing member hailelib
The Organized Mind is, as the subtitle says, about "thinking straight in the age of information overload". If you are going to read just one book about thinking, planning, and making decisions this would be a good choice. He covers all kinds of things including how memory works, why trying to
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multitask is a bad idea, organizing ones home, how people connect to one another, making medical decisions, even what we should be teaching the children. I read this slowly since there is so much packed into the book and it would definitely be worth a reread at some point. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member RhodesDavis
Much of the valuable productivity literature I've read has been written by professionals with experience in personal or business organizational systems who teach lessons learned from consulting and coaching over many years. The Internet is bloated with blog posts outlining individual productivity
According to Dr. Levitin's site, he "...earned his B.A. in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science at Stanford University, and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Oregon, researching complex auditory patterns and pattern processing in expert and non-expert populations." Dr. Levitin has a gift for expressing complex scientific facts and theories in practical, but not simplistic, terms.
For productivity, Dr. Levitin blends neuroscience and the historical development of organizational systems to suggest ideas for improving data management, information filing and retrieval, and handling information. Like productivity expert David Allen, of the Getting Things Done (GTD) system, Dr. Levitin suggests developing external systems that efficiently handle information so we can use our minds for more productive work. Whereas Allen focuses on the "mind like water" result of efficient external systems, Dr. Levitin focuses on why the mind achieves this state from a medical perspective.
Dr. Levitin's section on the executive and daydream capacities of mental thought were extremely interesting and provide insight into some cognitive challenges we face because of the flow of information, technology, and the "multitasking" culture mentality. He also suggests ways to encourage either mode to engage for suitable tasks. His discussion of "flow state" and how to achieve it is very valuable.
Like "The Invisible Gorilla", the book also challenges what we think we know about how our mind and memory works and what science has revealed. He provides medical insight into the notion of multitasking and what really happens in our minds and the mental impact of task switching on our productivity and efficiency. He also gives us a mind tour of dreaming and learning that is both education and useful.
An important part of this work is the discussion of critical analysis skills and decision making structures to help when we are bombarded with information. It is important to analyze the information package (source, potential biases, authority, etc.) as well as the content of the information itself. His discussion of Wikipedia helps explain the challenge of handling data wisely. He also provides a framework for helping patients and caregivers use medical tests and information to make better healthcare decisions with the diagnoses and research available that speaks to their medical need.
The Organized Mind is a user guide for the mind.
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systems or productivity tips that may be transferable, in whole or part, to the situation of the reader. Dr. Levitin, by contrast, has expertise in the inner working of the mind and approaches productivity and organized thinking from the grey matter out.According to Dr. Levitin's site, he "...earned his B.A. in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science at Stanford University, and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Oregon, researching complex auditory patterns and pattern processing in expert and non-expert populations." Dr. Levitin has a gift for expressing complex scientific facts and theories in practical, but not simplistic, terms.
For productivity, Dr. Levitin blends neuroscience and the historical development of organizational systems to suggest ideas for improving data management, information filing and retrieval, and handling information. Like productivity expert David Allen, of the Getting Things Done (GTD) system, Dr. Levitin suggests developing external systems that efficiently handle information so we can use our minds for more productive work. Whereas Allen focuses on the "mind like water" result of efficient external systems, Dr. Levitin focuses on why the mind achieves this state from a medical perspective.
Dr. Levitin's section on the executive and daydream capacities of mental thought were extremely interesting and provide insight into some cognitive challenges we face because of the flow of information, technology, and the "multitasking" culture mentality. He also suggests ways to encourage either mode to engage for suitable tasks. His discussion of "flow state" and how to achieve it is very valuable.
Like "The Invisible Gorilla", the book also challenges what we think we know about how our mind and memory works and what science has revealed. He provides medical insight into the notion of multitasking and what really happens in our minds and the mental impact of task switching on our productivity and efficiency. He also gives us a mind tour of dreaming and learning that is both education and useful.
An important part of this work is the discussion of critical analysis skills and decision making structures to help when we are bombarded with information. It is important to analyze the information package (source, potential biases, authority, etc.) as well as the content of the information itself. His discussion of Wikipedia helps explain the challenge of handling data wisely. He also provides a framework for helping patients and caregivers use medical tests and information to make better healthcare decisions with the diagnoses and research available that speaks to their medical need.
The Organized Mind is a user guide for the mind.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Ron_Peters
I highly recommend this book, which is somewhat odd, since I don't think it actually sticks that well to its ostensible subject and some of the chapters don't do a particularly good job of giving you practical advice on dealing with information overload! However, the brain science is so
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interesting, and Levitin is such an engaging writer that this turns out to be a far more interesting read than many new books you run across today. Try it, you'll like it! Show Less
LibraryThing member Razinha
For a book with the objective of reducing information overload, it really overloaded the information. There are some good tidbits early on, but most of the latter two thirds of the book is just about where all the information is coming from. Oh, five of the chapter titles start with "Organizing",
Something many people don't realize:Externalizing memory doesn’t have to be in physical artifacts like calendars, tickler files, cell phones, key hooks, and index cards—it can include other people. The professor is the prime example of someone who may act as a repository for arcane bits of information you hardly ever need. Or your spouse may remember the name of that restaurant you liked so much in Portland .
This made me laugh/snort:And apparently, in the online world, political leaning is more sensitive and less likely to be disclosed than age, height, or weight. Online daters are significantly more likely to admit they’re fat than that they’re Republicans.
An obvious one in "What to Teach Our Children", after an analysis of what was pushed by search engines (without validation):Because the Web is unregulated, the burden is on each user to apply critical thinking when using it.
A lot of interesting material in here, but in my opinion, not a lot of actual "hows" for a casual reader. Maybe there is and it just seemed too obvious to me?
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but ... not really.Something many people don't realize:Externalizing memory doesn’t have to be in physical artifacts like calendars, tickler files, cell phones, key hooks, and index cards—it can include other people. The professor is the prime example of someone who may act as a repository for arcane bits of information you hardly ever need. Or your spouse may remember the name of that restaurant you liked so much in Portland .
This made me laugh/snort:And apparently, in the online world, political leaning is more sensitive and less likely to be disclosed than age, height, or weight. Online daters are significantly more likely to admit they’re fat than that they’re Republicans.
An obvious one in "What to Teach Our Children", after an analysis of what was pushed by search engines (without validation):Because the Web is unregulated, the burden is on each user to apply critical thinking when using it.
A lot of interesting material in here, but in my opinion, not a lot of actual "hows" for a casual reader. Maybe there is and it just seemed too obvious to me?
Show Less
LibraryThing member Starla_Aurora
Honestly I did not read the entire thing. Just some parts. It seems to have great information, from the parts I read. I would recommend it.
LibraryThing member DanielSTJ
The amount of retention that you gain through Levitin's careful prose is surprising. He elucidates concepts clearly and succinctly while providing relative background information to justify his points. There are also many real-world and abstract examples to support his findings, which helps with
4 stars.
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the overall flow and poise of the book. This is a mind-building exercise. Through what Levitin teaches, I feel like I have a better comprehension on how to separate important information from that which is not. A groundbreaking book in modern non-fiction, it deserves all the aplomb it gets.4 stars.
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LibraryThing member deldevries
The academic approach to keeping and finding information is very appropriate. The author systematically structures and organizes the literature and practical stories into a cohesive and interesting book. Although it can be read cover to cover, I also find myself flipping to sections and digging
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into specific topics. This is a well organized and easy to access work. Show Less
LibraryThing member dmturner
Too long. Too unfocused. Too ambitious. David Allen does the Making Things Work stuff better. The neurology is neat and there are nuggets of interest about information theory, corporate structure, the history of filing systems, etc., but when the book tries to give advice it lapses into truisms.
LibraryThing member Elizabeth80
Contains some good information.
LibraryThing member Carlie
I am a really organized person by nature so I have to admit that a lot of what Levitin talked about was not very helpful to me, particularly when discussing organizing physical and digital files. However, I could see where this would be useful to others who are having difficulties organizing
The chapter on organizing medical decision-making was very interesting. He describes creating fourfold tables to make decisions. These tables allow people to use Bayesian probability that gives people a better idea of their likelihood of having a disease given they have tested positive or if a given treatment will work based on their symptoms. The ultimate takeaway I got from this topic was how poorly medical professionals understand the statistics that they cite to patients and how it is likely that you will be encouraged to undergo treatment that may not actually help you.
Although this material has a tendency to be dry, the author was not. Levitin has a background in cognitive psychology and neuroscience so he is well-equipped to write on this subject.
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objects.The chapter on organizing medical decision-making was very interesting. He describes creating fourfold tables to make decisions. These tables allow people to use Bayesian probability that gives people a better idea of their likelihood of having a disease given they have tested positive or if a given treatment will work based on their symptoms. The ultimate takeaway I got from this topic was how poorly medical professionals understand the statistics that they cite to patients and how it is likely that you will be encouraged to undergo treatment that may not actually help you.
Although this material has a tendency to be dry, the author was not. Levitin has a background in cognitive psychology and neuroscience so he is well-equipped to write on this subject.
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LibraryThing member steve02476
Disappointed with this book. Levitan is a smart guy and a good writer, but this book is a hodgepodge of brain science and psychology mixed up with tips about getting organized. The science is interesting but there didn’t seem much new or different - of course I read a lot about brain/mind stuff.
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And the getting-things-organized tips were mostly fairly obvious, to my mind. Show Less
Language
Original publication date
2014
Physical description
528 p.; 6.5 inches
Local notes
How new research into the cognitive neuroscience of attention and memory can be applied to the challenges of our daily lives.