Know Thyself : The Science of Self-Awareness

The surprising science of the human mind's greatest power: introspection It happens to everyone: You are asked a question -- even something you know well, such as the name of a longtime colleague -- and can't answer. The information is stuck on the tip of your tongue. It's an experience so frustrating that it seems like it must be a brain malfunction. In fact, it's actually a hallmark of our greatest power: self-awareness. As cognitive neuroscientist Stephen M. Fleming shows in Know Thyself , self-awareness shapes our intelligence, memory, and conscious experience. It's integral to how we teach and learn. We use it every time we weigh difficult questions, such as assessing how we'd respond in a crisis. Drawing on psychology and neuroscience, Fleming provides deep insight into how self-awareness works, and how we can enhance our ability to know our strengths and weaknesses. In the end, this book isn't just about psychology: it's about the science of human excellence. Fleming shows that those frustrating moments of knowledge just beyond our grasp aren't some kind of design flaw in our minds. Surprisingly, they are actually examples of our brain's greatest power. Scientists and philosophers call it metacognition, but you might just call it the ability to think about our own minds. Metacognition enables us to answer questions as straightforward as what skills we need to practice or what facts we need to study to do better on a test. And it is the reason we can wonder about issues as big as what we should do with our lives. At least as far back as Socrates, philosophers have encouraged us to know ourselves. Fleming reveals both the science of how we do it and why it matters--and how we can do it better. "The seconds tick by as the Jeopardy music plays. You know the category like the back of your hand! So why can't you get the answer? Worse: You know you know it, and yet it remains just out of your mind's grasp. And once Alex Trebek reveals the response, it clicks into place. You were right: you had known the answer! So how could you know you knew, but not remember? Why would our magnificent brains be built to do something so, well, stupid? In Know Thyself, Steve Fleming shows that those frustrating moments of knowledge just beyond our grasp aren't some kind of design flaw in our minds. Surprisingly, they are actually examples of our brain's greatest power. Scientists and philosophers call it metacognition, but you might just call it the ability to think about our own minds. It enables us to fuse together our intellects, our memories, and our consciousness in ways that our nearest competitors for brainiest resident of Earth--our computers and our animal brethren--can't come close to matching. Metacognition enables us to answer questions as straightforward as what skills we need to practice or what facts we need to study to do better on a test. And it is the reason we can wonder about issues as big as what we should do with our lives. At least as far back as Socrates, philosophers have encouraged us to know ourselves. In Know Thyself, Fleming reveals both the science of how we do it and why it matters--and crucially, how we can do it better. Like Range and Grit before it, Know Thyself shows us not simply a powerful new aspect of the science of human nature, but shows us how we can put it to use for ourselves"-- "The seconds tick by as the Jeopardy music plays. You know the category like the back of your hand! So why can't you get the answer? Worse: You know you know it, and yet it remains just out of your mind's grasp. And once Alex Trebek reveals the response, it clicks into place. You were right: you had known the answer! So how could you know you knew, but not remember? Why would our magnificent brains be built to do something so, well, stupid? In Know Thyself, Steve Fleming shows that those frustrating moments of knowledge just beyond our grasp aren't some kind of design flaw in our minds. Surprisingly, they are actually examples of our brain's greatest power. Scientists and philosophers call it metacognition, but you might just call it the ability to think about our own minds. It enables us to fuse together our intellects, our memories, and our consciousness in ways that our nearest competitors for brainiest resident of Earth--our computers and our animal brethren--can't come close to matching. Metacognition enables us to answer questions as straightforward as what skills we need to practice or what facts we need to study to do better on a test. And it is the reason we can wonder about issues as big as what we should do with our lives. At least as far back as Socrates, philosophers have encouraged us to know ourselves. In Know Thyself, Fleming reveals both the science of how we do it and why it matters--and crucially, how we can do it better. Like Range and Grit before it, Know Thyself shows us not simply a powerful new aspect of the science of human nature, but shows us how we can put it to use for ourselves"-- Provided by publisher Unlock the secrets to understanding yourself and others with the surprising science of the human mind's greatest power: introspection. “Are you sure?” Whether in a court room, a doctor’s office, a gameshow’s hot seat, or a student’s desk, we are always trying to answer that question. Should we accept eyewitness testimony or a physician’s diagnosis? Do we really want to risk it all on a final question? And what should we be studying in order to do as well as possible on a test? In short, how do we know what we and others know—or as importantly, don’t know? As cognitive neuroscientist Stephen Fleming shows in Know Thyself, we do this with metacognition. Metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is the most important tool we have for understanding our own mind. Metacognition is an awesome power: It is what enables self-awareness as well as what lets us think about the minds of others. It is the ultimate human trait, and in its most rarefied forms is a power that neither other animals, nor our current artificial intelligences, have. Metacognition teaches us the limits of our own knowledge. Once we understand what it is and how it works, we can improve our performance and make better decisions. For example, on the SAT, it helps us gauge when we should skip a question rather than lose points getting an answer wrong. Know Thyself, like the metacognition itself, is equal parts scientific, philosophical, and practical. And that means, like Thinking, Fast and Slow and Predictably Irrational, it’s that rarest of books: one that can both expand our minds and change our lives. Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness by Stephen Fleming is a explores the concept of metacognition, which refers to our ability to think about our own thoughts. Fleming, a cognitive neuroscientist, seeks to explain the current scientific understanding of human self-awareness and how we can know ourselves, including our abilities, limitations, and conscious experiences. Through understanding metacognition more deeply, the book shows how we can gain insights into ourselves and others. Know Thyself sheds light on an important aspect of human cognition and consciousness—our capacity for introspection and self-reflection—and how cultivating greater self-awareness can provide benefits in many areas of life.