» Five Minds for the Future

Five Minds for the Future Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking Work for Academics
Comment: Again, I am fascinated by Gardner's ideas. The focus this time is more on the discipline, academics, and ensuring synthesis in learning. A worthwhile read for any educator.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Visionary
Comment: Dr. Gardner is a visionary. His recommendations will lead us into the 21st century through a perception that applies to all aspects of our lives.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: outstanding book
Comment: This book by Gardner is one of the most important about education and personal development.The concepts are new and well described.A book worth reading and rereading.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Five Minds for the Technology Professional
Comment: Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, is a psychologist and author known for his theory of multiple intelligences. Application of his theory, especially for education, has been controversial. But I think his latest book, Five Minds for the Future, is a must read for technology professionals.

His thesis is that, "...vast changes that include accelerating globalization, mounting quantities of information, the growing hegemony of science and technology, and the clash of civilizations," requires, "capabilities that, until now, have been mere options." He describes "Five Minds," or cognitive abilities that will command a premium in the years ahead:

1. The Disciplinary Mind -- the mastery of major schools of thought (including science, mathematics, and history) and of at least one professional craft.

2. The Synthesizing Mind -- the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines or spheres into a coherent whole and to communicate that integration to others.

3. The Creating Mind -- the capacity to uncover and clarify new problems, questions and phenomena.

4. The Respectful Mind -- awareness of and appreciation for differences among human beings and human groups.

5. The Ethical Mind -- fulfillment of one's responsibilities as a worker and as a citizen.

While the book is not directed specifically at technology professionals, I found much of what he said echoed characteristics of the most effective people I know: deep domain expertise, intellectual curiosity, creativity, global perspective, knowledge of and respect for diverse cultures, and teamwork. It is and will continue to be possible for anyone with a few of these characteristics to succeed in technology, but I believe those who excel and assume positions of leadership will exhibit all of these abilities.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Insight into five pivotal thinking habits
Comment: Howard Gardner is a man of many minds. The Harvard psychologist, MacArthur "genius grant" recipient and prolific author started a revolution when he claimed that human capability couldn't be reduced to a single metric. Rather than accepting IQ as the whole story of cognitive capacity, Gardner said people have "multiple intelligences," a notion he popularized in his 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligence. Twenty-five years later, Gardner is still producing influential work on human mental skills and capabilities. In this clear, eminently useful book, Gardner describes five cognitive capacities that he predicts will be in most demand in the future and which everyone should practice. While he describes them metaphorically as "minds," these forms of thought are neither wholly innate nor immutable. All people can, through diligent practice, cultivate their disciplined mind, their synthesizing mind, their creative mind, their respectful mind and their ethical mind - and they should. Given accelerating technological change and vast increases in the flow of information and the necessity of working closely with many different kinds of people worldwide, getAbstract is of a mind to recommend this book to managers who are trying to think ahead.

---

More Reviews for Five Minds for the Future