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January 1, 2000 | 0060955414

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Amazon.com Editorial Review: Even though we all learned that "slow and steady wins the race" back in grade school, most of us tackle problems with the brute force of logic. Cognitive scientist Guy Claxton wrote Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind to show us another way. As he says, "voices of philosophy, poetry and imagery are relatively weak in a world that largely assumes that only science and reason speak with true authority." Yet that very authority suggests that there are many problems better served by slower, more intuitive thinking, rather than the linear, logical process Claxton calls the "d-mind."

Laboratory studies of subliminal perception, problem solving, and creativity point to a cacophony of intelligent voices murmuring just below our conscious levels of awareness yet influencing our behavior in subtle ways we are only just beginning to understand. Claxton argues persuasively that this unconscious intelligence is just what we need to handle complex situations, and that our culture's misplaced emphasis on logic and reason to the exclusion of all else is foolish, and even hypocritical, as most scientists will readily admit to abandoning their left-brains on occasion for bursts of nonlinear, inspired thinking. But his prose is never preachy; in fact, he sounds as warm and wise as the Buddhist monks he has studied with. If you're looking for a new way of thinking about thinking, you'll find it in Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind. --Rob Lightner