Optimal Thinking

"The quantum leap beyond positive thinking, Optimal Thinking offers a whole new way of looking at life, business, and relationships. This prescriptive self-improvement book is filled with superlative information for every type of reader."

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The guru to the gurus at last shares his knowledge with the rest of us. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman's seminal studies in behavioral psychology, behavioral economics, and happiness studies have influenced numerous other authors, including Steven Pinker and Malcolm Gladwell. In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman at last offers his own, first book for the general public. It is a lucid and enlightening summary of his life's work. It will change the way you think about thinking. Two systems drive the way we think and make choices, Kahneman explains: System One is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System Two is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Examining how both systems function within the mind, Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities as well as the biases of fast thinking and the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and our choices. Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, he shows where we can trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking, contrasting the two-system view of the mind with the standard model of the rational economic agent. Kahneman's singularly influential work has transformed cognitive psychology and launched the new fields of behavioral economics and happiness studies. In this path-breaking book, Kahneman shows how the mind works, and offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and personal lives--and how we can guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble.

A thinking student is an engaged student Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.

On the eve of my cardiothoracic surgery, on 4 February 2004, at the Care Hospital, Hyderabad, my friend Madhu Reddy presented me with Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace. Next morning when I woke up at 3 a.m, the surgery was many hours away. I decided not to pretend to sleep. I asked my wife Anjana to switch on the lights. She was but naturally anxious though outwardly calm. To avoid an emotional overflow from any conversation at that point of time, I picked up the book and started reading. The book opened with the scenes of the arrest of the last King of Myanmar, Thebaw, and Queen Supayalat, by the British Forces at Mandalay. I had read the first twenty pages. It was still not dawn, when my cardiologist and chief of the Care Hospital, Dr B Soma Raju, arrived. I read to him the following line from the Author’s Note: “Every life leaves behind an echo that is audible to those who take the trouble to listen.” Once out of this physical mess, I must undertake something of value that will endure beyond my life time, I thought. That was the beginning of my tryst with Myanmar.

Failed an exam, bungled an interview, screwed up a relationship, broken your diet, or stuffed up at work? Yur brain is the key to getting back on track. Change your life for the better. Learn how to ‘rubberise’ your brain, making it more flexible and resilient. Deal with challenges in an optimal way, and ‘bounce’ back from adversity. Your brain controls your conscious thoughts and behaviours, like deciding whether to study or party, or whether to get two scoops of gelato or six. And when you find yourself doing things that you wish you hadn’t done (like all that gelato), it’s likely your brain has indulged in what psychological scientists call suboptimal thinking. Essentially, your brain doesn’t always deliver the kind of thinking that leads to desired positive outcomes, such as maintaining supportive friendships, and doing well in your work, studies and social life. But you and your brain can do better. In this book, five leading psychological educators show you simple tools derived from solid science covering everything from positive psychology to goal setting, from mindfulness to CBT, and from emotional regulation to moral reasoning, to optimise your thinking. Using a model they have developed over years of study and application you can discover how resilience and psychological flexibility combine to allow you to choose ways of thinking in response to different situations that will produce the best outcome for you for that situation. Read this book and learn how to optimally tackle issues of motivation, stress, time-management, and relationship maintenance. Your mind will be clearer and your life better.

Exploring connections between adaptive control theory and practice, this book treats the techniques of linear quadratic optimal control and estimation (Kalman filtering), recursive identification, linear systems theory and robust arguments.

Thinking and Playing Music: Intentional Strategies for Optimal Practice and Performance distills cutting-edge teaching and learning methods for musicians of all levels, investigating topics in cognitive science that apply directly to musical development. Containing over one-hundred musical examples, many from the standard piano repertoire, Sheryl Iott uses accessible language to impart practical suggestions that anyone can incorporate into their practice. Maximizing efficiency and effectiveness while cultivating an observant, experimental approach can help musicians make the most of their time and potential while avoiding tension, injury, and burnout. Aligning efforts with inherent mental processes can make learning faster, deeper, and more secure while freeing up attentional space, allowing for creative, personal expression in performance. The book addresses: Beginning musicianship, covering relevant cognition topics such as language acquisition, aural processing and development of audiation while cultivating a playful, relaxed approach to the instrument The intermediate musician, presenting more advanced cognitive topics such as visual processing, chunking, and early problem solving The advanced musician, addressing increased demands on working and long-term memory, how to maximize transfer, a creative approach to problem solving, and strategies to tackle the most difficult repertoire Also included are sample lesson plans, workshop templates, and sample practice assignments.