Monday, March 15, 2021

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

Adam Grant
online access from ProQuest Ebook Central
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"Think Again is a must-read for anyone who wants to create a culture of learning and exploration, whether at home, at work, or at school.... In an increasingly divided world, the lessons in this book are more important than ever." (Bill and Melinda Gates)

The best-selling author of Give and Take and Originals examines the critical art of rethinking: learning to question your opinions and open other people's minds, which can position you for excellence at work and wisdom in life


Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn. In our daily lives, too many of us favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt. We listen to opinions that make us feel good, instead of ideas that make us think hard. We see disagreement as a threat to our egos, rather than an opportunity to learn. We surround ourselves with people who agree with our conclusions, when we should be gravitating toward those who challenge our thought process. The result is that our beliefs get brittle long before our bones.

We think too much like preachers defending our sacred beliefs, prosecutors proving the other side wrong, and politicians campaigning for approval - and too little like scientists searching for truth.

Intelligence is no cure, and it can even be a curse: Being good at thinking can make us worse at rethinking. The brighter we are, the blinder to our own limitations we can become.

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert on opening other people's minds - and our own. As Wharton's top-rated professor and the best-selling author of Originals and Give and Take, he makes it one of his guiding principles to argue like he's right but listen like he's wrong. With bold ideas and rigorous evidence, he investigates how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, bring nuance to charged conversations, and build schools, workplaces, and communities of lifelong learners. You'll learn how an international debate champion wins arguments, a Black musician persuades White supremacists to abandon hate, a vaccine whisperer convinces concerned parents to immunize their children, and Adam has coaxed Yankees fans to root for the Red Sox.

Think Again reveals that we don't have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. It's an invitation to let go of views that are no longer serving us well and prize mental flexibility over foolish consistency. If knowledge is power, knowing what we don't know is wisdom.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

以少創多 : 我們如何用更少的資源創造更多產出? (More from Less)

安德魯‧麥克費 (Andrew McAfee)
online access from iRead eBook
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21世紀最鼓舞人心的趨勢洞見
資本主義不是環境保護的敵人,而是朋友
我們正進入經濟成長與改善環境並存的世界

★全球暢銷書《第二次機器時代》、《機器,平台,群眾》作者最新力作★


我們都有一個根深柢固的觀念:伴隨著經濟成長,必定會消耗更多資源。然而麥克費發現兩者之間的關係正逐漸脫鉤。證據是自1970年代起,美國人口與經濟正向成長,但使用的資源逐年減少。此外,美國的空氣與水污染逐漸降低,溫室效應氣體排放量減少,瀕臨危機的動物數量再度增加。這些現象不只發生於美國,其他國家也有同樣正面的轉變。

為什麼會有這種轉變?為什麼在經濟成長的同時,我們的環境污染更少?耗費的資源更少? ...

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, March 8, 2021

The Hidden Habits of Genius: Beyond Talent, IQ, and Grit―Unlocking the Secrets of Greatness

Craig Wright
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“An unusually engaging book on the forces that fuel originality across fields.” --Adam Grant

Looking at the 14 key traits of genius, from curiosity to creative maladjustment to obsession, Professor Craig Wright, creator of Yale University's popular “Genius Course,” explores what we can learn from brilliant minds that have changed the world.


Einstein. Beethoven. Picasso. Jobs. The word genius evokes these iconic figures, whose cultural contributions have irreversibly shaped society.

Yet Beethoven could not multiply. Picasso couldn’t pass a 4th grade math test. And Jobs left high school with a 2.65 GPA. What does this say about our metrics for measuring success and achievement today? Why do we teach children to behave and play by the rules, when the transformative geniuses of Western culture have done just the opposite? And what is genius, really?

Professor Craig Wright, creator of Yale University’s popular “Genius Course,” has devoted more than two decades to exploring these questions and probing the nature of this term, which is deeply embedded in our culture. In The Hidden Habits of Genius, he reveals what we can learn from the lives of those we have dubbed “geniuses,” past and present.

Examining the lives of transformative individuals ranging from Charles Darwin and Marie Curie to Leonardo Da Vinci and Andy Warhol to Toni Morrison and Elon Musk, Wright identifies more than a dozen drivers of genius—characteristics and patterns of behavior common to great minds throughout history. He argues that genius is about more than intellect and work ethic—it is far more complex—and that the famed “eureka” moment is a Hollywood fiction. Brilliant insights that change the world are never sudden, but rather, they are the result of unique modes of thinking and lengthy gestation. Most importantly, the habits of mind that produce great thinking and discovery can be actively learned and cultivated, and Wright shows us how.

This book won't make you a genius. But embracing the hidden habits of these transformative individuals will make you more strategic, creative, and successful, and, ultimately, happier.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

小說的越界

劉劍梅
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人如何以“越界”式的飛翔,擺脫存在之痛、現實的重負與心靈深處的孤獨。

★深入剖析解讀博爾赫斯、布魯諾·舒爾茨、奧爾加·托卡爾丘克等當下熱門大師傑作 。
★觸及時代最鮮活的話題和標籤,探討女性主義,體悟時代節奏和觀念變化。
★閻連科、駱以軍傾情作序,當代著名作家余華、蘇童、遲子建、梁鴻以及著名批評家李歐梵、王德威推薦。


《小說的越界》是劉劍梅的文學評論集,本書分為“女性的水上書寫”“文學的變幻之旅”“文學的各種維度”“文學隨筆”四部分。
★女性的水上書寫:劉劍梅闡釋了瑪麗蓮·羅賓遜、韓江、阿蘭達蒂·洛伊等四位女性作家,如何通過作品大膽地跨越了男權社會規定的“家”的邊界,表達女性的獨立意識;
★文學的變幻之旅:深入地剖析了博爾赫斯、布魯諾·舒爾茨、奧爾加·托卡爾丘克及其他中外作家,如何以夢、幻想和變形跨越現實的各種疆域和束縛,完成“越界式”的飛翔;
★文學的各種維度:分析波拉尼奧、薩曼·魯西迪、格雷厄姆·格林等人的作品,討論了文學的各種維度,比如現實維度、歷史維度、宗教維度和思想維度。
★文學隨筆:透徹地剖析了傑出的文學大師們的作品中所蘊含的深邃秘密和神奇魅力,引導當代讀者擺脫來自現實的種種壓力、苦惱和束縛,安撫焦慮、不安的靈魂。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Monday, March 1, 2021

Head Hand Heart: The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century

David Goodhart
online access from ProQuest Ebook Central
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A FINANCIAL TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020

The acclaimed new book from the celebrated author of The Road to Somewhere

'Brilliant, will become a classic' Daily Telegraph

'Utterly compelling ... one of the most important intellectuals in the country, if not Europe' Sunday Times

The coronavirus pandemic taught us something we ought already to have known: that care workers, supermarket shelf-stackers, delivery drivers and cleaners are doing essential work that keeps us all alive, fed and cared for. Until recently much of this work was regarded as menial by the the same society that now lauds them as 'key workers'. Why are they so undervalued?

In this timely and original analysis, David Goodhart divides human aptitudes into three: Head (cognitive), Hand (manual and craft) and Heart (caring, emotional). It's common sense that a good society needs to recognise the value of all three, but in recent decades they have got badly out of kilter. Cognitive ability has become the gold standard of human esteem. The cognitive class now shapes society largely in its own interests, by prioritizing the knowledge economy, ever-expanding higher education and shaping the very idea of a successful life. To put it bluntly: smart people have become too powerful.

Head, Hand, Heart tells the story of the cognitive takeover that has gathered pace over the past forty years. As recently as the 1970s most people left school without qualifications, but now 40 per cent of all jobs are graduate-only. A good society must re-imagine the meaning of skilled work, so that people who work with their hands and hearts are valued alongside workers who manipulate data. Our societies need to spread status more widely, and provide meaning and value for people who cannot, or do not want to, achieve in the classroom and the professions. This is the story of the central struggle for status and dignity in the twenty-first century.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

宋氏三姊妹與她們的丈夫:20世紀三位傳奇女子,一部動盪百年的中國現代史 (Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister)

張戎 (Jung Chang)
online access from EBSCOhost Ebooks
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現代中國從慈禧到今天,
宋氏三姊妹與她們的丈夫,正是完整串連中國百年史的關鍵人物!
跨越三個世紀 走過三大陸 多場革命
三位家喻戶曉的女子 三段鮮為人知的傳奇人生

親訪宋、孔、蔣、孫家親屬與專家學者見證人
參閱臺港英美俄五地共14家檔案館
收錄三姊妹個人生命與大歷史交織的珍貴照片64幀
★足以理解中國現代樣貌的歷史巨作★


《紐約時報》《泰晤士報》《衛報》《華盛頓時報》
《圖書館雜誌》《金融時報》《書單》《出版人週刊》等
★英美重量媒體一致讚譽★

本書從宋氏三姊妹為起點,連結到她們的丈夫,再連結到清末至近代的中國,緩緩寫出整個時代的動人史詩。有別於刻板教條的歷史,作者將人物的性格、感情、理念還原至歷史中,使歷史事件充滿人性;以人為主題,將生命歷程放入歷史事件中,讓人物述說歷史故事。你會發現:原來有好多真相被掩蓋住了。更會驚覺:這些教科書中的歷史人物,竟是在動盪不安的大時代中,展開自己與家人的生命歷程──本書宛如讓讀者看了一部活生生的宋氏家族興衰史。
──國立蘭陽女子高級中學教師◎汪栢年

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)