The Books' Topics:
- Insanity and Science
- Personal Brain Reprogramming
- Logic
- The Rules of Simple•Ology
The central themes of this book are:
- Wishing and wanting don't make situations happen
- If you want something do what it takes to go directly after it
- We live with the effects of illusion, delusion and disinformation, but, we can clear these mistakes from our mental programming
- Clear thinking is possible, in fact easier, than clouded thinking
Keywords:
- Having it
- Wanting it
- Intelligence Trap
- Pseudoscience
- Utilitarian Model Flexibility
- The Laws of Simple•Ology
- Maintenance Plan for the New Brain
Main Idea:
Getting what we want in a real world requires that we think in correct, scientific, and logical ways.
Knowing that mistaken thinking, gaps in logic, and subverted thought patterns exist, we can take steps to correct our mental processing power.
Knowing the basic patterns of focused (correct) thought enables us to perceive the propaganda, disinformation, deceit and other methods that hope to influence us.
If we reprogram our thinking, if we examine what people say to us, examine what people say as they try to sell us stuff, if we learn to think; then our lives tend to be happier.
Quotes:
"Reading is one thing. Understanding is another. And proper application ia a whole 'nother [sic] thing entirely.
If you want to sound knowledgeable at diner parties, stopping at the level of understanding is okay.
If, however, you want to achieve something unusual )for example, obscene sit-on-your-butt-for-the-of-your-life wealth, Tiger Woods greatness, Mick Jagger rock stardom, Donald Trump luxury), proper application is where it's at." (p. - vii)
"See, the problem isn't trying unusual things. The problem is doing things that don't serve our aims, but erroneously thinking that they do." (p. - 6)
"See, some form of intelligence is the inherent ability to argue your point…the smarter you are, the better you are at verbal justification, so this will in fact prevent you from learning and problem solving. It binds you to an unhealthy way of living—you just talk yourself into it." (p. - 24)
"Our model of the world is comprised not only of what we see, but also of what we hear, feel, and think.
Sadly, and perhaps thankfully, this model will always, by definition, be incomplete." (p. - 40)
"Because our model of the world will always be incomplete, and therefore fallible, belief in one model or another (without flexibility) can cause us a great deal of pain." (p. - 47)
"We base our decisions on emotion, justify them with logic." (p. - 79)
"…much of the pseudo-scientific claptrap of today comes with the claim that 'you must believe' (or have faith) in order for it to work." (p. - 98)
"There's nothing wrong with positive thinking per se, but there is a problem with an inflexible, dogmatic model of the world—especially when that model itself is likely to result in some truly harmful decisions (like putting your trust in some dodgy new age gadget when your health is on the line)." (p. - 103)
"Both skeptics and believers are doing a real disservice to people by not teaching them how to find real answers to these questions themselves." (p. - 113)
"The conversation between a True Believer and a True Skeptic isn't much of a conversation, really.
What you have is two people who are dead-set in their opinions ready to say just about anything to justify those opinions.
It is not an exploration of ideas, but a chest-pounding shouting match." (p. - 114)
"Stupidity training is freely available today." (p. - 114)
"Now, I am not knocking every person out there who ever tried rubbing two crystals together to see if a dollar bill would pop out the third eye.
I'm also certainly not knocking anyone's faith.
I'm just saying: Evaluate the feedback like a scientist! " (p. - 115)
Issues Addressed by the Book:
This book addresses:
- The mechanism of substituting language and beliefs for reality
- The tools that dishonest folks use to get others to do what they want
- Ways that we can protect ourselves from these dishonest others
- Ways that we can free ourselves from inflexible beliefs and rigid models of our world
- Strategies for focusing our behavior on the actions that create the outcomes that we want.
The sections on logic, with their practical examples, could be used as the basis for classroom lessons in almost any subject. All the teacher needs to do is substitute more politically acceptable examples for the ones that the author provides.
The Book's Shortcomings:
The book may seem too flippant for some, and it can be easy to make light of
There also is an empathy/ sympathy disconnect between a multimillionaire author who retired early (really early), and most teachers who can't earn that much in two or three lifetimes of teaching (unless inflation really skyrockets).
Comments:
This book can be used by teachers of most subject and content areas as a resource for developing lessons throughout the year. Analytical and structured thinking is a Twenty-First Century skill that all students (and the adults that teach them) need practice with.
Online free software accompanies the book. And, the software is available, even if you don't purchase the book.
Link to the software:
The book also presents a number of delightful (instructional) cartoons, and these cartoons can be found on the Internet as well.
Link to the Mark Joyner Blog with access to the cartoons: /blockquote>Summary:
The book is a delightful, easy read. And, it doesn't hurt that a lot of insights crop up along the way.
The book may snag at the sensibilities of some teachers, but, compared to the raunchy and racy stuff that is broadcast on Prime Time television, this book is bland and tame.
However, the book is "ready for prime time" even if the airwaves are filled with fluff that isn't worth the wavelength bandwidth.
My favorite quote from the book should prove this point…
"If you want a bogus rah-rah self-help manual that blows a ray of sunshine up your back door, then you've got the wrong book.
If you want a book that teaches you 'magical thinking'—one that teaches you how to hope, pray, and meditate on what you want and 'let the universe do the work for you' while you sit on your butt high on ganja and dogma, again, you've got the wrong book.
If, however, you want to get things 'for real,' then you're in the right place." (p. - ix)
Rating (Four Point scale):
Useful - 4
Applicable - 4
Relevant - 4
Innovative - 4
Original - 4
Interesting - 3
___________
Overall Rating - 3.8
