Customer Reviews

Think Like a Genius

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Todd Siler is an world recognized artist who couldn't satisfactorily answer his own questions about how our minds --specifically our imaginations --work. So he ended up doing brain research at MIT and getting their first ever interdisciplinary doctorate. His work revealed that though geniuses all excel in different areas, they often use the same mental processes and approaches. His insights into peak performance and creativity are not only easy to absorb, they really make sense. Also, even if you think you cannot possibly think like a genius (you may surprise yourself!)along the way to thinking at higher intensity there are numerous side benefits: faster integration of lots of disparate information (i.e. information overload);enhanced memory; greater inventiveness and perspective. I found that it gave me two instant jump-starts on frustrating problems (one of them was a writer's block...) Deceptively simple and easy to read, this is a very intelligent little book.

The author presents some theoretical concepts relevant to the
formulation of new ideas/knowledge. Some reviewers of the work
were not enthused; however, others found it very helpful. I gave
the book a good rating because the author addressed some highly
complex thinking processes utilizing simple steps. The word CREATE
is utilized as a key to doing the following:
- Connect (ideas)
- Relate ( explain the ideas in a story format)
- Explore ( test the idea in its major manifestations)
- Analyze ( perform a rigid analysis)
- Transform ( make the idea into a practical reality)
- Experience ( cast the idea into the experiential domain)

The book encourages us to design our own learning environment,
to record everything we think relating to major ideas , to
simplify and persist until success is achieved. Role playing
is another key ingredient for testing our ideas within a
practical context. This book is well-written and the ideas
contained are practical. The appeal is to a wide audience of the
reading population.

THINK LIKE A GENIUS is the single simplest thing I have read which allows us to understand the ways in which we ordinary folks may be like geniuses. It's not saying that anyone can be a genius --that takes a special kind of "what" in the brain, but it is saying we can use the "how" that great thinkers often use. The "how" of great ideas is creativity -- not a mystical gift bestowed on a few, but a human survival skill that most of us never bother to really develop. Or, to be fair, which school and corporate life, etc., beats down until our creativity is like a whipped dog -- not willing to come out of the shadow. The way Siler writes is deceptively simple -- a sort of DUMMIES GUIDE TO THE BRAIN -- but things like intelligence and creativity are pretty difficult to describe -- in technical or any other terms. The bottom line is that he makes sense and this is a book that will wake you up.

This book helped me open my eyes and mind so much that I have decided to write my very first book review.... It will truly help you make connections and find meaning in a lot of things that are common in everyday lives. The biggest lesson I learned from the book is that I should never take things for granted but ask questions as to why they are.

This book is really good for the kind of people that want make their thinking very useful. It teaches you methods of thinking for making ideas, inventions,ect.This book changed my way of thinking totaly.It's helped me solve pea size problems to giant size.

This was truly the most unusual view of creative thinking for everyday problems and crises of modern life. Dr Siler offers a fresh approach to problem solving that is well worth learning about.

Loved this book. Still prop it open from time to time to refresh my mind. The title immediately appealed because it rang true with my own search for meaning in the world. Acquiring wisdom or deepening our understanding must really be the goal of everyone deep down, otherwise why have we been blessed with such consciousness? It is so easy to get lost in your own ego and stagnate. Todd Siler writes concisely and has included many great pictures to boost understanding of his `metaphorms'. After reading the book I remembered some of my own personal writings from my adolescence where I imagined climbing a great mountain. At the base of the mountain, foliage screened much of my vision, every noise and movement made me jump in anticipation of something new and scary. Struggling up the mountain my vision of the surrounds improved and I no longer felt as much fear as I could see more of my surroundings. Eventually the climb culminates when the struggle to reach the top is complete and I stand high above the clouds. My understanding of my surrounds is greater than ever and I could mistakenly believe I know all there is to know, "The way of the ego". However, what of the rest of the planet, the solar system, galaxy, universe.... It just never ends, we never learn all there is to know. So my point is, we must work on our attitude to life , to quote the title of Chapter One , to find "The Way of the Genius". This book helps to disperse the clouds and helps us with ideas to point us in the right direction for making our ego part of our greater wisdom rather than placing our wisdom within our greater ego. Thanks Todd for a great book.

In Think Like a Genius, author Todd Siler purports to teach a groundbreaking technique that will open the floodgates of creativity. Sadly, this is not what he does. His technique is called "metaphorming". All that basically comes down to is looking at the connections between things to come up with new ideas. This has been said many ways and many times by many others. Coining a new name for it does not create something new. The technique of metaphorming is supposed to be applied through a series of steps where you first identify connections, analyze those connections, invent something new and then apply your new invention. He presents two sets of steps which is a bit confusing because there is overlap between the two. I think my summary above is more or less the necessary sequence of steps. The bulk of the book is 31 different metaphorms presented by Siler. He takes each metaphorm through his process to arrive at possible ways in which his metaphorm can be useful for the reader. For the most part, these metaphorms are nothing more than helpful hints and suggestions on how to draw out ideas, or how to think about being creative or how to have a more open mind, or simply Siler's reflections on a particular subject. Although a few of his metaphorms were stimulating and thought provoking, what he is teaching is a process that has been taught by others and in a much better way - see De Bono, Michalko, von Oech and others.

Think Like A Genius is an excellent work. I have recommended this book to many people, and they have enjoyed it as much as I have. This book features a new way to look at the world and unleash our creative potential as a result. Through Dr. Siler's methodology, I have learned to perform better at work, and learned to communicate better with my family. Who can't use this in their lives?

At the heart of genius thinking is the process that Todd Siler has defined as Metaphorming. It's the process of transferring and transforming new meanings and associations from one object or idea to another.

The process of Connection, Discovery, Invention and Application is at the core of genius thinking. It is both simple and common sense, to the extent that some may discount its true power. However, to do this is to reject a very powerful concept - anyone is capable of genius thinking.

Emerson said "Common sense is genius in its everyday clothes". This is what gave me the insight that everyone has the potential to Think Like a Genius, if we only knew how. This book shows you how.