or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
42 used & new from $5.53
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less (Paperback)

~ (Author) "There is an old Polish saving, 'Sleep faster; we need the pillows' which reminds us that there are some activities which just will not be..." (more)
Key Phrases: intelligent unconscious, conscious threshold, polar planimeter, Yeshi Dhonden, Tony Marcel, Sherlock Holmes (more...)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
List Price: $13.99
Price: $11.96 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $2.03 (15%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Tuesday, February 9? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
21 new from $7.97 20 used from $5.53 1 collectible from $19.95

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --   $34.87 $5.68
Paperback $11.96   $7.97 $5.53

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink

Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less + A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
Price For Both: $22.16

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less by Guy Claxton

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making

The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making

by Scott Plous
4.7 out of 5 stars (19)  $56.00
Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them

Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them

by J. Edward Russo
4.8 out of 5 stars (13) 
Nature First: Outdoor Life the Friluftsliv Way

Nature First: Outdoor Life the Friluftsliv Way

by Bob Henderson
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  $17.07
Simple Life ""Friluftsliv"": People Meet Nature

Simple Life ""Friluftsliv"": People Meet Nature

by Roger Isberg
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  $19.99
How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life

How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life

by Thomas Gilovich
4.5 out of 5 stars (39)  $13.64
› Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com 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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In a counterintuitive, often provocative assault on our everyday view of how our minds work, Claxton labels rational, ordinary, purposeful thinking the "d-mode" (deliberation mode or default mode). Modern Western culture, he maintains, overvalues the practical, conscious cogitation of the d-mode, which is diagnostic rather than playful, analytical and impatient instead of intuitive and relaxed. An Oxford-educated psychologist and visiting professor at Bristol University in England, Claxton draws heavily on recent research in cognitive science and studies of the human brain to argue that an "undermind" or intelligent unconscious works quietly below?and in some cases ahead of?conscious apprehension, helping us to register events, recognize patterns, make connections and be creative. A former pupil of Buddhist teachers Sogyal Rinpoche and Thich Nhat Hanh, Claxton uses descriptions of the creative process by Einstein, Mozart, Wordsworth, Ted Hughes, Henry Moore and many others to support his theory of the undermind. He includes deceptively simple puzzles and exercises, as well as anecdotes drawn from daily life, to bolster his thesis that we need to adopt slower, more meditative modes of knowing. While Claxton speaks the language of cognitive science, his ideas resonate with Freud's description of the unconscious, Buddhist concepts of the divine ground of existence and the great Romantic poets' notions of the fount of creativity.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (December 8, 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060955414
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060955410
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #77,398 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

Guy Claxton
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Guy Claxton Page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
There is an old Polish saving, 'Sleep faster; we need the pillows' which reminds us that there are some activities which just will not be rushed. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
intelligent unconscious, conscious threshold, polar planimeter, unconscious intelligence, tortoise mind, hare brain, slow knowing, slower ways, cognitive unconscious, unconscious perception, learning curriculum, insight problems
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Yeshi Dhonden, Tony Marcel, Sherlock Holmes
New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 93 books:
See all 93 books this book cites
 
12 books cite this book:
See all 12 books citing this book

Books on Related Topics (learn more)
 
 

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less
92% buy the item featured on this page:
Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less 4.9 out of 5 stars (14)
$11.96
The Wayward Mind: An Intimate History of the Unconscious
2% buy
The Wayward Mind: An Intimate History of the Unconscious
$11.96
Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them
2% buy
Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them 4.8 out of 5 stars (13)
The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size (Penguin Press Science)
2% buy
The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size (Penguin Press Science) 3.7 out of 5 stars (35)
$12.24
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(3)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
Agree with these tags?

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more
 

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (13)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars How We Really Think, January 14, 2000
By Peter Farrell (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews
This book is an excellent, clearly-written presentation about how we really think, learn and know. Claxton challenges our cultural assumption that real thinking involves effort, strain, and our verbal self. Claxton shows that we unconsciously register patterns, and the patterns guide our action. I've read enough psychology to agree that most patterns never reach verbal consciousness, but our verbal self is great at "filling in the details" after the fact. For years I've regarded "logical, rational" thought as a comforting myth. I'm a mathematician, so I know a little about logic, and in my opinion it's just hindsight. In my experience as a student and a teacher, I know we use our well-trained intuition to solve a problem, then we look back and say, "My, wasn't that logical?" Well, it wasn't.Claxton's book is filled with psychological studies that prove that we are conscious of very little of our real thought processes. It's inspired me to trust my unconscious to learn its own way, from experience, without letting my conscious mind interfere.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Lafontaine was right all along. You need the turtle., May 30, 2003
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
The author takes gutsy stands. He considers the "Left brain Right brain" concept obsolete. According to his research, the mind's skill set is a lot more fluid than that. Everything the left brain can do, the right brain can do to, and vice versa.
His theory focuses on two main thinking modes:
1) intellect (d-mode); and
2) intuition (undermind).
He believes that optimal cognition is reached through a balance between these two modes of thinking. One is not better than the other. Thinking modes can be used in effective sequences.
He indicates that many challenging problem solving situations can be tackled through four stages of thinking:
1) Preparation in D-Mode,
2) Incubation in intuitive mode,
3) Illumination in intuitive mode, and
4) Verification in the D-mode.
The above is a good description of the scientific method from a psychological framework. This approach will help you out in both school, and business situations.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Deep Thoughts with Solid Research and New Ideas, April 13, 2006
By Simeon Hein "Planetary Intelligence author" (www.OpeningMinds.info, Boulder, CO, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
In this wide-ranging, scholarly study, Guy Claxton does a superb job of showing the reader how complex consciousness is, and why, in our awareness, things aren't what they seem to be. You might think from the book's title that this is largely a metaphysical or philosophical discussion. That's hardly the case. Claxton presents numerous results from psychology experiments that show, unequivocally, that we are not primarily rational beings, but rationalizing ones. In other words, we invent reasons to justify doing the things that we do, but these ideas are more likely to be intellectual alibis than the real motivations for our behavior.

You may think that you consciously make moment to moment decisions about your life. But Claxton convincingly shows us that the mysterious "undermind," as he calls it, has more to do with who we are and what we do than our conscious, logical, linear mind. The "d-mode", our deliberate thinking style--the one we perfect in our years of schooling-- is the most commonly accepted model of how our minds work. However, the experimental evidence suggests that d-mode thinking has relatively little to do with how we make most of the decisions in our lives. The d-mode actually comes up with plausible reasons that justify our actions, but it isn't the source of those actions. The conscious mind's job is to focus a lot of attention on a particular problem and maintain a coherent sense of ourselves: but these processes all come after the fact of our inner decision-making. In fact, people often seem happier with their decisions in the long run, if they think less about them from the outset. It is in this sense, that "think less" makes one more intelligent.

Contrary to our training, Claxton shows us that in many situations, our slower mind is much more effective at running our lives than our more efficient fast mind. The undermind is especially good in ambiguous situations, where information is undefined and uncertain. In our fast-paced lives, we often demand instant results based on objective, linear data-production systems. But Claxton argues that we would often be better off to slow down and let the subconscious solve our problems more spontaneously. This idea is not just a values-based belief: it is backed by empirical studies such as subliminal research experiments and small-group studies.

HARE BRAIN, TORTOISE MIND will get you to re-evaluate a lot of assumptions you have about yourself. Who is really in charge of your life? Who are you? These are the sorts of questions that this book evokes and once Claxton gets your attention, he doesn't let go. After presenting the empirical evidence Claxton goes onto to explain their significance in religious thought and social history. But the main point throughout is that we need to respect, cultivate, and develop our intuitive, whole-brain thinking processes. And that wisdom, in the largest sense of the word, is a lot more than bits and bytes that flow through our PDAs and laptop computers. Because what makes for really profound thinking isn't only a profusion of data and information: it is also an awareness of the uncertainty and totality of relationships that sustain life in all its forms.

This book is like a bottle of good wine. It just gets better as you keep reading. Claxton encourages us to follow our intuitions and develop ourselves into complete beings rather than logical, numbed, rational robots. Readers who enjoy this book may also appreciate Tor Norretrander's THE USER ILLUSION and Carl Honore's IN PRAISE OF SLOWNESS.

(Dr. Simeon Hein is the author of OPENING MINDS and PLANETARY INTELLIGENCE and composer of the CDs EARTH DREAMING and OPENING SKIES.)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
Ad
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent and in-depth book on why we should THINK LESS
In this well-written, original and scholarly book, Guy Claxton takes us on a journey towards better understanding how the mind works and how our best decisions are influenced when... Read more
Published 26 days ago by Dr. Christine Maingard

5.0 out of 5 stars Intuition trumps analysis
"Wisdom arises from a friendly and intimate relationship with the undermind." By the "undermind," psychologist Guy Claxton is referring to the nebulous part of our mind usually... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Sarah Bruce Kelly

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive and provocative book on creativity
Customer Video Review

Length:: 0:58 Mins
Published 6 months ago by Nigel Collin

5.0 out of 5 stars A very important book
I give this book 5 stars. Very entertaining. Some really great new ideas. Very interesting insight on thinking slowly and "undermind". Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mark Deo

5.0 out of 5 stars mind opening
There were more than a few times during the reading of this book where I thought "that makes total sense", or "this one idea alone is worth the cost of the book". Read more
Published on February 11, 2006 by Jaronimo

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind Boggling
This is a terrific book if you have any interest in understanding your fellow humans and yourself. Claxton is a clear enticing writer with a rich source of research and background... Read more
Published on June 1, 2001 by Bruce M. Anderson

5.0 out of 5 stars A fabulous book for getting your thinking straight.
The author is the ultimate teacher, presenting his material in several forms and different ways till you "get it". Read more
Published on March 2, 2000 by William bishop

5.0 out of 5 stars Faster Is Not Always Better
Hare Brain Tortoise Mind has created tremendous interest among those who want to gain a better understanding of human intelligence. Read more
Published on January 6, 2000 by Robert Morris

5.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinarily important book
Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind had a powerful impact on me. The book operates on the reader at two levels, just as Claxton says the mind operates. Read more
Published on October 8, 1999 by Dan Beauchamp

5.0 out of 5 stars An in depth and original guide on how the mind works.
The book is extremely well researched and original. The author takes gutsy stands. For instance, he considers the "Left brain Right brain" thing as dated pop... Read more
Published on August 7, 1999

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   

So You'd Like to...

Create a guide

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:










i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.