Extraordinary Minds
Portraits Of 4 Exceptional Individuals And An Examination Of Our Own Extraordinariness
Howard E Gardner
- Fifteen
- years
- ago,
- psychologist
- and
- educator
- Howard
- Gardner
- introduced
- the
- idea
- of
- multiple
- intelligences,
- challenging
- the
- presumption
- that
- intelligence
- consists
- of
- verbal
- or
- analytic
- abilities
- only
- --
- those
- intelligences
- that
- schools
- tend
- to
- measure.
- He
- argued
- for
- a
- broader
- understanding
- of
- the
- intelligent
- mind,
- one
- that
- embraces
- creation
- in
- the
- arts
- and
- music,
- spatial
- reasoning,
- and
- the
- ability
- to
- understand
- ourselves
- and
- others.
- Today,
- Gardner's
- ideas
- have
- become
- widely
- accepted
- --
- indeed,
- they
- have
- changed
- how
- we
- think
- about
- intelligence,
- genius,
- creativity,
- and
- even
- leadership,
- and
- he
- is
- widely
- regarded
- as
- one
- of
- the
- most
- important
- voices
- writing
- on
- these
- subjects.
- Now,
- in
- Extraordinary
- Minds
- ,
- a
- book
- as
- riveting
- as
- it
- is
- new,
- Gardner
- poses
- an
- important
- question:
- Is
- there
- a
- set
- of
- traits
- shared
- by
- all
- truly
- great
- achievers
- --
- those
- we
- deem
- extraordinary
- --
- no
- matter
- their
- field
- or
- the
- time
- period
- within
- which
- they
- did
- their
- important
- work?
- In
- an
- attempt
- to
- answer
- this
- question,
- Gardner
- first
- examines
- how
- most
- of
- us
- mature
- into
- more
- or
- less
- competent
- adults.
- He
- then
- examines
- closely
- four
- persons
- who
- lived
- unquestionably
- extraordinary
- lives
- --
- Mozart,
- Freud,
- Woolf,
- and
- Gandhi
- --
- using
- each
- as
- an
- exemplar
- of
- a
- different
- kind
- of
- extraordinariness:
- Mozart
- as
- the
- master
- of
- a
- discipline,
- Freud
- as
- the
- innovative
- founder
- of
- a
- new
- discipline,
- Woolf
- as
- the
- great
- introspect
- or,
- and
- Gandhi
- as
- the
- influencer.
- What
- can
- we
- learn
- about
- ourselves
- from
- the
- experiences
- of
- the
- extraordinary?
- Interestingly,
- Gardner
- finds
- that
- an
- excess
- of
- raw
- power
- is
- not
- the
- most
- impressive
- characteristic
- shared
- by
- superachievers;
- rather,
- these
- extraordinary
- individuals
- all
- have
- had
- a
- special
- talent
- for
- identifying
- their
- own
- strengths
- and
- weaknesses,
- for
- accurately
- analyzing
- the
- events
- of
- their
- own
- lives,
- and
- for
- converting
- into
- future
- successes
- those
- inevitable
- setbacks
- that
- mark
- every
- life.
- Gardner
- provides
- answers
- to
- a
- number
- of
- provocative
- questions,
- among
- them:
- How
- do
- we
- explain
- extraordinary
- times
- --
- Athens
- in
- the
- fifth
- century
- B.C.,
- the
- T'ang
- Dynasty
- in
- the
- eighth
- century,
- Islamic
- Society
- in
- the
- late
- Middle
- Ages,
- and
- New
- York
- at
- the
- middle
- of
- the
- century?
- What
- is
- the
- relation
- among
- genius,
- creativity,
- fame,
- success,
- and
- moral
- extraordinariness?
- Does
- extraordinariness
- make
- for
- a
- happier,
- more
- fulfilling
- life,
- or
- does
- it
- simply
- create
- a
- special onus?
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