Blog | Forces of Habit

Book Summary: This Book Is Not Required: An Emotional Survival Manual for Students by Inge Bell

Posted on December 27, 2018December 27, 2018

This Book Is Not Required: An Emotional Survival Manual for Students by Inge Bell Print The Essence An introductory work to learning how to gain self-knowledge. Personal reflection during our late teens to early 20s can be daunting, it is a time where we have the opportunity to begin to openly question the ideas we have been socialized into. The non-academic part of academics have no instruction manual though tend to be the most challenging part to navigate. This Book Is Not Requited urges students to take control of the […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Book Summary: The Ethical Brain: The Science of Our Moral Dilemmas by Michael Gazzaniga

Posted on December 26, 2018December 26, 2018

The Ethical Brain: The Science of Our Moral Dilemmas by Michael Gazzaniga Print The Essence Neuroscience has impacted a vast number of fields, leaving no rock unturned (neuro-philosophy, neuro-marketing, neuro-law, and neuro-pharmacology just to name a few). With an ever growing relevance, understanding how modern brain science reveals discrepancies in how we ought to live, and how we currently live, has become a staple when voicing an opinion on social issues like morality, and lifestyle. Science and society will interact in ways that we have never considered possible, The Ethical […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Book Summary: Mind Matters: How Mind and Brain Interact to Create Our Conscious Lives by Michael Gazzaniga

Posted on December 25, 2018December 25, 2018

Mind Matters: How Mind and Brain Interact to Create Our Conscious Lives by Michael Gazzaniga Print The Essence Questions regarding what the mind is has been at the forefront of neuroscience since scientist began to study the brain. However through increasing evidence, mind-body dualism has revealed itself to be a fictitious model for understanding how the human comprehensively functions. Neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga’s pioneer work in the field has presented evidence for how the mind can directly influence our physiological states, and how we can subsequently use the mind to change […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Book Summary: Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman

Posted on December 24, 2018December 24, 2018

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman Print The Essence What are the requirements for a successful life? Many would answer this question by describing intelligence in one form one another, and its capacities to lead to a happier life; yet the research states otherwise. Writer Daniel Goldman reports that our how our current metric for accessing success cannot be complete without considering our capacities to navigate the emotional world. In fact, he argues, it is those who are emotional competent that tend to live […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Book Summary: The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr

Posted on December 23, 2018December 23, 2018

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr Print The Essence As history shows, various tools that we humans use to extend our mental faculties greatly change the way we then navigate our realities. However, this time, costs run high. Using the internet has ramifications on our brains that are consistently underplayed. Contemplation, retention, reading, and even basic attention control are all negatively impacted through consistent interaction with the medium. As we give credence to the internet to ‘simplify’ our lives we also strip ourselves […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Book Summary: A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra) by Barbara Oakley

Posted on December 22, 2018December 22, 2018

A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra) by Barbara Oakley Print The Essence Many of the most challenging domains to study are like a two-step authentication process; to comprehend the material is not sufficient, the learning systems surrounding those concepts are just as essential. This is why the learning process itself is an art. Barbra Oakley addresses our learning deficiencies by reviewing the literature on retaining new information, and provides us strategies that have empirically been found to help […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Book Summary: How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg

Posted on December 21, 2018May 15, 2019

How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking by Jordan Ellenberg Print The Essence Being wrong a lot less of the time means understanding that mathematics holds the secrets of navigating a world ruled by probabilities. Common sense tends to lie beyond the mathematical traps that day-to-day life lays. Such as falsely assuming linearity when the rate of change may not remain the same. Numbers may not always be what they seem to be, and it is our duty to apply the principles of mathematics to unveil […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Book Summray: The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity by Steven Strogatz

Posted on December 20, 2018December 20, 2018

The Joy of X: A Guided Tour of Math, from One to Infinity Book by Steven Strogatz Print The Essence Cornell professor Steven Strogatz compartmentalizes and expands his endeavor to popularize math in the New York Times opinionator series “The Elements of Math.” Many of the mathematical concepts that we studied in primary school are reframed as practical anecdotes that revitalize our curiosity for developing the stigmaed skill of mathematical thinking. The language of mathematics has led to discovery after discovery about what our organized, yet chaotic, existence actually is. […]

52 in 52 Book Summaries

Learning Mathematics: The Cognitive Science Approach to Mathematics Education by Robert B. Davis

Posted on December 19, 2018December 23, 2018

Learning Mathematics: The Cognitive Science Approach to Mathematics Education by Robert B. Davis Print The Essence An in-depth look into the problem solving behind mathematical thinking. By considering how we use computation in computer science, we can uncover lessons regarding our own human information processing system (the brain). The system that represents information within our brains has identifiable patterns that when considered, reveal to us our deficiencies when approaching mathematical problems. Davis book also has implications for how we instruct students when teaching math, as well as how artificial intelligence will […]