February 2006
Intermediate to advanced
332 pages
9h 3m
English
Content preview from Mind Performance Hacks
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Hack #25. Think Analogically
Use analogies to solve problems and extend old ideas in new directions.
In "Enjoy Good, Clean Memetic Sex" [Hack #26], I compare thinking to sex and explore the consequences of that analogy. However, I don't explore the process of comparison itself and how to elaborate the analogy derived. Making analogies is an excellent thinking hack, and the techniques for doing so are worth exploration.
Recent studies indicate that much creative thought is the result of cognitive blending—mapping the elements of one idea onto another—a primary form of which is analogy.1 Thinking analogically can help you to create more prolifically,2 and recent advances in formalization of analogical thought mean that you can understand the richness available ever more rigorously.3
In Action
Although there are many ways to approach the process of creating and exploring analogies, this hack focuses on two of them— tables of correspondences and kennings—and the ways in which they're related.
Tables of correspondences
First, consider Table 3-3, which summarizes some of the extended thought/sex analogy.
Table 3-3. Simple comparison of thought and sex
| Thought | Sex |
|---|---|
| Brain | Genitalia |
| Reading | Insemination |
| Understanding | Conception |
| Creation | Offspring |
Each item in the first column corresponds to the item in the same row in the second column. For example, creation in the Thought column corresponds to offspring in the Sex column.
Table 3-3 is also similar to an old concept, the table of correspondences used by medieval ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.