Brooklyn Bookbeat: Find out ‘How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes’ at BookCourt
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to remember where you left your glasses, or whether you turned off the stove? Even if you’ve never aspired to be a detective, on more than one occasion you’ve probably wished you could sharpen your memory and problem solving skills. Now, following Sherlock Holmes’s methods of careful observation and logical cogitation, journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova shows us how we can do just that: in her upcoming book “Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes,” Konnikova employs Holmes’s strategies as a means of enhancing our mental powers. While Holmes has long been regarded as a fictional genius, Konnikova humanizes his powers, revealing to readers how we might learn to most effectively reflect on and apply our knowledge. In Mastermind, Konnikova draws on her background in psychology as she explores Holmes’s specific techniques. Beginning with Holmes’s “brain attic” analogy, Konnikova guides readers into understanding how the brain organizes information, emphasizing the importance of imagination in the process of refining our process of logical thinking.
Most of us are juggling a ton of commitments and storing an abundance of information; sometimes it can seem impossible to remember a Facebook password or where we parked our car, much less how to solve a work conundrum. If you’re curious about how to become more self-aware and a clearer thinker, don’t miss your chance to meet Konnikova in Brooklyn next week. “Mastermind” goes on sale this Monday, January 7, 2013, and Konnikova will appear at BookCourt that evening for a reading and signing.
The event begins at 7pm. BookCourt is located at 163 Court Street in Cobble Hill.