Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness
Unlock the secrets to understanding yourself and others with the surprising science of the human mind's greatest power: introspection.
 
“Are you sure?”
 
Whether in a court room, a doctor’s office, a gameshow’s hot seat, or a student’s desk, we are always trying to answer that question. Should we accept eyewitness testimony or a physician’s diagnosis? Do we really want to risk it all on a final question? And what should we be studying in order to do as well as possible on a test? In short, how do we know what we and others know—or as importantly, don’t know?
 
As cognitive neuroscientist Stephen Fleming shows in Know Thyself, we do this with metacognition. Metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is the most important tool we have for understanding our own mind. Metacognition is an awesome power: It is what enables self-awareness as well as what lets us think about the minds of others. It is the ultimate human trait, and in its most rarefied forms is a power that neither other animals, nor our current artificial intelligences, have. Metacognition teaches us the limits of our own knowledge. Once we understand what it is and how it works, we can improve our performance and make better decisions. For example, on the SAT, it helps us gauge when we should skip a question rather than lose points getting an answer wrong.
 
Know Thyself, like the metacognition itself, is equal parts scientific, philosophical, and practical. And that means, like Thinking, Fast and Slow and Predictably Irrational, it’s that rarest of books: one that can both expand our minds and change our lives.
 
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Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness
Unlock the secrets to understanding yourself and others with the surprising science of the human mind's greatest power: introspection.
 
“Are you sure?”
 
Whether in a court room, a doctor’s office, a gameshow’s hot seat, or a student’s desk, we are always trying to answer that question. Should we accept eyewitness testimony or a physician’s diagnosis? Do we really want to risk it all on a final question? And what should we be studying in order to do as well as possible on a test? In short, how do we know what we and others know—or as importantly, don’t know?
 
As cognitive neuroscientist Stephen Fleming shows in Know Thyself, we do this with metacognition. Metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is the most important tool we have for understanding our own mind. Metacognition is an awesome power: It is what enables self-awareness as well as what lets us think about the minds of others. It is the ultimate human trait, and in its most rarefied forms is a power that neither other animals, nor our current artificial intelligences, have. Metacognition teaches us the limits of our own knowledge. Once we understand what it is and how it works, we can improve our performance and make better decisions. For example, on the SAT, it helps us gauge when we should skip a question rather than lose points getting an answer wrong.
 
Know Thyself, like the metacognition itself, is equal parts scientific, philosophical, and practical. And that means, like Thinking, Fast and Slow and Predictably Irrational, it’s that rarest of books: one that can both expand our minds and change our lives.
 
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Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness

Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness

by Stephen M Fleming
Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness

Know Thyself: The Science of Self-Awareness

by Stephen M Fleming

Hardcover

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Overview

Unlock the secrets to understanding yourself and others with the surprising science of the human mind's greatest power: introspection.
 
“Are you sure?”
 
Whether in a court room, a doctor’s office, a gameshow’s hot seat, or a student’s desk, we are always trying to answer that question. Should we accept eyewitness testimony or a physician’s diagnosis? Do we really want to risk it all on a final question? And what should we be studying in order to do as well as possible on a test? In short, how do we know what we and others know—or as importantly, don’t know?
 
As cognitive neuroscientist Stephen Fleming shows in Know Thyself, we do this with metacognition. Metacognition, or thinking about thinking, is the most important tool we have for understanding our own mind. Metacognition is an awesome power: It is what enables self-awareness as well as what lets us think about the minds of others. It is the ultimate human trait, and in its most rarefied forms is a power that neither other animals, nor our current artificial intelligences, have. Metacognition teaches us the limits of our own knowledge. Once we understand what it is and how it works, we can improve our performance and make better decisions. For example, on the SAT, it helps us gauge when we should skip a question rather than lose points getting an answer wrong.
 
Know Thyself, like the metacognition itself, is equal parts scientific, philosophical, and practical. And that means, like Thinking, Fast and Slow and Predictably Irrational, it’s that rarest of books: one that can both expand our minds and change our lives.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781541672840
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication date: 04/27/2021
Pages: 304
Sales rank: 466,806
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Stephen M. Fleming is a Sir Henry Dale Wellcome Trust/Royal Society fellow at the department of experimental psychology and principal investigator at the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, where he leads the Metacognition Group. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Preface 1

Part I Building Minds That Know Themselves

1 How to Be Uncertain 17

2 Algorithms for Self-Monitoring 37

3 Knowing Me, Knowing You 55

4 Billions of Self-Aware Brains 75

5 Avoiding Self-Awareness Failure 101

Part II The Power of Reflection

6 Learning to Learn 115

7 Decisions About Decisions 135

8 Collaborating and Sharing 155

9 Explaining Ourselves 173

10 Self-Awareness in the Age of Machines 189

11 Emulating Socrates 209

Acknowledgments 221

Notes 225

References 241

Index 279

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