Mastermind
How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
Maria Konnikova
“The confines of our mind attic have shifted. They have expanded. We should strive to be cognizant of that change, and to take advantage of the shift instead of letting it take advantage of us”
Available as Paperback, eBook
An original and entertaining look at how we can use our brains to their full potential
No fictional character is more renowned for his extraordinary powers of mind than Sherlock Holmes. But what exactly is it that sets him apart as a detective of the highest order, and can we harness his genius?
In Mastermind, psychologist Maria Konnikova shows us how we can all channel Holmes’s famous powers of deduction, observation, memory and imagination. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, Konnikova unpacks the mental strategies that can help sharpen our perceptions, improve our logic and enhance our creative powers. Mastermind is a remarkable and entertaining guide to upgrading the mind.
“Fascinating… A delightful tour of the science of memory, creativity and reasoning”
Steven Pinker
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“An entertaining blend of Holmesiana and modern-day neuroscience”
new York Times
“Here is a giant helping of Daniel Kahnemann, a tincture of Atul Gawande, a whiff of Nassim Taleb, a dollop of Jonah Lehrer … and the whole assemblage served, Heston Blumenthal-style, in a deerstalker hat”
Sam Leith
guardian
“Devotees of Arthur Conan Doyle’s conundrum-cracker will be thrilled by this portmanteau of strategies for sharpening cognitive ability”
nature
“Serves the non-Holmes aficionado as a route into the stories without any spoilers. And for those of us who have enjoyed the intellectual might of the great detective before, it gives us a fresh insight into Conan Doyle’s deductive masterpieces”
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Maria Konnikova
Maria Konnikova was born in Moscow and grew up in the United States. Her first book, Mastermind, was a New York Times bestseller. She is a contributing writer for The New Yorker, where she writes a regular column with a focus on psychology and culture, and her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Scientific American MIND and The Smithsonian, among numerous other publications. Maria graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and received her PhD in psychology from Columbia University. She is currently a Schachter Writing Fellow at Columbia University’s Motivation Science Center and lives in New York City.
www.mariakonnikova.com
Maria Konnikova at the RSA
How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes - Mastermind - Maria Konnikova. From Practical Psychology