I am a few years late since the book was published in 2006. In my defense, there is a pile of books that move from bedside to coffee table to the office and back again on a regular basis. Do you know that feeling?
While I am an avid reader, there is a little problem with purchasing more books that can be read at any given moment, a four-year-old, and a business to run. Stories for another day…
Over the (cold and snowy) holidays, I explored Daniel Pink’s book – A Whole New Mind – and found it fascinating. The core of the book provides really good – and clearly organized – concepts that culminate in exercises for stretching the mind – right and left-brain alike. (Take the EQ SQ test to understand how your mind processes information.) And while some of the information presented may seem familiar from observing the changing world this last decade, the way the information is organized feels fresh and inspiring.
In Pink’s opinion, design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning are the basis for life and work in what he calls our transformation from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. What comes across most clearly is that we approach a time of balance between two (seemingly disparate) sides of the brain that have been divided in our recent history.
If Pink’s vision proves true, a symphony will be heard and shared:
“It is an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life – one that prizes aptitudes that I call “high concept” and “high touch.” High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.”
My horoscope recently: “What is your gift to the world?” Perhaps I will spend the next decade trying to figure that one out…
How do you “stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning” in your life?
I recall Toffler awriting about the high-tech/high-touch dichotomy in Future Shock. I read this years ago as a teen and still remember this part the best.
Natalie, I hear you asking yourself what is your gift to the world. You have inspired me to return to fabic, needle and thread. Thank you for the gift of inspiration.
Sincerely, Karen
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Dear Natalie, as a single mother and bread earner – as you know – I do the best I can 😉 and so do you – stretch and unfold – reach beyond the limits through the quotidian – that is inspiring and meaning in itself
Happy new year to you and Maggie! Love Barbara