Tools To Transform Our Thinking
“You can’t do much carpentry with your bare hands, and you can’t do much thinking with your bare brain.” – Bo Dahlbom
Daniel Dennett gives a great speech at Intelligence Squared on the topic of Tools To Transform Our Thinking. In this lecture Dennett talks about the importance and evolution of the way humans speak. He quotes a study that shows that, in the one hundred years that we have been doing IQ tests, humans IQs have been steadily rising. The Flynn effect has shown that average in 1932 would be about 80 where as the average IQ score today is more around 100. Jim Flynn, who the Flynn effect was named after, thinks that what happened is that the tools for thinking that are developed and proven and revised in the sciences and other academic disciplines have been filter downed into popular culture as part of what people learn indecently from school. This is why humans are actually getting smarter.
What are “Tools For Thinking”
“When ideas fail, words com in very handy” – Goethe
Words are a form thinking tools. When the thinking gets really hard one can often use words as a prosthetic device or crutch to help you in some difficult stretches. Other tools for thinking include numbers, diagrams, maps, and methods. These are all abstract things. Techniques for handling information in your head. Daniel Dennett ads another thinking tool. Dennett coined the term ‘intuition pump” back in the early 80’s. Dennett believes intuition pumps are the best tools philosophy has and claims they have created the great stories of philosophers that live on long after people have forgotten the original message. Little morals at the end of stories. Forms for persuasion. In any case, the topic of tools for thinking is an intriguing one. Dennett explains in far bigger and more concise detail what tools for thinking are and how to use them for your benefit.
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