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daniellevitin

Cover of The Organized Mind

I listened to The Organized Mind by Daniel J Levitin at 1.5x speed while walking Cap, the new dog. This may be not be what the author intended.

The idea of externalizing as much of our memory as possible so that we can free our brain up for thinking is not a new idea to me. This certainly gave it more structure. Especially if that structure will allow you to function better in the white, male world in which we live.

There was so much of this book that seemed bent on an idea of organization that was built by a dominate culture and not necessarily, well, right. Even while some — pull out the album next to the one you remove so you can refile more easily — makes perfect sense. And some — the order in which languages invent the words for colors — is fascinating.

It all seems to depend on the idea that an organized thinker is a hierarchical thinking, striving for speedy solutions, and ability to move forward. And not the messy abstractness that so often seems to be life.

Certainly, this is another book that helped me understand myself, in good and bad ways. I can see why computer geeks love this book — it almost gives rules for interactions with humans. It also is a guide for the rules of a white dominated mental system and culture that may or not be helpful.

#reading #nonfiction #DanielLevitin

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