
Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind
by Guy Claxton · first published 1997
19mentions
2recommended by
4HN commenters
2009–2025first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% neutral
Argues that the mind works best when people trust the unconscious and calls for a reevaluation of society's obsession with results-oriented thinking and solving problems under pressure
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A book that deals directly with the strengths and limitations of the unconscious reasoning pg is talking about is "Hare Brain Tortoise Mind". http://www.amazon.com/Hare-Brain-Tortoise-Mind-Intelligence/... I recommend it to everyone I know.
on “The Top Idea in Your Mind ” ↗Cleese almost directly referenced the book "Hare Brain Tortoise Mind" ( http://www.amazon.com/Hare-Brain-Tortoise-Mind-Intelligence/... ). I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a deeper explanation of this topic.
on “Brilliant talk by John Cleese on creativity.” ↗The book "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less" http://www.amazon.com/Hare-Brain-Tortoise-Mind-Intelligence/... goes into detail about how intuition works, where it comes from, what it's good at and…
on “Ask HN: Do you think intuition is as valuable as rational thinking?” ↗I recommend the book "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind" by Guy Claxton for a well-researched and approachable overview of cognitive science and different modes of thinking.
on “Leisure Is Our Killer App” ↗Common human behavior is a lot more schizophrenic than any of us are comfortable with understanding. I recommend the book "Hare Brain Tortoise Mind" to everyone who will listen. It explains one form of multi-mindedness that leads to you getting your best insights while in the shower --what it's good at and what it's not. "The Man Who Mistook His…
on “How researchers discovered we have “two brains” [video]” ↗…to books like: The Secret of Childhood, Instead of Education, Mindstorms 3) Then, you are ready for: Flow, The Children's Machine Thanks for coming back to answer more questions. If you've missed 'Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind', I do recommend it. IMHO, Gladwell's Blink was HBTM with most of the material replaced with funny stories.
on “Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today” ↗> As soon as I stop actively thinking about the problem a solution will come. The book 'Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind' has a good explanation of how that works, what it's good at and what it's not. I get a lot of side chores done with directed procrastination. But, what works for me to get the main task done is to…
on “The non-linearity of productivity” ↗…effective in practice even though she doesn't claim to know why "the genius that lives in your wall" behaves the way it does. However, I will claim that the less mystical explanation described in the book "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less" is more effective still. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk, but I think her goals can be even better achieved with that book's psychological insight as a…
on “TED: A different way to think about creative genius, Elizabeth Gilbert” ↗"Hare Brain Tortoise Mind" is a great book that goes into how this works and how to work with/against it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB_4YU6UtCw tldr: There is a background, non-verbal process in your brain that has the…
on “Deconcentration of Attention: Addressing the Complexity of Software (2012)” ↗I liked "Thinking Fast and Slow", but would recommend "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind" above it in this space, as better bang for the buck (wrt time investment / value derived).
on “Doctors and decision fatigue” ↗Highly recommend the book “Hare Brain Tortoise Mind” for more insight into how this does and doesn’t work well.
on “The Power of Shower Thoughts” ↗"Hare Brain Tortoise Mind" is a great book that goes into how this works and how to work with/against it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB_4YU6UtCw tldr: There is a background, non-verbal process in your brain that has the…
on “Steve Jobs Swore the 10-Minute Rule Made Him Smarter. He Was Right” ↗"Hare Brain Tortoise Mind" is a great book that goes into how this works and how to work with/against it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB_4YU6UtCw tldr: There is a background, non-verbal process in your brain that has the…
on “Neuroscientists track the neural activity underlying an “aha”” ↗The book "Hare Brain Tortoise Mind" is a great exploration of this phenomenon.
on “My Subconscious Is a Better Developer Than I Am” ↗See also "Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind"
on “Cognitive biases and principles that affect UX” ↗