Mindsight
June 2, 2009 12:51 AM Subscribe
Mindsight is a deeply worthwhile exposition of the workings of the mind, an hour-long talk from the Google Personal Growth Series (but don't let that title put you off). [SLYT]
"This interactive talk will examine two major questions: What is the mind? and How can we create a healthy mind? We'll examine the interactions among the mind, the brain, and human relationships and explore ways to create a healthy mind, an integrated brain, and mindful, empathic relationships. Here is one surprising finding: the vast majority (about 95%) of mental health practitioners around the globe, and even many scientists and philosophers focusing on the mind, do not have a definition of what the mind is! In this talk, well offer a working definition of the mind and practical implications for how to perceive and strengthen the mind itself—a learnable skill called mindsight. Then well build on this perspective to explore ways that the mind, the brain, and our relationships are influenced by digital information flow and also how they can be moved toward healthy functioning.
Presented by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D."
"This interactive talk will examine two major questions: What is the mind? and How can we create a healthy mind? We'll examine the interactions among the mind, the brain, and human relationships and explore ways to create a healthy mind, an integrated brain, and mindful, empathic relationships. Here is one surprising finding: the vast majority (about 95%) of mental health practitioners around the globe, and even many scientists and philosophers focusing on the mind, do not have a definition of what the mind is! In this talk, well offer a working definition of the mind and practical implications for how to perceive and strengthen the mind itself—a learnable skill called mindsight. Then well build on this perspective to explore ways that the mind, the brain, and our relationships are influenced by digital information flow and also how they can be moved toward healthy functioning.
Presented by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D."
.mp3 might be more convenient? Mind the pop-under ad (just one).
posted by mhjb at 4:35 AM on June 2, 2009
posted by mhjb at 4:35 AM on June 2, 2009
Some stuff to read:
Mindsight
Daniel J Siegel
I don't have time to look at this now, but the excerpt sets off alarm bells for me. The claim about 95% of mental health practitioners seems dubious ---seems like a difficult survey to take accurately. Searching pubmed seems to indicate that the guy has published at least once though. He seems to be a genuine academic, for what that's worth.
posted by Humanzee at 4:50 AM on June 2, 2009
Mindsight
Daniel J Siegel
I don't have time to look at this now, but the excerpt sets off alarm bells for me. The claim about 95% of mental health practitioners seems dubious ---seems like a difficult survey to take accurately. Searching pubmed seems to indicate that the guy has published at least once though. He seems to be a genuine academic, for what that's worth.
posted by Humanzee at 4:50 AM on June 2, 2009
Wow, Google talk videos just keep amazing, best thing going. I'm still working my way through Authors@Google, some of my favorites from the past year or so.
posted by stbalbach at 8:22 AM on June 2, 2009
posted by stbalbach at 8:22 AM on June 2, 2009
Daniel Siegel's book, The Developing Mind : How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It seems to single-handedly give good grounding of explanation for how the physical brain processes information, what the sorting process is for that information, and what the larger implications are for who that sorting process is tuned in each individual. I've read it at least three times, and started a fourth read-through a few months ago. This should be interesting to watch.
*toddles off to watch the lecture*
(Oh, yeah, DJS is a pretty well-known name in neuropsychology and related fields. He's not just some crank.)
posted by hippybear at 8:46 AM on June 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
*toddles off to watch the lecture*
(Oh, yeah, DJS is a pretty well-known name in neuropsychology and related fields. He's not just some crank.)
posted by hippybear at 8:46 AM on June 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
First favorite quote from the video: "You'd be amazed, but a lot of people live their lives just having thoughts and feelings and beliefs and attitudes, having hopes and dreams and memories and perceptions, all the stuff we can use to describe the mind... (Those aren't definitions, they are descriptions of mental activity.) But they haven't developed the capacity to actually observe those mental activities as the flow of energy and information, as the mind itself."
posted by hippybear at 9:06 AM on June 2, 2009
posted by hippybear at 9:06 AM on June 2, 2009
Oh dear. He started in with his "hand as a model of the brain" segment, and this was all I could think of.
posted by hippybear at 9:17 AM on June 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 9:17 AM on June 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
I was swimmin' in the Caribbean. Animals were hiding behind the rocks. Except the little fish. But they told me, he swears. Tryin' to talk to me, coy koi.
posted by tkchrist at 10:22 AM on June 2, 2009
posted by tkchrist at 10:22 AM on June 2, 2009
stbalbach, nice site. But I did not see a page on the site about the the time machine you used to view those videos in December & November 2009.
posted by nooneyouknow at 11:25 AM on June 2, 2009
posted by nooneyouknow at 11:25 AM on June 2, 2009
Newsflash: meditation, yoga, tai chi, etc. enhance the health of body, mind and spirit.
The most interesting part of this talk was how surprised this brain expert was when he discovered that these activities--activities that have been practiced by millions of people for thousands of years--make a noticeable difference in people's health.
What seems more interesting is an exploration into all the crap that prevents people from practicing these activities, or what it is about our culture that has pushed us so far from being mindful. Hint: rich white guys who want us to buy shit, a.k.a. "the American Dream."
posted by erikvan at 11:57 AM on June 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
The most interesting part of this talk was how surprised this brain expert was when he discovered that these activities--activities that have been practiced by millions of people for thousands of years--make a noticeable difference in people's health.
What seems more interesting is an exploration into all the crap that prevents people from practicing these activities, or what it is about our culture that has pushed us so far from being mindful. Hint: rich white guys who want us to buy shit, a.k.a. "the American Dream."
posted by erikvan at 11:57 AM on June 2, 2009 [2 favorites]
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