We do need some more software for our brain

Imagine that you owned the best music

system that you could get your hands on.

Imagine that you paid $30,000 for an

amplifier and another $15,000 for a DVD

player plus $40,000 for the best speakers

you could find, and so on. You could now

boast that you owned the best music hardware

system in your street, maybe even the best

in your town.



Now, imagine you only had one solitary

Patsy Kline CD to play on your ultra-hi fi

hardware. There's nothing wrong with Patsy

but a diet of 'I Fall To Pieces' and 'Your

Cheatin' Heart' may be somewhat limiting

when it comes to longterm music entertainment.



These same limitations face us when we

boast possession of a necktop computer --

a brain -- yet only have one piece of

thinking software, logic.



In your necktop computer, logic is useful

enough for labelling and mail-sorting and

dealing with the past but it's not nearly

enough to help you cope with the challenges

of the future.



We do need some more software for our brain

to help us survive in rapidly changing

environments and increasingly competitive

and shrinking global markets. We also need

more brain software because we're not happy

being stuck with what we have at present.



Brainpower and Intelligence



Brainpower is how you use tools, like

software, to enhance your intelligence.

These tools are higher-order cognitive

tools that help us think about what we

should think about. Sometimes this

'thinking about thinking' is called by

cognitive scientists, meta-cognition.



There are two main types of intelligences:

Data Intelligence and Game Intelligence.

Data Intelligence has to do with the role

information plays in thinking. Game

Intelligence has to do with the role of

strategies, clever moves, clever ideas,

ploys and tricks that are the product

of thinking about and exploring the

information.



Data Intelligence is only necessary for

the relatively dumb, unthinking reaction

to situations -- "What do I do next?"

Game Intelligence goes a step further

where the individual asks himself,

"What do I think about next?" before

asking "What do I do next?"



Brain software is a mind tool which

permits the brainuser to go a step

even further by allowing him or he

to ask, "How do I think better about

what I should think about next?"



Tools are important for intelligence.

Tools, like a laptop, are not just

the result of intelligence but they

actually ENDOW intelligence on the

user. When you give someone a laptop

you increase or enhance her chance

to arrive at more intelligent moves.



"Anthropologists have long recognized

that the advent of tool use accompanied

a major increase in intelligence,"

observes Daniel Dennett, Director of

the Center for Cognitive Studies at

Tufts University and author of the book

'Consciousness Explained.'



Commenting on the value of mind-tools

in developing the user's intelligence,

he says, "Tool use is a two-way sign of

intelligence. Not only does it require

intelligence to recognize and maintain

a tool, but tool use CONFERS intelligence

on those who are lucky enough to be given

the tool. The better designed the tool,

the more potential intelligence it confers

on the user."



Cognitive Science



Since the 1970s brought the explosion of

the Information Revolution and the rise of

personal computers we've become even more

interested in the brain and how it works.

"What is intelligence?" and "How can we

improve it?" are questions being asked in

a whole new field of science devoted to

these things called -- cognitive science.



Cognitive science is concerned with the

processes of sensing (seeing, hearing,

smelling); storing information (memory)

and recall; reasoning, planning and

intelligent action. It also includes

areas like AI (Artificial Intelligence)

and robotics. In other words -- thinking

-- both in animals and machines.



Like all human traits -- height, strength,

sexuality and looks etc -- intelligence

is distributed unequally. Some people

have more intelligence than you do and

some have less than you do and, of

course, the same applies to me.



Brain software for better thinking



In the coming lessons you will acquire

all 4 new codes of software for your

brain that you can immediately use to

get better personal results at school,

at home and at work -- and also at sports.



The SOT brain software code is:

SDNT CVSTOBVS QRH PRR.



This 4-part suite of brain software

includes:

* The SDNT Search Engine:

Start-Do-Notice-Think



* The CVSTOBVS Cognetics Operating System:

Current View of Situation-TO-Better View

of Situation.



* The QRH Styleware:

Quality-Recognition-Humor



* The PRR Personal Trainer:

Practice-Repetition-Rehearsal.



So, let's begin ...



How's Your Brainpower?



Here is a simple audit for you to rate

your own brainpower. It was designed by

Dr Eric Bienstock who is Vice-Principal

of SOT in New York. Eric based this

checklist on the SOT's Learn-To-Think

course book. How do you rate your own

brainpower?



INSTRUCTIONS: Answer each of the following

questions, scoring either 3, 2, 1, or 0

points for each answer depending on your

objective estimate of how often you

actually do what is stated. Use your

best guess of the following criteria

for scoring:



3 - 90% OF THE TIME (nearly always)

2 - 70% OF THE TIME (mostly)

1 - 40% OF THE TIME (often)

0 - 10% OF THE TIME (hardly ever)



SCORE



______ My judgments of ideas are based

on the value of the idea rather than on

my emotions at the time.



______ I judge ideas not just as "good"

or "bad" but also as "interesting" if

they can lead on to better ideas.



______ I consider all factors in a

situation before choosing, deciding,

or planning.



______ I consider all factors first,

before picking out the ones that matter

most.



______ When I create a rule I see to

it that it is clearly understood and

possible to obey.



______ I try to see the purpose of

rules I have to obey, even if I don't

like the rules.



______ I look at consequences of my

decisions or actions not only as they

affect me but also as they affect other

people.



______ I look at a wide range of

possible consequences before deciding

which consequences to bother about.



______ On the way to a final objective

I establish a chain of smaller objectives

each one following on from the previous one.



______ The objectives I set are near

enough, real enough and possible enough

for me to really try to reach them.



______ In planning, I know exactly what

I want to achieve.



______ I keep my plans as simple and

direct as possible.



______ I know exactly why I have chosen

something as a priority.



______ I try to get as many different

ideas as possible first, before starting

to pick out the priorities.



______ I will go on looking for alternatives

until I find one I really like.



______ While most people look for alternatives

when they are not satisfied; I look for them

deliberately even when I am satisfied.



______ I am able to tell myself the real

reason behind a decision I make.



______ Before making a decision, I consider

the factors, look at the consequences, get

clear about the objectives, assess the

priorities, and search for possible

alternatives.



______ I am able to see the other person's

point-of-view whether I agree with it or not.



______ I am able to spell out the differences

and similarities between different viewpoints.



______ TOTAL SCORE.



INTERPRETATION



This is not a scientific test. It's just an

audit or checklist to help you take stock of

your thinking, that's all! A trained thinker

can direct his or her thinking and use it

in a deliberate manner to produce an effect.

To a trained and skilled thinker, thinking

is a tool that can be used at will and the

use of this tool is practical. This ability

to use 'thinking as a skill' is the sort of

thinking ability that is required to get

things DONE.



* If your total score in this test was

between 51 and 60 points, you already

possess superior brainpower.



* If you scored between 31 and 50 points,

you have better than average brainpower.



* If you scored between 0 and 30, you

possess no additional brainpower other

than the natural thinking ability that

most people have.



Record your score here: _______ (Note:

Keep a record of this score to compare

results at the end of your 10X Training).