The Extended Mind

A bold new book that proves our bodies and surroundings know more than our brains do

For centuries, we’ve believed that our thoughts happen entirely inside our brains. But in the last decade, new research has revealed that our bodies, our gestures, and our surroundings dramatically impact our intelligence and mental health. For example, did you know that closing your eyes makes you smarter, that half an hour among trees is as effective as a dose of Ritalin at controlling ADHD, that certain hand gestures aid memory, and that negotiators win an average of 80 percent more value when on their own turf? Indeed, as Annie Murphy Paul shows, we are constantly thinking outside our brains.

Like Howard Gardner’sMultiple Intelligences or Daniel Goleman’sEmotional Intelligence,Thinking Outside the Brain offers a dramatic new view of how our minds work, full of practical advice on how to think—and feel—better.