The Myth of Individual Achievement

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We have a mythology of individual achievement. We think of the automobile as invented by henry ford, or the light ball by edison. There really have been dialogues and conversations and collective learnings that made possible all these branges. And it's just much easier and more satisfying to tell a story about an individual facing a conflict rather than telling a story about network of people. I do want to acknowledge rufus that although i think maybe you enjoy working in groups more, maybe more than most, or you've had really positive experiences, because one thing i do that does come up when i talk about group work is that it almost universallye elicits a groan.

Modern life has not been easy on our brains. Average IQ scores rose steadily throughout the last century. Now they appear to be leveling off. The problem, according to neuroscientists, may be that we have reached our neurobiological limits. Our brains simply can’t work any harder. Luckily, science writer Annie Murphy Paul has a solution. In her bold new book, “The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain,” she draws on a wealth of scientific research to show that we’re smarter when we get out of our heads. By offloading our memories onto our phones, making decisions based on our bodily sensations, using tactile tools to solve abstract problems, drawing inspiration from our surroundings, and arguing with our friends, we can access intelligence that exists beyond the confines of our craniums. In this episode, Annie explains how to do it.