Is There a Group Mind?

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Group think is when people share information that they already have in common. One of the reasons is that we like to feel connected to other people, and we don't like to be the outlier who's bringing in that piece of information That may be unsettling to people or unexpected. We end up often lowing the lead of the more powerful people in the group,. And then others who may have really vital information engage in what casenstein, the the harvard professor calls self silencing.

In this conversation about her new book, the acclaimed science writer Annie Murphy Paul explodes the myth that the brain is an all-powerful, all-purpose thinking machine that works best in silence and isolation. We are often told that the human brain is an awe-inspiring wonder, but its capacities are remarkably limited and specific. Humanity has achieved its most impressive feats only by thinking outside the brain: by “extending” the brain’s power with resources borrowed from the body, other people, and the material world. The Extended Mind tells the stories of scientists and artists, authors and inventors, leaders and entrepreneurs — Jackson Pollock, Charles Darwin, Jonas Salk, Friedrich Nietzsche, Watson and Crick, among others — who have mastered the art of thinking outside the brain. It also explains how every one of us can do the same, tapping the intelligence that exists beyond our heads — in our bodies, our surroundings, and our relationships.