Flourish FM Episode #25: The Extended Mind with Annie Murphy Paul
Today, we talk to journalist and bestselling author Annie Murphy Paul about how the “extended mind” can help us flourish. She is an acclaimed science writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times and Scientific American, among many other publications. She has also authored various books, including Origins, The Cult of Personality, and the topic of today’s discussion, The Extended Mind.
In our conversation with Annie, we discuss the extended mind's three types of cognition (embodied, situated, and distributed) and what it means to be a "loopy" creature. We explore practical strategies for leveraging distributed cognition in our daily lives, workplaces, and relationships, learn about the impact of physical spaces on perception, and other fascinating insights on the topic. Join us for an insightful episode that will broaden your understanding of the human mind and the world around us. Tune in now!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Annie’s motivation for writing The Extended Mind and what she hopes to achieve.
- Insight into the extended mind concept and its relationship to human flourishing.
- Contrasting the extended mind with the view of the brain as the sole controller of the body.
- Three types of cognition of the extended mind: embodied, situated, and distributed.
- How the three types of cognition impact individuals, teams, and communities.
- How thinking in groups and sharing ideas play into the extended mind concept.
- Steps to achieving collective intelligence.
- How digital and analog technologies extend our thinking and its relation to situated cognition.
- Diversity in collective intelligence, distributed cognition, and team success.
- How physical spaces impact cognition and the restorative effects of natural environments.
- Physical movement, social interaction, and the role they play in thinking.
- Practical strategies for utilizing distributed cognition in daily life, work, and relationships.
- How the different types of cognition overlap in our daily lives.
- Being a "loopy" creature and the role of physical movement and social interaction in thinking.
- Whether non-embodied or non-extended thinking exists.
- The best way to leverage the extended mind concept toward human flourishing.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: