Mastermind

No fictional character is more renowned for his extraordinary powers of mind than Sherlock Holmes. But what exactly is it that sets him apart as a detective of the highest order, and can we harness his genius? In Mastermind, psychologist Maria Konnikova shows us how we can all channel Holmes' famous powers of deduction, observation, memory and imagination. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience and psychology, Konnikova unpacks the mental strategies that can help sharpen our perceptions, improve our logic and enhance our creative powers. Mastermind is a remarkable and entertaining guide to upgrading the mind.

Maria Konnikova was born in Moscow and grew up in the United States. She blogs regularly for The New Yorker and formerly wrote the Literally Psyched column for Scientific American and the popular psychology blog Artful Choice for Big Think. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, where she studied psychology, creative writing, and government, and received her Ph.D. in Psychology from Columbia University. She lives in New York. www.mariakonnikova.com

* Fascinating...A delightful tour of the science of memory, creativity and reasoning -- Steven Pinker * An entertaining blend of Holmesiana and modern-day neuroscience New York Times * Here is a giant helping of Daniel Kahnemann, a tincture of Atul Gawande, a whiff of Nassim Taleb, a dollop of Jonah Lehrer...and the whole assemblage served, Heston Blumenthal-style, in a deerstalker hat -- Sam Leith Guardian * Devotees of Arthur Conan Doyle's conundrum-cracker will be thrilled by this portmanteau of strategies for sharpening cognitive ability Nature * Serves the non-Holmes aficionado as a route into the stories without any spoilers. And for those of us who have enjoyed the intellectual might of the great detective before, it gives us a fresh insight into Conan Doyle's deductive masterpieces We Love This Book * Ingenious... thoughtful... covers a wide variety of material clearly and organizes it well Wall Street Journal Steven Pinker meets Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in this entertaining, insightful look at how the fictional London crime-solver used sophisticated mental strategies to solve complex problems of logic and deduction...This practical, enjoyable book, packed with modern science and real-life examples, shows you how to get your inner Holmes on and is worth at least a few hours of pipe-smoking reflection in a comfortable leather chair Boston Globe * Based on modern neuroscience and psychology, the book explores Holmes's aptitude for mindfulness, logical thinking and observation... Washington Post * With wit and real flair, Konnikova suggests that by properly harnessing the great detective's [Sherlock Holmes] methods we can significantly improve our mental ability... Konnikova offers a way to turbo-charge our mental faculties, enhancing creative thinking and developing our powers of logic Good Book Guide * A treatise on how the Watsons of the world can smarten up...culled from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original works and cutting-edge psych research New York Post * Weaving together the fictional detective's cases