Problem-Solving: The Owner's Manual
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About this ebook
Cutting-edge, user-friendly, and comprehensive: the revolutionary guide to the brain, now fully revised and updated
At birth each of us is given the most powerful and complex tool of all time: the human brain. And yet, as we well know, it doesn't come with an owner's manual—until now. In this unsurpassed resource, Dr. Pierce J. Howard and his team distill the very latest research and clearly explain the practical, real-world applications to our daily lives. Drawing from the frontiers of psychology, neurobiology, and cognitive science, yet organized and written for maximum usability, The Owner's Manual for the Brain, Fourth Edition, is your comprehensive guide to optimum mental performance and well-being. It should be on every thinking person's bookshelf.
- What are the ingredients of happiness?
- Which are the best remedies for headaches and migraines?
- How can we master creativity, focus, decision making, and willpower?
- What are the best brain foods?
- How is it possible to boost memory and intelligence?
- What is the secret to getting a good night's sleep?
- How can you positively manage depression, anxiety, addiction, and other disorders?
- What is the impact of nutrition, stress, and exercise on the brain?
- Is personality hard-wired or fluid?
- What are the best strategies when recovering from trauma and loss?
- How do moods and emotions interact?
- What is the ideal learning environment for children?
- How do love, humor, music, friendship, and nature contribute to well-being?
- Are there ways of reducing negative traits such as aggression, short-temperedness, or irritability?
- What is the recommended treatment for concussions?
- Can you delay or prevent Alzheimer's and dementia?
- What are the most important ingredients to a successful marriage and family?
- What do the world's most effective managers know about leadership, motivation, and persuasion?
- Plus 1,000s more topics!
Pierce Howard
Pierce J. Howard, Ph.D., is director of research and development for the Center for Applied Cognitive Studies in Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the first edition of The Owner's Manual for the Brain was published in 1994, Dr. Howard has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and conducted countless seminars around the world. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the International Test Commission.
Read more from Pierce Howard
The Owner's Manual for the Brain (4th Edition): The Ultimate Guide to Peak Mental Performance at All Ages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Learning: The Owner's Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sleep: The Owner's Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emotion: The Owner's Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Creativity: The Owner's Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nutrition: The Owner's Manual Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Aging: The Owner's Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stress: The Owner's Manual Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Happiness: The Owner's Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love: The Owner's Manual Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Book preview
Problem-Solving - Pierce Howard
Contents
A Note to the Reader
Creating Leverage: Brain-Based Decision Making
1 Styles for Approaching Problems
2 Types of Problems
3 Describing the Problem
4 Reaching Solutions: Algorithms and Heuristics
5 Games and Problem-Solving Ability
6 Sleep, Relaxation, and Problem Solving
7 Trust the Experts
8 Appreciative Inquiry vs. Problem Solving
9 How to Select the Right Technique
10 Loss Aversion
11 Maximizers and Satisficers
12 Decision Fatigue
13 Is More Choice Better?
Some Final Thoughts on Brain-Based Decision Making
The Author
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
A Note to the Reader
Please note that all topic numbers and cross-references refer to those in the larger work.
Creating Leverage
Decision making is goal oriented. That is, we make decisions in order to achieve objectives or solve problems—making a decision is a means to an end. This chapter explores techniques, tools, and approaches that take into account the ways our brains work and how we really think. The word problem comes from the Greek pro-, forward,
and ballein, to throw or drive
; it means something made to go forward, as when something is stuck and incapable of movement and is in need of returning to forward movement. Problems include disease, malfunction, disagreement, and mystery—all conditions in which movement is denied, in which the parties are stuck and in need of some solution that enables a return to forward movement. When you have a problem, you can’t just keep doing business as usual. You must do something that is not normally a part of your routine; special attention is required to get things unstuck.
Before plunging into the details of problem-solving styles, definitions, and techniques, I want to make one point perfectly clear: the best problem solver is an expert in the subject involved. An expert might be an engineer, a