This Monday at BookCourt, journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova will appear to discuss her new book Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. Following Sherlock Holmes’s methods of careful observation and logical cogitation, Konnikova employs Holmes’s strategies as a means of enhancing our mental powers. While Holmes has long been regarded as a fictional genius, Konnikova humanizes his powers, revealing to readers how we might learn to most effectively reflect on and apply our knowledge. In Mastermind, Konnikova draws on her background in psychology as she explores Holmes’s specific techniques. Beginning with Holmes’s “brain attic” analogy, Konnikova guides readers into understanding how the brain organizes information, emphasizing the importance of imagination in the process of refining our process of logical thinking.
Most of us are juggling a ton of commitments and storing an abundance of information; sometimes it can seem impossible to remember a Facebook password or where we parked our car, much less how to solve a work conundrum. If you’re curious about how to become more self-aware and a clearer thinker, don’t miss your chance to meet Konnikova in Brooklyn next month. Mastermind goes on sale this Monday, January 7, and Konnikova will appear at Book Court that evening for a reading and signing.
The event begins at 7pm. Book Court is located at 163 Court Street in Cobble Hill.