Nervous System Power Hour Reading

Name of Book: Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova

Name of Chapter: The Scientific Method of the Mind

In this chapter, Konnikova discussed the method of deduction employed by Sherlock Holmes, and how we can apply it in our own lives. She claims that Holmes has trained himself to use the scientific method to evaluate his every thought and action- something that, to a normal person, sounds exhausting, but has become second nature to Holmes. Most of us are reactive, relying on instinct and simply responding to a situation. This book aims to teach us how to become reflective, just like Sherlock Holmes, and consider what we see before we respond.

This reading relates to ideas of neuroplasticity that we have been learning about. The idea that we can  alter our way of thinking simply by practicing shows that we really can create neural pathways and strengthen them through continual use, just as we learned from "A Woman Perpetually Falling"