The Carpet Mind: The Laws of Thinking Defined
In The Carpet Mind, Anthony Penderis ventures where explorers of the mind have never been before. This book describes - for the first time ever - laws that control our thinking. The author reasons that similar to the Laws of Nature, which explain all natural phenomena, there must be principles, which guide our thinking as well. He thus defines ten such 'Fundamentals of the Thinking Process'. In the process he demystifies the thinking process, challenges the notion of free will, tackles many unresolved issues concerning the human psyche, and takes a hard look at some of our entrenched beliefs.
The title, The Carpet Mind, refers to the author's model of the conscious mind based on a Persian carpet. In this model, the human mind is likened to a carpet in which every strand of wool in the carpet's pile represents a memory trace. These memory traces are arranged in different colours and patterns and equates to fields of association in memory storage. Each carpet has a unique pattern, which reflects our personalities and interacts with a "sensory breeze" that evokes the conscious mind. The author ultimately comes to the conclusion that the human mind is phenomenal because it has given us an unlimited capacity to learn new things and the ability to adapt rapidly to a fast-changing environment.
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The title, The Carpet Mind, refers to the author's model of the conscious mind based on a Persian carpet. In this model, the human mind is likened to a carpet in which every strand of wool in the carpet's pile represents a memory trace. These memory traces are arranged in different colours and patterns and equates to fields of association in memory storage. Each carpet has a unique pattern, which reflects our personalities and interacts with a "sensory breeze" that evokes the conscious mind. The author ultimately comes to the conclusion that the human mind is phenomenal because it has given us an unlimited capacity to learn new things and the ability to adapt rapidly to a fast-changing environment.
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Reviews
An Engaging and Insightful Inquiry
"Why do we constantly have conversations with ourselves? How do emotions complement our rational analytical skills? How free are we really in making our decisions? The author draws on observations from everyday life to formulate some inherent characteristics and fundamentals of the thinking process. He describes the interplay between the brain and the bodily senses, between the non-conscious and conscious brain functions, the rational and emotional faculties, to arrive at a model of how the brains works, which he likens to the hidden weft and warp of a Persian carpet that form a dense hidden network of interconnections which manifest in the surface patterns of conscious thought.
The often amusing illustrations from which he draws his inferences range from examples from the animal kingdom, poker players, the man with infallible memory, of peeling an onion, filing a tax return or searching for your car in a big parking lot. The informal presentation and engaging style make this a quick and enjoyable read accessible to the lay person, and give insight into what underlies our thinking process and the wonders of our second most favourite organ." P. de Villiers
"Why do we constantly have conversations with ourselves? How do emotions complement our rational analytical skills? How free are we really in making our decisions? The author draws on observations from everyday life to formulate some inherent characteristics and fundamentals of the thinking process. He describes the interplay between the brain and the bodily senses, between the non-conscious and conscious brain functions, the rational and emotional faculties, to arrive at a model of how the brains works, which he likens to the hidden weft and warp of a Persian carpet that form a dense hidden network of interconnections which manifest in the surface patterns of conscious thought.
The often amusing illustrations from which he draws his inferences range from examples from the animal kingdom, poker players, the man with infallible memory, of peeling an onion, filing a tax return or searching for your car in a big parking lot. The informal presentation and engaging style make this a quick and enjoyable read accessible to the lay person, and give insight into what underlies our thinking process and the wonders of our second most favourite organ." P. de Villiers
