five minds for the future

Five Minds for the Future
Howard Gardner

I struggled to concentrate on this reading; I think wholly due to my distinct disdain for science (I just want my brain to be able to understand it, dammit) and my exhaustion after the intensity of this week with our reports due. However, in this chapter, Gardner introduces the audience to what he believes to be the five different types of mindsets that must be developed for them to flourish in the future. Drawing from his psychologist background, he argues that these mindsets,  in retrospect, represent different types of intelligence that should be present in our thinking, and can be cultivated within our educational and professional environments. They’re not dependent on demographic, whether you’re in a younger generation or already in the workforce. He explains these five mindsets like so:

  1. The Disciplined Mind: the mindset of perseverance, of perfectionism. One which has the ability to train and hone a particular skill, especially over time.
  2. The Synthesising Mind: the ability to gather and make sense of different pieces of information and synthesise these ideas in a ‘generative’ manner and to further effectively communicate these ideas to others.
  3. The Creating Mind: This mindset is embodied by curiosity and innovation; striving to find fresh ways of thinking.
  4. The Respectful Mind: Being able to recognise everyone’s inherent differences and understanding the necessity to utilise them to work effectively in groups and with individuals civilly.
  5. The Ethical Mind: Considering one’s individual position / role in relation to others’ – particularly, finding a way to be selfless in order to benefit the greater needs, rather than solely themselves.

In relation to the future, Gardner describes the consequences for those who do not possess any of these mindsets, in relation to their work-life. He states that non-creative individuals may be replaced by machines and/or computers, which is a valid point and although quite scary to think about, could be a genuine future scenario (the report is infiltrating my life). I also agree with his stating that those who do not possess the synthesising mind will be unable to make imperative decisions due to there being an influx of information that they have no clue how to prioritise or assess.

Really, in my tired state, this reading just made me kind of paranoid that I possess none of these mindsets and will be an imminent failure in the workplace.

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