An authority on the human mind reflects on his intellectual
development, his groundbreaking work, and different types of
intelligences--including his own.
Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind was that rare publishing phenomenon--a
mind-changer. Widely read by the general public as well as by educators,
this influential book laid out Gardner's theory of multiple
intelligences. It debunked the primacy of the IQ test and inspired new
approaches to education; entire curricula, schools, museums, and
parents' guides were dedicated to the nurturing of the several
intelligences. In his new book, A Synthesizing Mind, Gardner reflects
on his intellectual development and his groundbreaking work, tracing his
evolution from bookish child to eager college student to disengaged
graduate student to Harvard professor.
Gardner discusses his mentors (including Erik Erikson and Jerome Bruner)
and his collaborators (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, William Damon, and
others). Comedian Groucho Marx makes a surprise (non-)appearance,
declining Gardner's invitation to chat with Harvard College students, in
favor of "making a living."
Throughout his career, Gardner has focused on human minds in general, or
on the minds of particular creators and leaders. Reflecting now on his
own mind, he concludes that his is a "synthesizing mind"--with the
ability to survey experiences and data across a wide range of
disciplines and perspectives. The thinkers he most admires--including
historian Richard Hofstadter, biologist Charles Darwin, and literary
critic Edmund Wilson--are exemplary synthesizers. Gardner contends that
the synthesizing mind is particularly valuable at this time and proposes
ways to cultivate a possibly unique human capacity.
