In his review of THE EXTENDED MIND in the Wall Street Journal today, writer Matthew Hutson singles out one particular theme of the book, and I'm so glad he did.
That theme concerns the fact that the raw materials of intelligent thought are by no means equitably distributed.
That theme concerns the fact that the raw materials of intelligent thought are by no means equitably distributed.
Hutson's conclusion reads:
"By removing the brain from the vat, Ms. Paul writes, thinking 'can become as dynamic as our bodies, as airy as our spaces, as rich as our relationships—as capacious as the whole wide world.'"
"By removing the brain from the vat, Ms. Paul writes, thinking 'can become as dynamic as our bodies, as airy as our spaces, as rich as our relationships—as capacious as the whole wide world.'"
"And if you argue that only the privileged have access to untouched nature, large monitors, accomplished mentors and abundant classroom supplies, well, Ms. Paul has beat you to the punch."
"Seeing smarts not as sheer brainpower but as a mingling of mind and milieu, she suggests, might prompt us to look for ways to improve the surroundings and supports available to those less fortunate than we."
While writing the book, this is the tension that kept emerging for me:
We treat intelligence as innate, internal, and individual, producing a blind spot for all the ways that external and collective resources (again, not equitably shared!) allow intelligence to come into being.
We treat intelligence as innate, internal, and individual, producing a blind spot for all the ways that external and collective resources (again, not equitably shared!) allow intelligence to come into being.
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