Big Thinking

I was introduced today to the website Big Think. On it I discovered, among many treasures, this interview with philosopher Daniel Dennett discussing the Mechanics of Studying Consciousness. The excerpt is not interesting because of any earth shattering content Dennett reveals about the nature of consciousness but rather for what he reveals about his thought process. You know how obsessed I am with creative process. Here Dennett discusses how to put one's mind to solving a problem and stay focused on the work of that problem, rather than on the many things that can waylay us: its scope, the wonder of our subject, or that this part I am working on isn't really the subject I mean to address.

The website offers video interviews with all sorts of influential thinkers and doers - chefs, economists, politicians, writers, choreographers, neuroscientists, musicians... you name it. I enjoyed Oliver Sacks and historian David McCullough is particularly good on the value of history and our founding fathers.