Mindhacker – Review

With a book that covers as much ground as Mindhacker, its hard to know where to start. The authors have written a book that is chock full of brilliant techniques to save time, money, and brainpower. If you find just one tip you can use out of the 60 that are offered, it will be worth the cost of the book – the information is really that good. I have listed just a few of my favorite chapters below, some of the ones that I will definitely be implementing in my own life. 

Hack 2: Build A Memory Dungeon – Ever since I read Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything a few months ago, I have been fascinated with memory palaces and how to use them. One of the problems I have had in implementing this is running out of locations for my memory palaces. This hack solves that problem, and then some. This is a great idea that will give you virtually unlimited memory palace locations that you can visit and memorize from the comfort of your couch. Worth the cost of the book by itself.

Hack 4: Space Your Repetitions – Great idea for using an open source program to memorize anything you want to quickly and easily.

Hack 7: Write in Your Books – This hack teaches 3 easy ways to go beyond writing in the margins and highlighting your books. You will understand and enjoy books more by using these techniques. Really great. Also, Hack 6: Establish Your Canon is an excellent essay on why you should read great books, what they are, and how to define them in your own life.

Hack 8: Read At Speed – The authors have condensed the best advice about speed reading down to four pages . . . great advice that will save you close to a hundred dollars and many, many hours of studying all of the books that focus exclusively on speed reading.

Hack 12: Study Kid Stuff – A great list of resources and websites that will help you relearn quickly all that you have forgotten. Great advice, easy to use, and free.

The Hacks that I have listed above are just the ones I really liked in the first two Chapters on Memory and Learning, and there are 48 more hacks to choose from throughout the book.The other chapters cover information processing, time management, creativity and productivity, math and logic, communication, mental fitness, and clarity. There aren’t any clunkers here, a rarity for a book like this – the hacks in the time management and creativity chapters are especially good. Half of the fun in a book like this if finding which of these hacks really work for you.

All in all, this is a brilliant book that delivers on what it promises. Its written by a couple of geeks who have condensed great information into bite size pieces that will help you in many ways. Highly, Highly Recommended.

While I think this one is the best of the bunch, by far, see these also: Mind Hacks: Tips & Tools for Using Your Brain, Mind Performance Hacks: Tips & Tools for Overclocking Your Brain (same authors as Mindhacker), and Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better (almost all computer tips, not brain tips, but still very helpful).