Monday, May 09, 2005

The Art Of Thinking

I just finished reading "The Art of Thinking" by Harrison and Bramson. It's a wonderful little book which despite it's title is more about understanding yours and everyone else's thinking styles. It's an easy and enjoyable read. There's a test in the back and here's how I scored:

Thinking StyleScoreMeaning
Synthesist47Moderate Disregard
Analyst61Moderate Preference

Basically, I'm pretty even across the board with a slight preference for Analyst and Realist styles and I am weak in the Synthesist style. Now, this doesn't mean anything bad, it's just a getting to know yourself exercise. All of the thinking styles have strengths and liabilities. It has a lot of practical advice on how to figure out what thinking style someone is and how best to influence them to get your ideas heard. It was also helpful for me to know when I tune someone out to why. It gave me a lot of homework and things to try out. Nothing is better than self improvement. It should be mandatory reading for every shop that pair programs.

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