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Rating: 
Summary: Immunization against traps in thinking.
Review: In this book the late Mr. Hardin outlays something I found obvious--after it was pointed out to me. That is that we can use (or misuse) out mental faculties in very different ways. He focuses on three and demonstates how using these three 'styles' or 'types' of intelligence can lead us to very different views of the world. The 3 types of thinking he discusses are: literate, numerical, and ecolate. Literate thinking is exemplified in literature, and in most law. The Bill of Rights and the novel share a similiar view of the world that can be expressed in language. Numerical thinking is of course arithmatic, but can lead you to a quite different understanding of a situation than literate thinking. Malthus can explain that if a population continues to grow it will ovetake it's food or water supply. Mathematic analysis can tell you exactly when it will happen. Ecolate, with the same root as 'ecology' was a word unfamiliar to me before reading his book. It can be summed up in the phrase: "And then what?" It is concerned with effects, often unintended, that also occur as a result of any action. Or as Mr. Hardin is more famous for, "You can never do merely one thing." If there is one weak point it is that it cannot be stressed enough that these three types of thinking are only 3 of many many types. A brief, excellant book, a little off the beaten path from Mr. Mardin's more famous work on population, but there is definite wisdom within.
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