tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post3890275741745870399..comments2024-03-26T03:46:04.937-07:00Comments on Books in Northport: Facts and StoriesP. J. Grathhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-78698499754640188622016-08-27T07:02:37.316-07:002016-08-27T07:02:37.316-07:00Thanks, Carol. Coming back to respond to your comm...Thanks, Carol. Coming back to respond to your comment gives me a chance to say more about Carol S. Dweck's book, SELF-THEORIES: THEIR ROLE IN MOTIVATION, PERSONALITY, AND DEVELOPMENT. The book was published in 2000 by Psychology Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, as part of a series called ESSAYS IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, so I'm talking about a book that is already 16 years old. And yet, how many of my readers know it, let alone have read it? I recommend the work as highly readable and very exciting. One of the author's findings is that "we can influence students' theories [about themselves and their intelligence]. Although students came to our study with their own theories, what we told them had a clear impact. This means that people's theories of intelligence are malleable." So students who initially believe their intelligence is fixed can come to believe they can increase it, and this means they will be willing to take on challenges they would otherwise avoid. They can learn to learn! The author carefully says that the studies do not show such changes in belief to be permanent, but the initial belief wasn't permanent, either. Human beings can learn, not simply through trial and error, but by coming to believe they have the capacity to grow. <br /><br />Carol, I read a lot of fiction, too, and I don't know about you, but one of the features I value highly in a well-wrought short story or novel is believable characters, characters the author has convinced me are real. And that takes knowledge of the human heart, as well as skill in telling a story.P. J. Grathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12693462910472164289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4130421352415377273.post-52064898461148937552016-08-27T04:49:45.628-07:002016-08-27T04:49:45.628-07:00I read fiction almost exclusively, but I love your...I read fiction almost exclusively, but I love your thoughts about how facts should be delivered in non-fiction: not as a storm, but as the supporting cast of a carefully considered argument. Well said!Carol Newman Croninhttp://carolnewmancronin.comnoreply@blogger.com