ABSTRACT
The future of learning and work will be shaped by advances in artificial intelligence. But what role will be played by natural intelligence—the capacities of our biological brains? Beyond technology alone, surely the most impressive results in both schools and workplaces will come about through a partnership of digital smarts and human smarts. For such a partnership to succeed, however, we must understand what is distinctive and unique about the human brain’s biological intelligence. Moreover, we need to know how to cultivate its particular strengths and compensate for its specific weaknesses—traits that emerged not from the deliberate designs of a computer scientist, but from the urgent imperatives of evolution. Research from many disciplines has also yielded dozens of techniques for thinking “outside the brain”. These include methods for sharpening our interoceptive sense so as to use these internal signals to guide our decisions and manage our mental processes; they encompass guidelines for the use of specific types of gestures, or particular modes of physical activity, to enhance our memory and attention. This research offers instructions on using time in nature to restore our focus and increase our creativity, as well as directions for designing our learning and working spaces for greater productivity and performance.
