Howard Gardnerâs Frames of Mind was that rare publishing phenomenonâa mind-changer. Widely read by the
general public as well as by educators, this influential book laid out Gardnerâs theory of multiple intelligences. It
debunked the primacy of the IQ test and inspired new approaches to education; entire curricula, schools, museums,
and parentsâ guides were dedicated to the nurturing of the several intelligences. In his new book, A Synthesizing Mind,
Gardner reflects on his intellectual development and his groundbreaking work, tracing his evolution from bookish
child to eager college student to disengaged graduate student to Harvard professor.
Gardner discusses his mentors (including Erik Erikson and Jerome Bruner) and his collaborators (Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi, William Damon, and others). Comedian Groucho Marx makes a surprise (non-)appearance,
declining Gardnerâs invitation to chat with Harvard College students, in favor of âmaking a living.â
Throughout his career, Gardner has focused on human minds in general, or on the minds of particular creators
and leaders. Reflecting now on his own mind, he concludes that his is a âsynthesizing mindââwith the ability to
survey experiences and data across a wide range of disciplines and perspectives. The thinkers he most admiresâ
including historian Richard Hofstadter, biologist Charles Darwin, and literary critic Edmund Wilsonâare exemplary
synthesizers. Gardner contends that the synthesizing mind is particularly valuable at this time and proposes ways to
cultivate a possibly unique human capacity