Autopilot:: The Art & Science of Doing Nothing [Feb 01, 2018] Smart, Andrew

If you wonder how you are going to get everything done, be somebody, earn your way, be productive, add value and stay sane .. this book will help put some of the Do Do Do impulse into a different framework.If you are a day dreamer, one of those people that just need some down time to let "things settle", time to space out, meditate, rest, nap, and take more than 30 minutes for lunch .. this book will put your mind at ease. your not crazy, lazy or unproductive.Just as there are more ways to skin a cat (I know a bit of a gruesome metaphor mostly known by those of us over the age of 40), there are also more ways than we might imagine for the brain to feed itself, re-nourish and do its best work.What I got from this book is it doesn't matter whether it is corpse pose, meditation,focusing, open focus, day dreaming, resting and looking at the ceiling .. all of these activities can help us not just do our best work, but also be.If you need to choose to Do, Be or Do ... Be is better and necessary for our physical and mental health.Just my two cents. Cheers.

A very encouraging and inspirational book for creative people, tired and disillusioned people, and very educational for parents as well, or those who ever will be.The book is fundamentally about two things connected - 1. Idleness 2. Noise.By being idle we amp up the noise of our subconscious stream of thinking, and by becoming aware to it our neurons synchronize just the right amount to yield us with great ideas, boost our creative thinking, give us clarity and perspective, and make us feel overall balance and peace of mind.In short, it tells you to slow down, be idle, be proud, and enjoy a good ambient noise in the background at around 70 decibels.

One of the most incredible books it has been my privilege to read. I downloaded Auto Pilott to my iPad but will now purchase a hard copy. The writing was clear and flowed beautifully. This is a book all teachers as well as parents should read in order to prevent sensory and visual overload on their pupils and offsprings. It is certainly a treatis for business who wish to encourage a more creative atmosphere in the workplace. Many thanks to the author for shedding light on an heretofore obscure restriction which is preventing children as well as adults to dream thereby creating a better and more exciting world for all.

This book provides a lot of "medical"/"scientific" information that is quite enlightening. Particularly relevant is the notion that we all need "down" time to "recharge" our mental acuity. But some of the conclusions--for example, we can do more for fighting poverty by working less and producing less--seem a little far-fetched. The logic may be hidden somewhere, but doesn't seem readily apparent. To be fair, I listened to this as an Audible book, so maybe if I had READ it instead of listening to it, I would have had some different conclusions. Underlying the science, I believe, was a pretty serious critique of the Protestant work ethic and capitalism, some of it quite justified, some not so much. Nonetheless, I thought this was a provocative bit of writing and certainly worth reading (or listening to).

From a scientific point of view, based on limited studies and profound opinions about work thought to be sacred, Andrew Smart's book is a fast read that will leave long lasting ideas about work, adhd, and a whole host of topics associated with "busyness" in a world that prides itself of how busy can a person be. Working one's self to death is not the pathway of a true warrior. There must certainly be another way to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. Thank you Andrew.

Interesting, funny and educational. If you’re interested in understanding more about what happens inside your brain when you stop DOING and start chilling out - and why it is so important - then this is for you.

I guess you’d say this is a call to inaction! Andrew’s claims have plenty of science to back them up, and he delivers them in an entertaining fashion. I enjoyed his little digs at corporate life since that’s been my world for many years.

This is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read so far. Although the key concept can be summarized in couple sentences, I would recommend everyone to read in an idle way :-)

This book is by Andrew Smart who explains and puts a great emphasis on the fact that our brains are mostly active during their idle state, a statement that opposes our current ideology of being busy whole day as a way of keeping our minds active. He also goes to explain about certain other topics such as the adversities caused by information overload, the way our brain consumes energy, the cycle of constantly practicing something (a process that makes us dull in a long run) and many more. However, this book is not designed only for nerds as it offers the author's view about our present world as well. Andrew Smart goes to critisize the Western ideology of seeing a man being a workhorse to attain success and be smarter. He also seems to be unhappy with the fact that this western ideology has now spread all over the world. Thus, the proper explanation of emergence of this workaholic nature in humans(something that opposes the concept of being idle; such as in the state of meditation) with an emphasis towards the terminologies and concepts related to neuroscience, makes this book ideal for a wide range of readers. But do make sure that you have the habit of reading and the patience of willingly going through the dictionary as this book is tough to read for amateur readers.

I'm puzzled at a few extremely negative reviews here. This book is absolutely not difficult to comprehend and has a lot to offer. I am medically trained and the author's scientific references are not over complicated nor are they inaccurate as proposed here.Truly interesting observations on the way we are changing our attitude to working and learning; not necessarily for the better. Good to rethink and pay tribute to the value of relaxation.

Excellent book, I like the way he writes about self organization a concept I’m familiar from my background but I never was able to expressed in such nice way. I’m also super lazy so fits with my mood

The book was interesting but more of a course in neurology and brainwaves which was a little bit tiring in the end.I would have preferred it to be more on idleness

Worth reading. This book will let u know the importance of taking rest and having a daydream, how idleness helps ur brain and thereby you. The book is science oriented yet easy to understand even if you are not from a science background.