Super Summary Unit 4
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
Pages 158-184

This unit discussed the importance of Empathy and how it is that aptitude that will drive the future of our society. Being able to recognize the emotions of others and act accordingly is singularly a skill that computers cannot possess and so further enforces the belief that the right brain abilities are being cemented in the future of our society. Daniel Pink states on page 161..."and the one aptitude that's proven impossible for computers to reproduce, and very difficult for faraway workers connected by electrons to match, is Empathy."
Daniel Pink expresses in Unit 4 that for a long time the empathetic right side of the brain was considered weak and undesirable. It was something that was considered "nice", but really had no place in the Information Age when it was more important to know HOW to do something than it know WHY to do it. Lately, the importance of the right hemisphere has come to the forefront.
Studies have been going on for decades (at least since 1872 with Charles Darwin) about the ability to show, experience, and identify emotions. The results of these studies were mostly poo-pooed and guffawed upon until Paul Ekman, beginning in 1965, shared results of his facial expression photographs around the world. He did studies across the globe and discovered that people from all over recognized the different expressions representing in the photographs. Thus, the belief that facial expressions are important have gained popularity. In, fact, Ekman has taught face reading skills to people from law enforcement, to entertainment, to those in the medical field .
Pink states on page 162. "since Empathy depends on emotion and since emotion is conveyed non verbally, to enter another's heart, you must begin the journey by looking into his face." This is where the fright side of the brain really shines. It is also, again, the area that computers cannot replicate.
There are a multitude of expressions that can be illustrated non verbally, but Ekman narrowed the list down to a few basics. The seven basic emotional facial signals are: anger, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt, and happiness.
Studies tend to lean to the fact that women are more empathetic than men and that both men and women have deeper, more rewarding, and more intimate relationships with women than with men. This joined with the information that the nursing field is on rise, helps to justify why most nurses are women....it is not a gender bias. It is a matter of Empathy.
Pink is not saying that the right side is more important than the left. He also says that one side of the brain is not "smarter" than the other. He is saying, on page 174, that "empathy is neither a deviation from intelligence nor the single route to it." It is important to foster the two halves together-the right empathetic side with the left analytical side.
The Portfolio for Empathy starts on page 175 and concludes on page 184. It includes sites for testing your own empathy, other books written by Daniel Pink, and exercises for improving your empathy. Not only do the activities sound beneficial, they sound extremely FUN!