A Whole New Mind Annotations Guidelines
Annotations show your interaction with the text. Good readers do not merely absorb what they
read; they think about it for understanding, respond to it, and question it.
Your annotations are due the same day as the reading assignment.
1. Write a brief summary at the top of each page.
2. Create a personal vocabulary list of at least 20 words. Circle words that you do not know
in the text. Make a list of these words, along with their page numbers and definitions, in
the back cover. (You may also keep these on a separate piece of paper.)
3. Use the side and bottom page margins for Response and Questioning.
 Response: How do you personally respond to what is being claimed or
described? This should be more than “sounds cool” or “I disagree.” Explain your
thinking/feeling.
 Questioning: What questions does the text bring to mind? What do you wonder
in response to Pink’s arguments? What avenues of thought do your questions
lead you down? (This should be more than “what?” or “why?” Develop your
questions.)
RUBRIC
Summaries
Vocab
R&Q
TOTAL
____/20
____/20
____/10
____/50
Study Guide
Chapter One
1. What kind of machine is Pink being strapped into?
2. Describe the way this machine works (in layman’s terms):
a. What does it measure?
b. What keeps a patient from lying (and thus ruining the results)?
3. What are the two halves of the brain called?
4. What new technique can capture images of the brain in action?
5. How can doctors/scientists tell which areas of the brain are being “active” (i.e. what
happens in an areas of the brain when it is being used?)?
6. When Pink sees photos of faces making various facial expressions, which side of his
brain is active?
7. When Pink sees photos of “scary scenes,” which side of his brain is active?
The Right (and Left) Stuff
8. The typical brain consists of _____________________ cells.
9. Describe the traditional (old school) idea of the left side of the brain:
What is the evidence for this view?
10. Describe the traditional (old school) idea of the right side of the brain:
What is the evidence for this view?
11. Describe Roger Sperry’s discovery:
About the left brain:
About the right brain:
12. Define neuroscience:
13. What was Betty Edwards’ theory?
The Real Stuff
14. How does Pink establish the credibility of information he presents in this section?
15. “The left hemisphere controls the _________________ of the body; the right hemisphere
controls ________________ of the body.”
16. “The ______ hemisphere is sequential; the ______ hemisphere is simultaneous.”
17. How does the example of the spouse who “grabs the car keys, curls a lip, glares at you,
and hisses, ‘I’m going to the store’” (20) demonstrate the difference between text and
context?
18. Explain the “stmp n the bg” example and how it also demonstrates the right
hemisphere’s specialization in understanding context.
19. The left hemisphere “focuses on _____________, the right on _______________. The
left can _______________. But only the right hemisphere can _______________.”
Fear and Loathing in My Amygdalas
20. What are the amygdalas and what do they do?
A Whole New Mind
21. Why has Pink chosen the word “whole” to describe the kind of mind he thinks we should
develop in order to live “healthy, happy, and successful” lives?
22. Describe the characteristics of L-Directed Thinking:
Describe the characteristics of R-Directed Thinking:
23. Which type of thinking does Pink argue our culture has heavily favored in recent
decades?
24. How has this impacted the teaching of R-Directed Thinking in America’s schools,
according to Pink?