The point of our Books We Read blog posts is to make the reader think of something “more” about the book, whether good or bad, as the blogger, to some extent, is rethinking the concept and supposed context of the work. I have just adopted and translated what Hungarian critic István Margócsy said about literary criticism into blog posts, including the part that, if I, the reviewer/blogger can’t communicate any of that, I should shut up.
The above statement only partially explains why we included a book from nearly 40 years ago. The main reason was my interest in a generous donor to the Rutgers University Libraries’ book acquisitions fund, whose name, I am ashamed to admit, I knew only from the fund code: Neimark.
Have you been down those type of rabbit holes when trying to track someone or something? Next thing you know is that you have passed your bedtime with no tangible results. My quest to find out more about Edith D. Neimark was not at all like that. Actually, I walked away with a lot to share.
The donor
Now a Professor Emerita, Edith D. Neimark was a Rutgers Professor from 1965 to1991. She chaired the Psychology Department at Douglass College (1966-1971). Her major areas included learning, cognitive development, problem-solving, memorization, and cognition, as one can find out from her curriculum vitae.
What’s even more interesting is her generous support of science in many ways. As a long-time member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), she established the AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize for High School Teachers in 2007 to recognize high school science teachers “for the development and implementation of innovative methods for teaching and encouraging the next generation of scientists.”
Additionally, the Joshua E. Neimark Memorial Travel Assistance Endowment provides a limited number of grants to support travel for accepted poster presentations at the AAAS Annual Meeting. The awards honor her brother Joshua, a promising young scientist, who passed away at an early age.
- Find out more about Edith D. Neimark in an oral history interview from 2010
Adventures in Thinking
Next, I located a book written by Dr. Neimark in the LSM collection, a relatively obscure title called Adventures in Thinking, published in 1987, which explores cognitive development and problem-solving strategies. Drawing on her research in cognitive psychology, the author focuses on how people develop thinking skills across different life stages and emphasizes practical applications for learning and teaching.
Key themes include:
- Understanding thinking processes and metacognition
- Developing critical reasoning skills
- Exploring personal beliefs about learning
- Self-regulated learning techniques
- Applications across various domains (art, science, daily life)
The book is unlikely to be considered one of the classics in philosophy or educational history. However, it aged reasonably well, with meaningful content and an agenda that spans decades and is still relevant today. The book is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Neimark’s brother Joshua and her parents, who were all thinkers. Originally, it was meant to be a textbook for courses designed to enhance thinking skills. With diverse tasks to sharpen critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, it is most beneficial to check out chapters for ideas rather than reading the book from cover to cover.
Adventures in Thinking focuses on how our personal attitudes and values shape critical thinking. The book frames thinking as a “meaning-making” process that relies on self-regulation, using relatable examples to show how personal perspectives and goals shape our interpretation of information. I particularly enjoyed the early chapters, which encouraged readers to reflect on their own beliefs and ideas about thinking, treating it as a skill that can be developed.
Confident that this kind of training will help students both inside and outside the classroom, the author is enthusiastic about training students in thinking, a perennial task for all educators. The disciplines of teaching and learning information literacy could use some pointers from the book.
Learning how to think
Translating her concept into the present day, i.e., raising thinkers in the era of social media, is both a gargantuan task and a Sisyphean challenge. Or is it? Can one learn how to think? The jury is out there, but at least one should try. Here are a few takeaways from the book to help.
Problem solving steps for students – her simplified approach works for everything from math problems to real-world challenges:
- Understand: Identify what you are looking for (the unknown), what information you have (data), and any conditions or constraints.
- Plan: Connect your data to the unknown by drawing on similar problems you have solved, adapting related solutions, or breaking down complex problems into manageable parts.
- Execute: Implement your solution step by step, verifying each move.
- Review: Check your answer, consider alternative approaches, and think about how this solution could apply elsewhere.
Steps in the writing process that can facilitate effective writing and learning:
- Define your purpose clearly.
- Gather information using resources such as libraries, databases, and librarians [thanks for the shoutout!]
- Organize content (use outlines, lists, and frameworks).
- Draft and revise.
Tips to enhance learning:
- Ask key questions: What did I learn? How does it connect to prior knowledge? How can I explain this?
- Use journaling with margin notes to reinforce understanding.
- Create clear organizational structures for information.
One must imagine Sisyphus happy
Around the time this book was written, I was still overwhelmed by the absurd world around me. Even in 1989, no one believed that the Berlin Wall would ever collapse, symbolically marking the end of communist regimes in the region. Feeling trapped, we were doomed to become more of a Kafka’s character like Gregor Samsa transformed into a bug, powerless and controlled by external forces. The other option was acceptance, with the slight possibility of finding some very personal meaning in a seemingly hopeless situation. Interpreting Sisyphus endlessly pushing a boulder uphill as a symbol of meaningless existence, Camus points out this individual choice as:
“The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
The Myth of Sisyphus, by Albert Camus
Trying to interpret absurd situations through reflection and thinking is a never-ending, seemingly futile task that often seems pointless. Learning to think teaches one, albeit slowly, how to live life as a thinker and how to survive by actively choosing to embrace the struggle and engage with our own boulder by trying to interpret its meaning for us.
Edith Neimark’s legacy will live through this book and all the others the Neimark Fund allows Rutgers University Libraries to purchase.
Related links
- Adventures in Thinking by Edith Neimark in the Rutgers collection (print)
- Adventures in Thinking by Edith Neimark in the Internet Archive online
- Oral history interview with Edith D. Neimark