University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

Robert Sternberg, in his book Metaphors of Mind, explains intelligence by using geographical, computational, biological, epistemological, anthropological, sociological, and systems metaphors. These metaphors provide a framework for studying and comparing differing theoretical views of intelligence. The notions in this book were inspirational to me as I tried to make sense out of why individuals differ in their approach to and their success in learning. As an educator (and instructional designer) it was important to me to understand differences between learners, so that instructional strategies could be chosen that capitalize on learner strengths and support learner weaknesses. This was the basis for my first book.

While the content of this book was very valuable, one of the most significant lessons I took away was from the preface in which Sternberg acknowledged his 15-year journey in writing the book. In this fast-paced society, sometimes we lose sight of the fact that great works often "come slowly." I found this book to be worth the wait.