To have a beautiful mind, one must know how to agree, disagree, differ and be interesting according to key principles. These include being willing to see other perspectives, exploring ideas rather than battling egos, and using questions, stories and humor to engage others. It is also important to listen actively, consider alternatives, and understand how values, emotions and opinions are shaped by experience. Interruptions should be avoided unless necessary to clarify or challenge flawed logic. Maintaining a constructive attitude and knowing when and how to start and steer discussions are also part of developing a beautiful mind.

1. How to have a beautiful mind? Efforts by Rhea Ashta Guidance by AnkurAshta

2. Building Blocks of A ‘Beautiful Mind’

3. Differ Disagree Agree Information & knowledge Attitude Opinion Respond Interesting Values Listen Question Alternatives Emotions Diversions Interruption Start-up

4. Penning down the details

5. Chapter 1 How to Agree? To grant consent; To reconcile or make friends.

6. Key takeouts You don’t have to agree with everything but you should not disagree with everything A discussion should be a genuine attempt to explore a subject rather than a battle between competing egos Being argumentative is not at all beautiful There is no need to be right all the times Make a real effort to see where the person is coming from Explore the person’s logic bubble* Changing your perceptions to look at things in a different way is an important step in reaching possible agreement Take a genuine delight in discovering points of agreement – even if there is an overall disagreement *the mind area made up of perceptions, values, needs and experience of the person

7. Chapter 2 NO no Of Course, Yes No no To have a differing opinion; To be opposed (to) in principle. How to disagree?

9. It may be that in the USA, more types of crime are treated by prison sentences

11. Chapter 3 How to differ? To cause to be different or unlike;

12. Key takeouts There are times when only one of a different set of opinions can be right. This is where “truth” can be checked out Difference may arise from a different point of view or perspective A different point of view will give a different perception. Even from the same point of view, however, there can be differences of perceptions Difference may arise from personal preference, taste or choice Difference may arise from differing personal experience or differing knowledge Difference may arise from a different view of possible futures

13. Chapter 4 Engaging the attention; exciting or adapted to excite How to be Interesting?

14. Key takeouts Being interesting is much more important than winning an argument If you are interesting,people will want to be with you. Using “what if?” approach, the simplest of situationscan be turned into an interesting game The “what if?” approach involves playing with ideas Putting forward alternatives and other possibilities can make the discussion more interesting Once you get into the habit of looking for alternativesand possibilities, any subject becomesmore interesting Speculation looks forward and opens up new areas of interest. Description only looks backward

15. Chapter 5 How to Respond? To answer; to reply

16. Key takeouts The main objective in any conversation might be to agree, disagree, to agree on the difference and to have an enjoyable and interesting discussion If you are in any doubt about what has been said, it is important to ask for clarification Examples and stories add liveliness and reality to the discussion Once an idea has emerged it is no longer a matter of ‘your idea’ or ‘my idea’ but an idea to be improved and assessed Instead of the usual ‘battle’ of argumentthere is a joint effort to explore the subject

17. Chapter 6 To give close attention with the purpose of hearing; to give ear. How to Listen?

18. Key takeouts A good listener is very nearly as attractive as a good talker If you do not want to listen to anyone else then why should anyone else want to listen to you? You may feel that what you have to say is more important than what others have to say-but that is probably not a view shared by the others Listening can give you new ideas - if you try to receive them Questions are very much part of listening. They show attention and interest You could learn how people apply values which differ from your own You should make a habit of repeating back to the speaker what you think you have understood. This is both useful and important

19. Chapter 7 The act of asking; interrogation; inquiry, as, to examine by question and answers. Questions

20. Key takeouts Questions are importantbecause they are one of the main means of interaction between people in conversation or any type of communication A question is a way of ‘directing attention’ to some matter. There are two types of questions: Shooting questions: With a shooting question, we know that the answer we will get is a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ Fishing Questions: It is more open ended. We do not know what answer we will get except that it will be related to the question Questions are also vital to ask for more detail and elaboration around a point You can request alternatives and possibilities and confirm that your own suggestions make sense You can frame a question on values as a multiple-choice question

21. Chapter 8 A possibility of choice. Alternatives

22. Key takeouts Looking for alternatives is a very important activity of a beautiful mind Without alternatives we have rigidityand complacency Alternatives help us to find better way to do our work ‘Better’ may be defined differently according to the values of the situation Having a way of doing something does not mean it is the best way of doing it Alternatives values are found by scanning through a range of values – or asking questions For alternatives, possibility is enough to begin

23. Chapter 9 E M O T I O N s The part of the consciousness that involves feelings; sensibility.

25. Choices and decisions are based on emotions and feelings

26. Emotions are our way of linking our values to the situations

27. Strong emotions or feelings may limit our perception

28. In a controversy you should show your true position – on one side or the other, or above it all

29. You do not have to be for or against an idea. You may like the idea under certain conditions or with certain modifications

30. Chapter 10 V A L U E S A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable.

31. Key takeouts Values determine what we like or do not like, values determine our choices and decisions Core values are not changed by circumstances In a discussion, there are your values, the values of others taking part in the discussionand the values of the third parties being talked about There are various types of values: Personal values, which are defined as the absence of negative values Organizational values both in terms of purpose and the functioning of the organization Ecology values, which asses the impact of something on the environment in the wide sense and also in the narrow sense Perceptual values which relate to how something is perceived Negative value is used to refer to the negative impact of something

32. Chapter 11 The act of diverting or turning aside, as from a course or purpose D i v e r s io n s

33. Key takeouts A discussion will always be boring if no one has anything to say about the subject Where there is not much information, interest can be created by questions and by speculations Just repeating conventional ideas can also be boring Where there are strong differences of opinion it becomes interesting to explore the basis of that difference Humour is a very important ingredient and a key feature of a beautiful mind

34. Chapter 12 I N F O R M A T I O N K N O W E L E D G E A ND Knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction

35. Key takeouts You do not need full and complete information about a subject in order to discuss any subject If the other person has more information than you do, listen intelligently and ask questions There is no point in pretending to know more about a subject than you really do A good conversationalist creates an interesting discussion out of whatever information is available Even with little information, imagination and speculation can provide the basis for discussion It is possible to listen to what a lot of different people say on a subject and then to put this together to form your own knowledge base

36. Chapter 13 A belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. O P I N I O N

37. Key takeouts An opinion arises from information, values, feelings and experience put together in a local culture Opinions are based on a point of view which is the set of circumstances in which you are placed You should signal the nature of the opinion: personal or more general A beautiful mind is always ready to change opinions An opinion may be changed through acceptance of other values and new information Changing an opinion is never a sign of weakness

38. Chapter 14 Interruption To break the continuity or uniformity of

39. Key takeouts Interruptions are generally rude and break the flow of what is being said If someone is simply going on and on, there may be a need to indicate that a conversation is a two way affair Interruptions are often ‘ego driven’. Someone wants to be noticed, feel important, or to show that he or she is smarter than the speaker You can point out errors in logic You can challenge sweeping generalizations You can interrupt to express doubt When circumstances suggest that silence may be interrupted as agreement with what is being said, you may need to interrupt to indicate otherwise

40. Chapter 15 aTTITUDE A position of the body or manner of carrying oneself

41. Key takeouts Self image and attitude usually go together There is the ‘guardian of values’ who insists that only values matter and that he or she knows the right values The learner attitude always seeks to learn something new The explorer attitude seeks the truth and to fully understand the matter The constructive attitude seeks to design a way forward The ‘who cares?’ attitude believes that it does not matter at all what is said in a conversation or discussion The attitude is one of righteousness. You do not have to defend your position because you are right. You are right because you have the right values

42. Chapter 16 To set in or go into motion, activity Start up

43. Key takeouts Greetings, exchange of personal views and social chit-chat have a very important role in themselves. Asking what the other person ‘does’ is a safe, stand-by opening If the conversation is getting nowhere, it is best to change subjects and to start again If a person decides to be bored, you have no obligation to offer that sort of service. Smile and move on Developing areas of interest and knowing how to talk about such areas is another attribute of the beautiful mind A really skilled conversationalist can create interest from any topic whatsoever