By Ryan Wodarczyk

Contributing Writer

A Harvard psychologist and author discussed the importance of different types of minds in a future marked by informational and technological revolutions last Thursday evening.

Howard Gardner, author of “Five Minds for the Future,” spoke to an audience in the Weis Center about how each of the five minds he outlines in his book can be developed and effectively applied. The lecture marked the culmination of this year’s summer reading project for first-year students.

First-year students were required to read Gardner’s book as part of the Transition to College class.

Gardner explained the disciplined, synthesizing, creative, respectful and ethical minds, and then extended them into a real world context to help students visualize how the minds can have a positive effect on learning.

Gardner is most famous for his Theory of Multiple Intelligences and stressed that the Five Minds are completely separate from his previous intelligences.

Citing Darwin and Einstein as examples of great synthesizing and creative minds, Gardner pushed students to try to obtain each mind through lifelong learning and intellectual curiosity.

Gardner said that the benefits of lifelong learning are a key to becoming an expert and leader in a certain field. He also discussed the implications of good work and the use of ethical and responsible means to promote both individual and global welfare, a topic he also discussed in his first speech at the University last year.

After Gardner’s speech was over, several students took the opportunity to ask him questions about his work.

“I appreciated the fact that many students got up to ask questions, although I felt that they could have been shorter, more precise questions,” Emma Vitolo ’14 said.”I just think [the questions] could have been worded better. More precise. Less accusatory and more questioning.”

“I don’t think he really…engaged the audience in any way,” Maddy Liss ’14 said.