Author / Speaker
For many years now, the questions I explore every day have been philocognition, human intelligence (sometimes versus artificial intelligence), embellism, excellence and performance, and hypnosis. I have developed them in my books in particular, but also in the talks and training courses I am invited to give.
My Books
Les Philo-cognitifs, Odile Jacob
I wrote this book with Olivier Revol and Dominique Sappey-Marinier to move beyond the preconceived ideas about those who have long been called gifted, precocious, “zebras”, neurodivergent or high-IQ.
Each of these terms carries a rather different connotation, and I wanted to propose a term that brings together everything we can observe in these people, children or adults, for whom thinking is a vital need, almost a compulsion: Philocognitives. You will sometimes see it written with a hyphen, sometimes without. For the book, the publisher and I chose “with”. After the book, I started writing it “without”.
I also established that there are two “sister” profiles of philocognitives:
- The Philo-complex: a “trailblazer” with torrential energy, creative and magnetic, who interprets the world through a rich inner universe.
- The Philo-laminar: a balanced, solid “Swiss army knife” who explores the world with accuracy, control and adaptability.
This book describes them and gives the keys to turning your profile into a strength.
It is a bestseller.
Le Secret des Performants,
Odile Jacob
This book emerged when I was able to question the very notion of intelligence. I understood that intelligence had nothing to do with philocognition (whatever name we give it). Philocognition is a strong appetite for thought or knowledge. Intelligence is a state. It is the state that allows you to get the best out of yourself. When a philocognitive is in a state of intelligence, they show the best of their thinking. When a philocognitive is out of phase (a state of non-intelligence), they cannot do anything with their thinking. Philocognition and intelligence are therefore in no way linked.
In Le Secret des Performants, I explain the three driving forces of performance, which is the highest stage of the state of intelligence, and how to reach it.
This book is also a bestseller.
L’art de l’Excellence, Alisio
This book is probably the most personal one, and the boldest statement of my philosophy and my religion. It sets against today's prevailing humanism the notion of embellism, which I introduced here.
In it, I advocate a pact with excellence: embracing ambitious behaviour, aiming high, accepting difficulty, and organising your life around high, measurable goals.
In it, I take on humanism, explaining why I see it as the worst plague of today's society.
I also offer a roadmap, in the form of 40 commandments, for those who want to embrace embellism.
Le Cerveau sous Hypnose, humenSciences
This book was a commission. I was contacted by Olivia Recasens, who would later become my friend, and by Philippe Charlier, who knew about my PhD work on hypnosis and asked me to explain it in a simple, educational way. I believe it was a success (to be honest, I am very proud of it), and I keep receiving positive reviews. It is now considered a reference book in the field, which is an honour for me.
In it, I answer every question you might have about hypnosis.
Above all, I explain why, in my view, hypnosis is far more than a tool. It is imagination turned into a weapon of mass construction. And it is, first and foremost, a philosophy.
