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A review by theravenkingx
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam M. Grant
informative
medium-paced
3.5
<b> 3.5 ★★★☆
Fascinating topic, limited scope of study, repetitive message, one sided story of rethinking.</b>
I found the book very fascinating for a while, but then my interest plummeted quite a bit as I kept reading. I'm still rating it 3.5 stars because it's me, not the book... but it's also the book.
I think the topic is rather interesting, and I do believe that rethinking is a muscle that you can develop with practice and it's an important skill to have. As humans, we tend to reaffirm our beliefs and consume content that is comforting and doesn't challenge us. It keeps us stuck in a vicious cycle of self-righteousness. The author shows us how we can break out of this cycle and why it is necessary to seek out information that goes against our preconceived notions. If we can't rethink then we can never learn anything new. That is why it is important to keep doubting what you already know.
The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses how we can change our own thinking, the second discusses how we can change other people's perspectives, and the last one discusses change on a societal level. It's a well-crafted book, but it does get repetitive at times.
I enjoyed the anecdotes. However, not all of the anecdotes are convincing or relevant. For instance, I don’t think the woman who changed her mind about vaccination was influenced merely by the nurse asking her nicely. I think many factors contributed to the change, such as giving birth prematurely and being scared for her child.
Grant tells us how Jean-Pierre Beugoms, a superforecaster, foresaw Trump’s rise to the Republican nomination in 2015. But then he changed his mind and predicted Hillary would win the election, which turned out wrong. Did he make a mistake by rethinking? Grant does not offer clear guidelines on when we should or should not think again.
Israel thinks that Palestine belongs to them and they are using modern tools like social media to spread their narrative that it all started on 7th January and that hammas is a terrorist group when they are clearly freedom fighters. Israel has been bombing Palestine and Yemen since 1948. Hammas is a modern invention. Adam Grant has failed to provide any information on the power dynamics of rethinking. There are people with great power who can use their influence and money to change the perspective of people on a much larger scale to align with their own views. Rethinking doesn't always lead to positive outcome.
Moreover, I think EQ (emotional intelligence) is just as important for a frontline worker. EQ is important even for those who don't interact with customers on a day-to-day basis, as they still deal with people outside their work life. Unhealthy interpersonal relationships and inability to manage emotions well can still affect their performance at work. I understand that EQ is more useful for jobs that involve high level of social interaction but being able to manage your emotions is a great skill to have.
I also disagree that performance culture is absolutely useless. Performance culture is based on best practices and it makes the work environment more efficient and reduces workplace conflict. I agree that it has some drawbacks like stress, burnout, unhealthy competition, etc. But we cannot dismiss it completely as it does help in setting expectations, a clear path, and creating a stable work environment.
He also claims that climate change deniers get more media coverage, which I doubt. They may get some attention, but mostly to be mocked. I have never seen a smart debate between the two sides.
I agree that schools play a important role in creating societal change. Instead of walking children along a set path, teachers should encourage them to explore and carve new paths and bring new perspectives into the classroom. Teachers should conduct healthy discussions instead of spoon-feeding children their own values and beliefs.
In conclusion, Think Again is a well-written and well-researched book that offers some valuable insights and advice on how to rethink and unlearn. However, it also has some flaws like the repetition of the same message, some questionable anecdotes, and most importantly it fails to provide us the tools to understand when to rethink and when to stop and how to deal with a powerful manipulator. I would still recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the psychology of change and persuasion, but I would also suggest reading it with a critical eye and an open mind.
Fascinating topic, limited scope of study, repetitive message, one sided story of rethinking.</b>
I found the book very fascinating for a while, but then my interest plummeted quite a bit as I kept reading. I'm still rating it 3.5 stars because it's me, not the book... but it's also the book.
I think the topic is rather interesting, and I do believe that rethinking is a muscle that you can develop with practice and it's an important skill to have. As humans, we tend to reaffirm our beliefs and consume content that is comforting and doesn't challenge us. It keeps us stuck in a vicious cycle of self-righteousness. The author shows us how we can break out of this cycle and why it is necessary to seek out information that goes against our preconceived notions. If we can't rethink then we can never learn anything new. That is why it is important to keep doubting what you already know.
The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses how we can change our own thinking, the second discusses how we can change other people's perspectives, and the last one discusses change on a societal level. It's a well-crafted book, but it does get repetitive at times.
I enjoyed the anecdotes. However, not all of the anecdotes are convincing or relevant. For instance, I don’t think the woman who changed her mind about vaccination was influenced merely by the nurse asking her nicely. I think many factors contributed to the change, such as giving birth prematurely and being scared for her child.
Grant tells us how Jean-Pierre Beugoms, a superforecaster, foresaw Trump’s rise to the Republican nomination in 2015. But then he changed his mind and predicted Hillary would win the election, which turned out wrong. Did he make a mistake by rethinking? Grant does not offer clear guidelines on when we should or should not think again.
Israel thinks that Palestine belongs to them and they are using modern tools like social media to spread their narrative that it all started on 7th January and that hammas is a terrorist group when they are clearly freedom fighters. Israel has been bombing Palestine and Yemen since 1948. Hammas is a modern invention. Adam Grant has failed to provide any information on the power dynamics of rethinking. There are people with great power who can use their influence and money to change the perspective of people on a much larger scale to align with their own views. Rethinking doesn't always lead to positive outcome.
Moreover, I think EQ (emotional intelligence) is just as important for a frontline worker. EQ is important even for those who don't interact with customers on a day-to-day basis, as they still deal with people outside their work life. Unhealthy interpersonal relationships and inability to manage emotions well can still affect their performance at work. I understand that EQ is more useful for jobs that involve high level of social interaction but being able to manage your emotions is a great skill to have.
I also disagree that performance culture is absolutely useless. Performance culture is based on best practices and it makes the work environment more efficient and reduces workplace conflict. I agree that it has some drawbacks like stress, burnout, unhealthy competition, etc. But we cannot dismiss it completely as it does help in setting expectations, a clear path, and creating a stable work environment.
He also claims that climate change deniers get more media coverage, which I doubt. They may get some attention, but mostly to be mocked. I have never seen a smart debate between the two sides.
I agree that schools play a important role in creating societal change. Instead of walking children along a set path, teachers should encourage them to explore and carve new paths and bring new perspectives into the classroom. Teachers should conduct healthy discussions instead of spoon-feeding children their own values and beliefs.
In conclusion, Think Again is a well-written and well-researched book that offers some valuable insights and advice on how to rethink and unlearn. However, it also has some flaws like the repetition of the same message, some questionable anecdotes, and most importantly it fails to provide us the tools to understand when to rethink and when to stop and how to deal with a powerful manipulator. I would still recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the psychology of change and persuasion, but I would also suggest reading it with a critical eye and an open mind.