
The Age of Magical Overthinking
Notes on Modern Irrationality
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Narrated by:
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Amanda Montell
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By:
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Amanda Montell
A BookPage Best Nonfiction Book of 2024
From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.
Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant” (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.
“Magical thinking” can be broadly defined as the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the “halo effect” cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger-than-life celebrities, to how the “sunk cost fallacy” can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we’ve realized they’re not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell’s prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.©2024 Amanda Montell (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio
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Interview: Amanda Montell explains why everyone is guilty of "Magical Overthinking"
Interview: Amanda Montell explains why everyone is guilty of "Magical Overthinking"
Editorial Review
You’ll never look at a horoscope the same way again
I don’t believe in astrology, the law of attraction, or (most) conspiracy theories—but that doesn’t stop me from being obsessed with how many people do. And why not? Such supernatural thinking is practically de rigueur. Author, linguist, and podcast host Amanda Montell, writer of nonfiction hits
Cultish and
Wordslut, has a way with these topics, and her bracing take on today’s stickiest irrational beliefs—from influencer-peddled therapy speak to celebrity worship and positive thinking—might be her most brilliant yet. Drawing you in with personal stories, expert insights, and several cocktail parties’ worth of fun facts, Montell gradually reveals how the cognitive biases behind popular delusions spare no one, including her, me, and, yes, you. An infectious and engaging reader of her own work, Montell infuses The Age of Magical Overthinking with humor and passion, ensuring both die-hard skeptics and woo-woo acolytes will find something to love and learn within.. —Kat J., Audible Editor
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Sorry. I could not make it out of the first chapter
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Eye Opening!
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Modern-Day Sociology Recap
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I wonder if some of the studies could have been cherry picking to fit with her narrative, but that is always a danger when trying to craft a narrative.
I will recommend this to people who might enjoy this style because the concepts are important.
Introduction of Research on Thinking in an understandable way
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Me encantó
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This was a memoir pretending to be something more scientific
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Nothing new
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Couldn’t put it down
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Maybe my favorite of her work so far
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I am in awe by the writing, and I truly learned so much
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