The Age of Magical Overthinking
Notes on Modern Irrationality
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The Age of Magical Overthinking
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Narrated by:
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Amanda Montell
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By:
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Amanda Montell
About this listen
In the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to eleven. Amanda Montell blends cultural criticism and personal narrative to explore our modern cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages and highlights of magical overthinking.
"Magical thinking" can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world. Whether that's "manifesting" their way out of poverty, staving off cancer with positive vibes, or transforming an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one through loyalty alone.
In a series of razor sharp and introspective chapters, Montell delves into 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 they no longer serve us.
Told with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell's prevailing message is one of hope and forgiveness for our anxiety riddled human self. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason through the noise of information overload, this book aims to make sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds and let the fresh air in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, and maybe, even hear a melody in it.
©2024 Amanda Montell (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedCritic reviews
"Empathetic and enviously shrewd, The Age of Magical Overthinking will cleanse your beleaguered mind the was a TikTok 'guru' never could. Amanda Montell is a relatable and often brazenly funny narrator, as she creates a blueprint to breaking our minds' worst habits. Who knew there was a path out of the forest of brain rot!" - SABRINA IMBLER
"Written with wit, smarts and self-deprecating charm, The Age of Magical Overthinking is at once a guidebook for the era of misinformation and an illuminating, palm-to-the-forehead reveal of the delusions that underlie our own beliefs. Rarely have so few pages explained so much, so entertainingly." - MARY ROACH
"Amanda Montell's unbeatable intellect helps make human life much more interesting, and a little less baffling." – MICHELLE TEA
"The Age of Magical Overthinking is a fantastic voyage into the furnace room of the modern mind. I emerged from these enlightening pages with a new understanding of my own cognitive biases, as well as an unbiased awe of Amanda Montell's abundant gifts." – MONA AWAD
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What listeners say about The Age of Magical Overthinking
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-30-24
So much I didn't know that I needed to know.
As soon as I finished, The Age of Magical Over went back and hit play again to listen again.
I want to understand these bias, what they look like, where they hang out, and how they trap us. An easy to digest explanation of the mental errors many of us constantly make with our brains ill-adapted to modern life, an insight that will hopefully enable us (me) to do better. Hoping a second listen will make the bias and brain glitches more embedded in my consciousness so they're easier to understand, identify, and avoid IRL.
Great book. Throughly recommend listening to The Age Of Magical Overthinking.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-06-24
Lovely light-hearted musings on human connection
Easy listening, well-researched and interesting. First of Amanda Montell’s books I’ve listened to and would definitely try another one.
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