Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

This Will Make You Smarter

By: John Brockman
Narrated by: John Allen Nelson, Khristine Hvam
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.05

Buy for $18.05

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

What scientific concept would improve everybody's cognitive toolkit? This is the question John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org, posed to the world's most influential thinkers. Their visionary answers flow from the frontiers of psychology, philosophy, economics, physics, sociology, and more. Surprising and enlightening, these insights will revolutionize the way you think about yourself and the world.

This Will Make You Smarter features Daniel Kahneman on the “focusing illusion”; Jonah Lehrer on controlling attention; Richard Dawkins on experimentation; Aubrey De Grey on conquering our fear of the unknown; Martin Seligman on the ingredients of well-being; Nicholas Carr on managing “cognitive load”; Steven Pinker on win-win negotiating; Daniel C. Dennett on benefiting from cycles; Jaron Lanier on resisting delusion; Frank Wilczek on the brain's hidden layers; Clay Shirky on the “80/20 rule”; Daniel Goleman on understanding our connection to the natural world; V. S. Ramachandran on paradigm shifts; Matt Ridley on tapping collective intelligence; John McWhorter on path dependence; Lisa Randall on effective theorizing; Brian Eno on “ecological vision”; Richard Thaler on rooting out false concepts; J. Craig Venter on the multiple possible origins of life; Helen Fisher on temperament; Sam Harris on the flow of thought; and Lawrence Krauss on living with uncertainty.

©2012 Edge Foundation, Incorporated (P)2013 Tantor
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about This Will Make You Smarter

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    81
  • 4 Stars
    60
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    13
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    63
  • 4 Stars
    54
  • 3 Stars
    37
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    62
  • 4 Stars
    53
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    17

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book

Read the book now listening to the audible. It's awesome. A lot of these ideas are interesting and thought provoking.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Big Interests

It rouses interest in so many subjects. I listened to the Audiobook and had to buy the written version so I could take notes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent.

This book Opened many doors to other excellent books which is helping me understand the world from a geological, biological, physical perspectives.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Epiphanies

A source that I have been seeking. Tantalizing, intriguing, fun. Well narrated and packed full of good information. I enjoyed it so much, I am now going to buy his other audiobooks and get the hard copy of this one. Happy Listening!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book!

Where does This Will Make You Smarter rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This has to be pretty close to, if not at the top.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I found the section on collective intelligence to be the most interesting.

Any additional comments?

The title really does deliver, but beware, there is a lot of hugely differing ideas in this book that moves very quickly. Take your time reading and processing this, and maybe give it 2 reads. Well worth it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A sampler of spicy ideas to liven up the mind

I'm finding this series habit-forming. I like the quickness of each little vignette: it introduces an idea or new phrasing or view of things that may be novel to me (great!) or not (fine, it's not too long). From time to time one hears a very gifted explainer: it introduces me to authors whose full-length books I also read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not What I expected

Any additional comments?

I would not recommend this book. I thought it had an interesting idea, but after listening to the content it was a bit bland. It wasn't anything new that I could use as within an educational standpoint.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

critical thinking and cognitive toolkits

Some of these essays seem profound to me while others seemed banal. My guess is that you would think so too, but that we would not agree on which was which. With over 150 essays, there is something in here for everyone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

it really will!

lot's of information on a wide variety of subjects. This book is an accumulated with best of chapters and essays done by a lot of Scientists.
Absolutely recommend it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Some interesting some not

Unfortunately, this book is so so because there is a lot of endless chapters, preaching on global warming. I wish they would read the book inconvenient facts instead of inconvenient truth and maybe they would learn something. The authors act, smart, and use a lot of really big words. NOT IMPRESSED

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!