Review Think Again: The Power Of Knowing What You Dont Know : Grant, Adam Narrated By Adam Grant Formatted As Kindle
on Think Again: the Power of Knowing What You Dont Know : Grant, Adam
Enjoyed reading/listening the book, I am reading it while i am in the middle of career change, It could not be useful, It has lot of colleted wisdom can t think all are ariginated in the book but still great reference and reminder abiut what is important and In the book “Think Again” Adam Grant takes us through the process of why, in life we need to think about our brief systems, our confidence in certain subjects and use this in business as well as our social life.
If we all thought deeply, while we might agree to disagree, maybe thinking again would help us understand other people better, Some of you may recall the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February,, when the Space Shuttle Columbia OVdisintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members, Without going into the some of the detail technical details, some of the tiles on the outside of the shuttle fell off when it took off, But this had happened before and so people thought "so what they have fallen off before, why does it matter" In this case the result of the tiles falling off was fatal.
Adam also talks about the DunningKruger effect which is a cognitive bias where people will overestimate their ability, Adam goes onto say "If we're certain that we know something, we have no reason to look for gaps and flaws in our knowledge let alone fill or correct them.
”Adam also talks about research where rival American Football teams worked together to try and create a level of co operation after generations of ingrained rivalry and aggression, Certainly worth a readshipping Good book, i struggle with parents who are anti vaxxers and believe all kinds of conspiracies, This book helped me look from their perspective which made discussing these kinds of things with them much less frustrating, Over promise totally under deliver This is a good book, I would have given it a better rating if much in the book had not already been documented by other authors, It covers the topic of critical thinking from the perspective of what we dont know, Of course we cant know what we dont know, but I believe the author is suggesting we need to be aware of that which we dont know, Inevitably you will come to the same critical thinking awareness that other authors have already arrived at, There are some graphs that I found overly simplistic and a little contrived but overall helpful, On pagehardcover edition the author quotes excerpts of Ted Kaczynskis the Unabomber manifesto, The author points out that you may not be “unsettled” if you read the entire document, then adds, “Whats disturbing is the level of conviction”, The author goes on to say, “If he had developed the capacity to discover that he was wrong, would he still have ended up doing something so wrong”, But was Kaczynski wrong Not entirely if you remove the level of conviction, There has been consequences from The Industrial Revolution to some extent it has destabilized society and it has inflicted greater damage on the natural world, If the author is attempting to arrive at a better truth by questioning what we know we know, then we need to be critical of the use of example so we dont cherry pick ideas out of context.
There is no doubt that Kaczynski was wrong to do what he did, but what he knew was not entirely wrong, Other books I have read on this topic in order of copyright date:On Being Certain,, Robert A, Burton M. D. Being Wrong,, Kathryn SchulzWillful Blindness,, Margaret HeffernanThinking, Fast and Slow,, Daniel KahnemanMistakes Were Made But Not by Me,, Carol Tavris and Elliot AronsonThe Memory Illusion,, Dr, Julia ShawAs an aside:Quiet The Power of Introverts In a World That Cant Stop Talking,, Susan Cain Adam Grant provide stories and clearly illustrates why it's so important to rethinking and restructuring your belief systems throughout your entire life.
How do you know when you're indoctrinated Great book! Time and attention energy well spent! Id heard Adam Grant talking on his podcast and liked what he had to say, so I picked up the book with excitement.
The simple tenet of the book is that rethinking our plans, answers and decisions is a good thing and a fixed mindset closes us to opportunities and potentially better alternatives.
My enduring feeling having read the book is discomfort, Not because I dont like what Adam says, but because, through a smile and gritted teeth, I agree with most of his ideas, opinions and perspectives, The problem is, he made me question the decisions Ive made in work over the years and my modus operandi, Adam talks about the Dunning Kruger effect, which is something Id come across during my doctoral research, I was a littletruck that not only was this something AG thought fit to write about, but he actually knew these scholars! The Dunning Kruger effect basically describes the phenomenon where people who think theyre highly capable are usually quite the opposite.
Check out pgI liked his description of how to deal with an argument and hostility, Instead of going head to head, you can rethink your position and sidestep, What a great way of viewing confrontation: a dance, where you can choose to parry, thrust or tango, You can step out of the discussion and talk about the discussion, By talking about the discussion instead of being in the discussion, it gives both parties the opportunity to gain perspective, and change perspective if they so choose, Adam also talks about complexifying a problem, When two parties are at opposite ends of the pole, setting out the complexities of the particular issue can help parties recognise that this either/or argument about which theyve been at odd actually has a number of other arms like the spokes of a wheel, if you will.
It helps to diffuse this idea of my way or the highway and helps people rethink, reach agreement on some elements and compromise on others, My main take home from the book is this idea that its good to question our own decisions, Adam gives lots of data and examples of where this has paid dividends and consistently yielded better results, If one day weve said something is red and tomorrow weve reflected on the data, rethought it and tomorrow say its pink, thats ok, One thing Ive held on to over the years is my consistency of opinion, There are many occasions where colleagues have asked me something or other about an issue from a few days ago and Ive found myself with no memory of it at least not in the way they describe, and Ive given them the same answer twice.
Ive always thought, phew! what I lack in instant recall I make up for in consistency, But if you read Think Again, flexibility is valued over consistency, Getting it right is valued over getting it to match, Henceforth I shall take a new approach and consider that a change of direction from north to north west is not about having gotten it wrong the first time, but about thinking again and coming up with a better idea.
As Maya Angelou said, Do the best you can until you know better, Then when you know better, do better, Good book. If you want to step out of your comfort zone and learn something about yourself and others, this book is worth a read, It felt like a long read, but the fact I read the whole thing in Adams voice may have had something to do with it the joy of podcasts! The three hardest things to say in English are "I was wrong", "I'm sorry", and "Worcestershire sauce.
" Adam Grant can definitely help you with the first two, In a world changing at unprecedented speed, there's a new must need skill on the block: "Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn, Yet in a turbulent world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter : the ability to rethink and unlearn, "If you think rethinking is hard, you think rightly, Our inner Preacher, Prosecutor and Politician stand ready to trip us up: "The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that were right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we dont bother to rethink our own views.
"So what should we do instead This book helps you find your inner Scientist infinitely curious, moderately confident, perennially skeptical, Then "you define your identity in terms of values, not opinions", and actively "seek out information that goes against your views, "With expert storytelling and a breezy yet earnest tone, Adam guides you through the perils and rewards of rethinking at the individual, interpersonal, and collective level, In the process, you'll meet a cast of fascinating folks who practice expert level rethinking, There's Daryl Davis, the Black musician with the hobby of converting KKK members into friends, There's the vaccine whisperer who gets legions of anti vax parents to vaccinate their kids, and Erin McCarthy who has her students re write old history textbooks, And the other stories I'm not even mentioning lest I spoil your fun in reading Adam's deft plot twists and big reveals, I particularly appreciate the plenitude of wisdom in this book, much of it counterintuitive, For example, assembling a "challenge network" of our most thoughtful critics instead of a support network of yes men seems like a useful exercise against overconfidence, And it's heartening that a little bit of impostor syndrome actually renders us credible, And now that Adam has highlighted the efficacy of motivational interviewing, I will use it much in my coaching behavioral change practice, In addition to being supremely well structured and instructive, "Think Again" is delightfully quirky, I readnonfiction books a year, and it's safe to say I haven't read anything like this, There are a ton of cartoons, real and faux diagrams, and funny yet true flowcharts to illustrate points and elicit chuckles, Adam often inserts italicized musings and asides smack in the middle of a paragraph, The epilogue, which is kind of bonkers, embodies rethinking in physical form, And mayonnaise. This is an utterly original book on a topic that not only bears directly upon our success, but also our long term happiness: "It takes humility to reconsider our past commitments, doubt to question our present decisions, and curiosity to reimagine our future plans.
What we discover along the way can free us from the shackles of our familiar surroundings and our former selves, Rethinking liberates us to do than update our knowledge and opinionsits a tool for leading a fulfilling life, " That sounds pretty important to me, so I'll be re reading rethinking regularly, Get the book for yourself and the other stubborn people you love who think they can pronounce "Worcestershire, " Ali Binazir, M. D. , M. Phil. , Chief Happiness Engineer and author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible , the highest rated dating book on , and Should I Go to Medical School: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine Think again, is a book that obviously reinforces the importance of rethinking, and highlights the perils of not revisiting ones ideas and offers advice on methods, tools, and networks that would facilitate rethinking.
It also REMINDS me of certain biases, habits, and fallacies that one fall for, if not being made conscious from time to time, Consider the following:. Do you want your opinions and knowledge to be made right, or wish hence claim that they are right, Do you wear an advocate and politician or scientist hat when looking at a situation, Being competent and being confident are dependent or independent variables If there is a causal relation, than what is the direction, Asking HOW helps reveal to the overconfident, his depth/shallowness of knowledge and need to know, Only the secure identity harness the benefit of doubt, Can you, Is your opinion being proven wrong a question about hurt self identity or joyous occasion of less wrong in future, Is the team encountering relationship conflicts or tasks conflict, Are you able to keep with the challengers because they care, and weed out insecure criticizers, Are your disagreements leading to debate or dispute, The important the matter, do you rely on presenting arguments in favour of your side, or few important ones, but explained at length, To solicit feedback, do u use the rating scale to peg response and seek ways to improve the score, Do u assume or ask what kind of evidence will allow others to open their position for a rethink, Stereotypes are rarely questioned by giving counter evidence but often by asking how do you know And what would it take to verify, Do u motivate someone to change or nudge someone to think of their own reason to change, Do u base your motivational speech on assumptions, or actually listen through motivational interviewing, Attending lectures are enjoyable to experience, but does that translate into effective learning Would active learning help you get better grades, How often do u present material that is open to iteration, refinement, and multiple feedbacks to come to better shape Do u teach the patience to invite suggestions or embrace criticism.
How do u marry psychological safety with accountability for results, Psychological safe teams make errors or reveal errors, How can u differentiate perseverance vs stubbornness in your standYou may be sure of the response to some of them, but in the spirit of think again, do validate with your critiques or take the easy route of checking with Adam!
If we all thought deeply, while we might agree to disagree, maybe thinking again would help us understand other people better, Some of you may recall the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February,, when the Space Shuttle Columbia OVdisintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members, Without going into the some of the detail technical details, some of the tiles on the outside of the shuttle fell off when it took off, But this had happened before and so people thought "so what they have fallen off before, why does it matter" In this case the result of the tiles falling off was fatal.
Adam also talks about the DunningKruger effect which is a cognitive bias where people will overestimate their ability, Adam goes onto say "If we're certain that we know something, we have no reason to look for gaps and flaws in our knowledge let alone fill or correct them.
”Adam also talks about research where rival American Football teams worked together to try and create a level of co operation after generations of ingrained rivalry and aggression, Certainly worth a readshipping Good book, i struggle with parents who are anti vaxxers and believe all kinds of conspiracies, This book helped me look from their perspective which made discussing these kinds of things with them much less frustrating, Over promise totally under deliver This is a good book, I would have given it a better rating if much in the book had not already been documented by other authors, It covers the topic of critical thinking from the perspective of what we dont know, Of course we cant know what we dont know, but I believe the author is suggesting we need to be aware of that which we dont know, Inevitably you will come to the same critical thinking awareness that other authors have already arrived at, There are some graphs that I found overly simplistic and a little contrived but overall helpful, On pagehardcover edition the author quotes excerpts of Ted Kaczynskis the Unabomber manifesto, The author points out that you may not be “unsettled” if you read the entire document, then adds, “Whats disturbing is the level of conviction”, The author goes on to say, “If he had developed the capacity to discover that he was wrong, would he still have ended up doing something so wrong”, But was Kaczynski wrong Not entirely if you remove the level of conviction, There has been consequences from The Industrial Revolution to some extent it has destabilized society and it has inflicted greater damage on the natural world, If the author is attempting to arrive at a better truth by questioning what we know we know, then we need to be critical of the use of example so we dont cherry pick ideas out of context.
There is no doubt that Kaczynski was wrong to do what he did, but what he knew was not entirely wrong, Other books I have read on this topic in order of copyright date:On Being Certain,, Robert A, Burton M. D. Being Wrong,, Kathryn SchulzWillful Blindness,, Margaret HeffernanThinking, Fast and Slow,, Daniel KahnemanMistakes Were Made But Not by Me,, Carol Tavris and Elliot AronsonThe Memory Illusion,, Dr, Julia ShawAs an aside:Quiet The Power of Introverts In a World That Cant Stop Talking,, Susan Cain Adam Grant provide stories and clearly illustrates why it's so important to rethinking and restructuring your belief systems throughout your entire life.
How do you know when you're indoctrinated Great book! Time and attention energy well spent! Id heard Adam Grant talking on his podcast and liked what he had to say, so I picked up the book with excitement.
The simple tenet of the book is that rethinking our plans, answers and decisions is a good thing and a fixed mindset closes us to opportunities and potentially better alternatives.
My enduring feeling having read the book is discomfort, Not because I dont like what Adam says, but because, through a smile and gritted teeth, I agree with most of his ideas, opinions and perspectives, The problem is, he made me question the decisions Ive made in work over the years and my modus operandi, Adam talks about the Dunning Kruger effect, which is something Id come across during my doctoral research, I was a littletruck that not only was this something AG thought fit to write about, but he actually knew these scholars! The Dunning Kruger effect basically describes the phenomenon where people who think theyre highly capable are usually quite the opposite.
Check out pgI liked his description of how to deal with an argument and hostility, Instead of going head to head, you can rethink your position and sidestep, What a great way of viewing confrontation: a dance, where you can choose to parry, thrust or tango, You can step out of the discussion and talk about the discussion, By talking about the discussion instead of being in the discussion, it gives both parties the opportunity to gain perspective, and change perspective if they so choose, Adam also talks about complexifying a problem, When two parties are at opposite ends of the pole, setting out the complexities of the particular issue can help parties recognise that this either/or argument about which theyve been at odd actually has a number of other arms like the spokes of a wheel, if you will.
It helps to diffuse this idea of my way or the highway and helps people rethink, reach agreement on some elements and compromise on others, My main take home from the book is this idea that its good to question our own decisions, Adam gives lots of data and examples of where this has paid dividends and consistently yielded better results, If one day weve said something is red and tomorrow weve reflected on the data, rethought it and tomorrow say its pink, thats ok, One thing Ive held on to over the years is my consistency of opinion, There are many occasions where colleagues have asked me something or other about an issue from a few days ago and Ive found myself with no memory of it at least not in the way they describe, and Ive given them the same answer twice.
Ive always thought, phew! what I lack in instant recall I make up for in consistency, But if you read Think Again, flexibility is valued over consistency, Getting it right is valued over getting it to match, Henceforth I shall take a new approach and consider that a change of direction from north to north west is not about having gotten it wrong the first time, but about thinking again and coming up with a better idea.
As Maya Angelou said, Do the best you can until you know better, Then when you know better, do better, Good book. If you want to step out of your comfort zone and learn something about yourself and others, this book is worth a read, It felt like a long read, but the fact I read the whole thing in Adams voice may have had something to do with it the joy of podcasts! The three hardest things to say in English are "I was wrong", "I'm sorry", and "Worcestershire sauce.
" Adam Grant can definitely help you with the first two, In a world changing at unprecedented speed, there's a new must need skill on the block: "Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn, Yet in a turbulent world, there's another set of cognitive skills that might matter : the ability to rethink and unlearn, "If you think rethinking is hard, you think rightly, Our inner Preacher, Prosecutor and Politician stand ready to trip us up: "The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that were right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we dont bother to rethink our own views.
"So what should we do instead This book helps you find your inner Scientist infinitely curious, moderately confident, perennially skeptical, Then "you define your identity in terms of values, not opinions", and actively "seek out information that goes against your views, "With expert storytelling and a breezy yet earnest tone, Adam guides you through the perils and rewards of rethinking at the individual, interpersonal, and collective level, In the process, you'll meet a cast of fascinating folks who practice expert level rethinking, There's Daryl Davis, the Black musician with the hobby of converting KKK members into friends, There's the vaccine whisperer who gets legions of anti vax parents to vaccinate their kids, and Erin McCarthy who has her students re write old history textbooks, And the other stories I'm not even mentioning lest I spoil your fun in reading Adam's deft plot twists and big reveals, I particularly appreciate the plenitude of wisdom in this book, much of it counterintuitive, For example, assembling a "challenge network" of our most thoughtful critics instead of a support network of yes men seems like a useful exercise against overconfidence, And it's heartening that a little bit of impostor syndrome actually renders us credible, And now that Adam has highlighted the efficacy of motivational interviewing, I will use it much in my coaching behavioral change practice, In addition to being supremely well structured and instructive, "Think Again" is delightfully quirky, I readnonfiction books a year, and it's safe to say I haven't read anything like this, There are a ton of cartoons, real and faux diagrams, and funny yet true flowcharts to illustrate points and elicit chuckles, Adam often inserts italicized musings and asides smack in the middle of a paragraph, The epilogue, which is kind of bonkers, embodies rethinking in physical form, And mayonnaise. This is an utterly original book on a topic that not only bears directly upon our success, but also our long term happiness: "It takes humility to reconsider our past commitments, doubt to question our present decisions, and curiosity to reimagine our future plans.
What we discover along the way can free us from the shackles of our familiar surroundings and our former selves, Rethinking liberates us to do than update our knowledge and opinionsits a tool for leading a fulfilling life, " That sounds pretty important to me, so I'll be re reading rethinking regularly, Get the book for yourself and the other stubborn people you love who think they can pronounce "Worcestershire, " Ali Binazir, M. D. , M. Phil. , Chief Happiness Engineer and author of The Tao of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide to Being Absolutely Irresistible , the highest rated dating book on , and Should I Go to Medical School: An Irreverent Guide to the Pros and Cons of a Career in Medicine Think again, is a book that obviously reinforces the importance of rethinking, and highlights the perils of not revisiting ones ideas and offers advice on methods, tools, and networks that would facilitate rethinking.
It also REMINDS me of certain biases, habits, and fallacies that one fall for, if not being made conscious from time to time, Consider the following:. Do you want your opinions and knowledge to be made right, or wish hence claim that they are right, Do you wear an advocate and politician or scientist hat when looking at a situation, Being competent and being confident are dependent or independent variables If there is a causal relation, than what is the direction, Asking HOW helps reveal to the overconfident, his depth/shallowness of knowledge and need to know, Only the secure identity harness the benefit of doubt, Can you, Is your opinion being proven wrong a question about hurt self identity or joyous occasion of less wrong in future, Is the team encountering relationship conflicts or tasks conflict, Are you able to keep with the challengers because they care, and weed out insecure criticizers, Are your disagreements leading to debate or dispute, The important the matter, do you rely on presenting arguments in favour of your side, or few important ones, but explained at length, To solicit feedback, do u use the rating scale to peg response and seek ways to improve the score, Do u assume or ask what kind of evidence will allow others to open their position for a rethink, Stereotypes are rarely questioned by giving counter evidence but often by asking how do you know And what would it take to verify, Do u motivate someone to change or nudge someone to think of their own reason to change, Do u base your motivational speech on assumptions, or actually listen through motivational interviewing, Attending lectures are enjoyable to experience, but does that translate into effective learning Would active learning help you get better grades, How often do u present material that is open to iteration, refinement, and multiple feedbacks to come to better shape Do u teach the patience to invite suggestions or embrace criticism.
How do u marry psychological safety with accountability for results, Psychological safe teams make errors or reveal errors, How can u differentiate perseverance vs stubbornness in your standYou may be sure of the response to some of them, but in the spirit of think again, do validate with your critiques or take the easy route of checking with Adam!
ADAM GRANT is an organizational psychologist at Wharton, where he has been the top rated professor for seven straight years.
ANew York Times bestselling author and one of TEDs most popular speakers, his books have sold millions of copies and been translated intolanguages, his talks have been viewed overmillion times, and his podcast WorkLife has topped the charts.
His pioneering research has inspired people to rethink fundamental assumptions about motivation, generosity, and creativity, He has been recognized as one of the worldsmost influential management thinkers and Fortunesunder, and has received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation.
His work has been praised by J, J. Abrams, Richard Branson, Bill and Melinda Gates, Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Kahneman, John Legend, and Malala Yousafzai, Adam received his B. A. from Harvard and his
Ph, D. from the University of Michigan, and he is a former Junior Olympic springboard diver, He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and their three children, .