In a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power\, disadvantages\, and highlights of magical thinking\, Amanda Montell now t urns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biase s in her most personal and electrifying work yet.
\n&ldquo\;Magical thinking&rdquo\; can be broadly defined as the belief that one&rsquo\;s in ternal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think o f the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty\, stave of f cancer with positive vibes\, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can th eir 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 Overthink ing\, Montell argues that in the modern information age\, our brain&rsquo\ ;s coping mechanisms have been overloaded\, and our irrationality turned u p to an eleven.
\nIn a series of razor sharp\, deeply funny chapters \, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampa nt in our brains\, from how the &ldquo\;halo effect&rdquo\; cultivates wor ship (and hatred) of larger-than-life celebrities\, to how the &ldquo\;sun k cost fallacy&rdquo\; can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we&rsquo\;ve realized they&rsquo\;re not serving us. As she illuminates t hese concepts with her signature brilliance and wit\, Montell&rsquo\;s pre vailing message is one of hope\, empathy\, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our abi lity to reason\, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crac k 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. \;
\nDon't be irrational\, register now for a conversation you just don&rsquo\;t wan t to miss! \;
\nCheck out this list of Amanda Montell's books \;at the Oakville Public Library. \;
\nAbout the Author
\nAmanda Montell is a writer and linguist from Baltimore. She is the author of the acclaimed books&nbs p\;Wordslut\, \;Cultish\, and \;The Age of Magical Overthinking. A long with hosting the podcast \;Sounds Like a Cult\, her writing has a lso appeared in \;The New York Times\, \;Marie Claire\, \;Cosm opolitan\, and more. She holds a degree in linguistics from NYU and lives in Los Angeles with her partner\, plants\, and pets. Find her on Instagram @Amanda_Montell.
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