Join us as we chat with the \;New York Times bestselling \;author\, Amanda Montell about her newest book\, \;The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irratio nality. \;
\nIn a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power\, dis advantages\, and highlights of magical thinking\, 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.
\n&ldquo\;Magical thin king&rdquo\; can be broadly defined as the belief that one&rsquo\;s intern al thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of th e conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty\, stave off ca ncer with positive vibes\, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches\, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one wit h loyalty alone. In all its forms\, magical thinking works in service of r estoring agency amid chaos\, but in \;The Age of Magical Overthink ing\, Montell argues that in the modern information age\, our brain&r squo\;s coping mechanisms have been overloaded\, and our irrationality tur ned up to an eleven.
\nIn a series of razor-sharp\, deeply funny cha pters\, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains\, from how the &ldquo\;halo effect&rdquo\; cultivate s worship (and hatred) of larger-than-life celebrities\, to how the &ldquo \;sunk cost fallacy&rdquo\; can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we&rsquo\;ve realized they&rsquo\;re not serving us. As she illumina tes these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit\, Montell&rsquo\; 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 ou r 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 quie t 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 want to miss! \;
\nAbout the Author: \;Am anda Montell is a writer and linguist from Baltimore. She is the author of the acclaimed books \;Wordslut\, \;Cultish\, an d \;The Age of Magical Overthinking. Along with hosting the p odcast \;Sounds Like a Cult\, her writing has also appeared i n \;The New York Times\, \;Marie Claire\, \; Cosmopolitan\, and more. She holds a degree in linguistics from N YU and lives in Los Angeles with her partner\, plants\, and pets. Find her on Instagram @Amanda_Montell.
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