Join us as we chat with the \;New York Times bestselling \;author\, Amanda Montell about her newest book\, " The Age of M agical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality."
\nWith a de licious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative\, Montell turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet\, exploring our cognitive bia ses and both the power and disadvantages of magical thinking.
\nMagi cal thinking 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 Overthinking\," Mo ntell argues that in the information age\, our brain&rsquo\;s coping mecha nisms have been overloaded\, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
\nIn a series of razor sharp\, deeply funny chapters\, Montell delv es into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brain s\, from how the &ldquo\;halo effect&rdquo\; cultivates worship (and hatre d) of larger-than-life celebrities\, to how the &ldquo\;sunk cost fallacy& rdquo\; can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we&rsquo\;ve r ealized they&rsquo\;re not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts w ith her signature brilliance and wit\, Montell&rsquo\;s prevailing message is one of hope\, empathy and forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human sel ves. \;
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\nAbout the Author: Amanda Montell is a writer and linguist from Baltimore. She is the author of the acclaimed books "Wo rdslut\," "Cultish" and "The Age of Magical Overthinking." Along with host ing the podcast "Sounds Like a Cult\," her writing has also appeared in&nb sp\;The New York Times\, \;Marie Claire\, \;Cosmopolitan 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.
\nThis ev ent is part of \;DBRL's \;Onli ne Author Series\, supported by David Lile honorarium funds. A recordi ng will also be available for later viewing on the \;author series site.
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