The Age of Magical Overthinking
Notes on Modern Irrationality
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The Age of Magical Overthinking
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Narrated by:
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Amanda Montell
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By:
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Amanda Montell
About this listen
In the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to eleven. Amanda Montell blends cultural criticism and personal narrative to explore our modern cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages and highlights of magical overthinking.
"Magical thinking" can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world. Whether that's "manifesting" their way out of poverty, staving off cancer with positive vibes, or transforming an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one through loyalty alone.
In a series of razor sharp and introspective chapters, Montell delves into cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the "halo effect" cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger-than-life celebrities, to how the "sunk cost fallacy" can keep us in detrimental relationships long after they no longer serve us.
Told with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell's prevailing message is one of hope and forgiveness for our anxiety riddled human self. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason through the noise of information overload, this book aims to make sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds and let the fresh air in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, and maybe, even hear a melody in it.
©2024 Amanda Montell (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Editorial Review
What listeners say about The Age of Magical Overthinking
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sharon
- 14-04-24
I love Amanda Montell. Witty, entertaining well researched and a joy to read about cognitive biases, my favourite topic
Excellent 10/10 read this it is brilliant such an important topic that should be more widely known.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Here's looking at you kid
- 15-07-24
Absolutely brilliant
I adored this book! So interesting and intelligently written. The perfect blend of research and personal anecdotes.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Breezles
- 06-05-24
Montell does it again
Amanda is an expert in weaving grounded research with popular zeitgeist, relatable experience and poetic license. Don’t be fooled by the breezy - chat over a glass of something nice - delivery. She packs a punch and gives you something to think about for some time after. Whilst listening I’ve run to find pen and paper several time to jot down academic research she has referenced that chimed with my own thinking or relatable to something going on for someone in my life. Witty, accessible, smart and relevant. It’s a yes from me.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Gemma Brady
- 11-04-24
Binged in one day
An engaging and thought-provoking read for those of us prone to overthinking. This book examines topics such as confirmation bias, romanticising the past, celebrity culture, toxic relationships, sunk cost fallacy, and manifestation. It offers an entertaining discussion of these things that we all tend to do. I devoured this book all in one go.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lizzy
- 15-04-24
Wonderful
Truely wonderful and insightful, I couldn’t stop listening and kinda just wanna play it again. I’ve enjoyed all Amanda’s books and podcasts but I think what sets this one apart is you can really feel her passion and it’s incredibly personal- thank you for putting this out into the world.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- J. Cullimore
- 26-04-24
brilliant!
This is the first book I've actually finished in ages! Insightful, empathic, optimistic...and Amanda loves my favourite show (Six Feet Under), so she clearly has excellent taste
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Lottielizzie
- 16-04-24
Interesting and thoughtful
I loved Montell’s previous books and was super excited about this release.
I feel that this hopped about quite a bit and I wasn’t gripped as much as I was by her other publications. But I liked it nonetheless.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 22-06-24
A marvellous tour around your own biases
Fascinating, intriguing, accessible. Amanda gives modern online women a whistle stop tour of logical fallacies and congitive bias. really enjoyed it.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Pamela
- 17-12-24
Personal stories trying to be of substance
Dear oh dear. This book is really a series of articles strung together that has the merest most tenuous connections. It is something to read in a magazine on a long flight. It barely scratches the surface. And I had to laugh when someone had written it was well researched. Just cherry-picking quotes from another source does not equal research. There is also the cringe reference to her partner as the love of her life and I wish them every joy and happiness but in a book like this to be taken in any way seriously there’s no need to mention it.
It needs much more substance strong research and less personal anecdotes that are not revealing of anything fresh relevant to her but has little value to a wider audience. If you truly want to know about cognitive biases this is not the place to gain knowledge.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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- Lewes Cooper
- 11-05-24
Disjointed mess
This book is extremely disjointed. Much more of a memoir than a science book. It lacks scientific rigour and most of the topics explored are barely scratching the surface. I really wished it went in more depth, rather and talking so much about her own anecdotes. The writer sounds a bit out of touch, and very LA. Maybe good only for the podcast aficionados, but if you really want to learn about cognitive bias beyond sound bites, I think you should stir away from this book.
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1 person found this helpful