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Rationality
Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters | Steven Pinker
5 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 6 to read
Humans today are often portrayed as cavemen out of time, poised to react to a lion in the grass with a suite of biases, blind spots, and illusions. But cognitive scientist and rational optimist Steven Pinker argues that this cannot be the whole picture. A list of the ways in which we are stupid cannot explain how we're so smart- how we discovered the laws of nature, transformed the planet, and lengthened and enriched our lives. Indeed, if humans were fundamentally irrational, how did they discover the benchmarks for rationality against which humans fall short? The topic could not be more timely. In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that sequenced the genome and detected the Big Bang produce so much fake news, conspiracy theories, and 'post-truth' rhetoric? Rationality explains the key tools for rational thinking, guiding the reader through the basics of logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, and helping us to make rational choices alone and with others. Rationality matters. As the world reels from foolish choices made in the past and dreads a future that may be shaped by senseless choices in the present, rationality may be the most important asset that citizens and influencers command. Steven Pinker, the great defender of human progress, having documented how the world is not falling apart, now shows how we can enhance rationality in our lives and in the public sphere. Rationality is the perfect toolkit to seize our own fates.
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i.z.booknook
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Pickpick

Pinker explores why we as people can seem so irrational, how we can fall in to cults, etc. He goes over different fallacies and how to analyse probabilities and how pre-held belief can impact our ability to disseminate facts. An impactful read.

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Tkgbjenn1
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Mehso-so

A concise argument on what rational thought is and how we‘re losing it. Points are made and followed up by mathematical equations. Ergo the dry. My mind would wander. I just couldn‘t stay focused despite the importance of the topic.

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Lindy
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Pickpick

I know that sometimes my decisions are irrational & I appreciate the reminder that rationality matters. Even better, Steven Pinker gives examples, showing how to be more rational. Sometimes I had to rewind & listen again to grasp concepts, but the effort feels worthwhile. On a separate note, I was comforted by audiobook narrator Arthur Morey‘s occasionally unusual pronunciations (ie gerrymandering; omen) because I have verbal idiosyncrasies too.

kspenmoll Nice review-contemplating trying to read this one day… 3y
Lindy @kspenmoll Thanks. I hope I didn‘t make it seem like a difficult book. Audiobook format is what made it challenging. Sometimes I needed more time to absorb the content, to mull it over, and print format would have made that easier than audio. 3y
33 likes2 comments
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Lindy
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Though editors have told me that readers hate math and will never put up with numbers spoiling their stories and pictures, their own media belie this condescension. People avidly consume data in the world of weather, business and sports pages, so why not the news?

Penny_LiteraryHoarders That‘s some wild changes in weather this week! 3y
Lindy @Penny_LiteraryHoarders Yes, nighttime chilly! 3y
Ruthiella I think we all love a good pie chart. Them‘s numbers too! 😅 3y
Lindy @Ruthiella Yep! Looking forward to creating my end-of-year reading pie charts… 3y
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Megabooks
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Pickpick

Pinker blends philosophy, sociology, probability, and statistics to explain why people do and don‘t act rationally. He looks at classic game theory questions, logical fallacies, Bayesian reasoning, and more to paint a picture of part of the human condition. I liked how he blended theory with practical application of it, and the last chapter was 🔥! Some serious #NerdVibes from this #audiobook. 🤓

Cinfhen Not for me but happy you enjoyed 😘 3y
Cinfhen I‘m ok with being completely irrational 😅 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen lol! 😘😘 3y
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