How to Think

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How to Think is a contrarian treatise on why we re not as good at thinking as we assume but how recovering this lost art can rescue our inner lives from the chaos of modern life As a celebrated cultural critic and a writer for national publications like The Atlantic and Harper s, Alan Jacobs has spent his adult life belonging to communities that often clash in America s culture wars And in his years of confronting the big issues that divide us political, social, religious Jacobs has learned that many of our fiercest disputes occur not because we re doomed to be divided, but because the people involved simply aren t thinking.Most of us don t want to think, Jacobs writes Thinking is trouble Thinking can force us out of familiar, comforting habits, and it can complicate our relationships with like minded friends Finally, thinking is slow, and that s a problem when our habits of consuming information mostly online leave us lost in the spin cycle of social media, partisan bickering, and confirmation bias.In this smart, endlessly entertaining book, Jacobs diagnoses the many forces that act on us to prevent thinking forces that have only worsened in the age of Twitter, alternative facts, and information overload and he also dispels the many myths we hold about what it means to think well For example It s impossible to think for yourself Drawing on sources as far flung as novelist Marilynne Robinson, basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, British philosopher John Stuart Mill, and Christian theologian C.S Lewis, Jacobs digs into the nuts and bolts of the cognitive process, offering hope that each of us can reclaim our mental lives from the impediments that plague us all Because if we can learn to think together, maybe we can learn to live together, too. Read How to Think by Alan Jacobs – kino-fada.fr A fascinating discussion of how to get outside our biases, as best we can, avoid instinctual group think and be open to change Despite referencing classic literature and philosophy and the latest research, the book is an engaging and conversational read It is talking throu...Short Review How to Think is a short book 157 pages of main content that is somewhat along the lines of Exercise for Young Theologians or Letters to a Young X types of book Jacobs is writing as an English professor that has taught comprehension and communication skill via literature and composition forthan 30 years He is not specifically writing to young people But it does feel a bit like wisdom from an elder in a good way.How to think isn t a structured 5 steps to better thinkin Short Review How to Think is a short book 157 pages of main content that is somewhat along the lines of Exercise for Young Theologians or Letters to a Young X types of book Jacobs is writing as an English professor that has taught comprehension and communication skill via literature and comp...I read pretty much anything Alan Jacobs publishes How to Think A Survival Guide for a World at Odds is yet another great read.This book is Alan Jacobs not half baked but maybe 90% baked, and it s still fantastic It felt to me like one long essay, very much in the Jacobs style, which means a lot of trenchant intellectual commentary, delivered smoothly, on interesting stories But whereas Original Sin, which was very much in the same vein, felt to me like it drove me to a point and wrapped a I read pret...A great, short little book on how to have empathy with others who think differently Jacobs is always enjoyable and this is essentially a book length treatment on how to not be insane because of the internet Much needed, very fun.Such an important topic for today s angry, divided world Jacobs talks about how we decide who is our RCO Repugnant Cultural Other and how we don t bother to try to understand their point of view, choosing instead to gather information that reinforces our ow...There were some interesting insights in here and a little bit of reactionary conservative complaints which was surprising in a book about not being reactionary But when he describes his debate society s norms, I thought it was a great idea Basically, before you can debate, you have to restate the other person s position in a way that they would find satisfactory Seems like great advice for our society I do think we ve lost the ability to debate properly We need somereasoned civility There were some interesting insights in here and a little bit of reactionary conservative complaints which was surprising in a book about not being reactionary But w...Dr Jacobs was one of my first lit professors in college, and I have tremendous respect for him as a thinker I am almost always interested in what he has to say on a topic except soccer , and can count on his thoughts to be measured and fair All that to say, I was predisposed to like this book and did I agree with some reviews that it s not necessarily a revelation, but it s a useful and brief meditation on thinking and how to approach it Jacobs does get a little smug, but it s not somethin Dr Jacobs was one of my first lit professors in college, and I have tremendous respect for him as a thinker I am a...I should probably give it 5 minutes before I pass judgment on this book Alas A helpful toeing into the world of cognitive biases and metacognition for those like myself who get claustrophobic and skeptical and a little disoriented after 15 minutes on Slate Star Codex The organization of the text at the chapter level appeared contrived, and I wish Jacobs editor had drawn ok, it s Jacobs, PDF annotated a heavy red line through all the parenthetical observations, but it s hard to begrudge s I should probably give it 5 minutes before I pass judgment on this book Alas A helpful toeing into the world of cognitive biases and metacognition for those like myself who get claustrophobic and skeptical and a little disoriented after 15 minutes on Slate Star Codex The organizati...We desperately need to think in an age where sound bites and polemics rule We need a way to actually engage in conversation instead of constant oneupmanship, name calling, and outrage Alan Jacobs provides a framework for akind, compassionate, empathetic approach to thinking about not just rejecting new ideas, dealing with pressure from our circles when adopting novel or contrary ideas, and having strong convictions yet being open to truly listening to others He says thinking iso We desperately need to think in an age whe...A little book that offers much to, um, think about Really About the role language and metaphor play in our thoughts and interactions, and how group dynamics influence how we perceive not only the world but the ...

How to Think
  • 24 June 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 160 pages
  • 0451499603
  • Alan Jacobs
  • How to Think