by Adam Grant
51: xkcd.com.
52: Katharina Kugler.
53: © JimBenton.com.
54: Steve Macone/The New Yorker Collection/The Cartoon Bank; © Condé Nast.
55: www.CartoonCollections.com.
56: © 2020 EL Education.
57: © Chris Madden.
58: Hayley Lewis, Sketchnote summary of A Spectrum of Reasons for Failure. © 2020 HALO Psychology Limited. Illustration drawn May 2020. London, United Kingdom. / Edmondson, A. C. (2011, April). From “Strategies for Learning from Failure,” Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/04/strategies-for-learning-from-failure. This illustration is protected by UK and International copyright laws. Reproduction and distribution of the illustration without prior written permission of the artist is prohibited.
59: Cartoon © by Guy Downes. For more information: www.officeguycartoons.com.
60: Photo by Arthur Gebuys Photography/Shutterstock.
61: Saturday Night Live/NBC.
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INDEX
The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. The link provided will take you to the beginning of that print page. You may need to scroll forward from that location to find the corresponding reference on your e-reader.
Page numbers in italics refer to charts and illustrations.
abortion, conversations on, 163–64, 165–66
active learning, 186–88
lectures vs., 190–93, 196
addiction:
motivational interviewing as tool for combating, 149
as reinforced by failed arguments against, 146
agreeableness, 81–82
as barrier to rethinking, 83
social harmony vs. cognitive consensus in, 89
see also disagreeable people
Albert, Robert, 80–81
Allen, Grant, 185
Amazon, 218, 219
amygdala, and attacks on core beliefs, 60
animosity, stereotypes and, 127
Anton, Gabriel, 33–34
Anton’s syndrome, 33–35
Apple, iPhone introduced by, 29–31
approval, desire for, politician mindset and, 18–19, 21, 22, 22, 28, 80, 233
Arbery, Ahmaud, 10
arguments:
hierarchy of, 114, 114
prosecutor mindset and, 18, 19, 26, 233
see also debates
Aristotle, 247–48
armchair quarterback syndrome, 37
as barrier to rethinking, 42
impostor syndrome vs., 51
Arnold, Karen, 195
arrogance, 54
humility vs., 45
Ashby, Jeff, 129
Asimov, Isaac, 59
assumptions, 8, 9–12
active questioning of, 25
learning to rethink, 18
astrological signs, stereotyping and, 137–39
astronauts, overview effect and, 128–29
attachment, to erroneous ideas, 62
Austin (first grader), 201–2
autism, vaccination mistakenly linked to, 144, 158–59
awestruck effect, 192
Barsade, Sigal, 89
Battier, Shane, 131
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 114–15
beliefs and opinions, 26
attachment to, 62
attacks on, as threats to sense of self, 59–60, 63–64, 127
biases and, see biases
blind spots in, 75
calcification of, 4, 10, 17
challenges to, as opportunities for rethinking, 74, 75–76
convincing others to rethink, 97–160
core values vs., 64, 66n, 251
counterfactual thinking and, 137–39
debates about, see debates
detaching sense of self from, 12, 62–64, 69–70, 74, 76, 251–52
erroneous, see erroneous thinking
evidence vs., 24–25, 48, 73
evolution of, 26, 58
freedom of choice in, 60, 148, 255
Murray’s experiment on, 55–58, 60, 74–75
need for rethinking of, 12, 17, 18, 24, 55–76, 243
overconfidence and, 44
politician mindset in, see politician mindset
preacher mindset in, see preacher mindset
prosecutor mindset in, see prosecutor mindset
as reinforced by failed arguments against, 144–45
scientist mindset in, see scientist mindset
second opinions and, 18, 52
staying true to, 16
weakly held, 59, 116–17
Benchley, Robert, 165
Berger, Ron, 198–203, 246
best practices, process accountability vs., 216–19, 256
Beugoms, Jean-Pierre, 65–66
election forecasting by, 66–67, 69–71, 70, 71, 72–73
and joy of being wrong, 70, 71–72
scientist mindset of, 66–67
Bezos, Jeff, 72, 219
Bhutan, Gross National Happiness index of, 237
biases:
binary, 165–66, 169, 181
confirmation, 25, 174n, 252
denial of, 25
desirability, 25, 168, 173, 174n
status quo, 194n
Bigombe, Betty, in Uganda peace talks, 155–57, 159
binary bias, 165–66, 169, 181
Bird, Brad, 83, 87–88, 89
BlackBerry, 16, 23, 29, 31
Black Lives Matter movement, 10
Blakely, Sara, 47
blindness, patients’ denial of, 33–35
blind spots, mental, 60
as barrier to rethinking, 35
confidence and, 41, 45
recognition of, 54
self-awareness and, 48
blirtatiousness, 226–27
Boodman, Eric, 148
Boston Red Sox, Yankees’ rivalry with, 122–24, 126–27, 128, 133–36
brain, reward centers in, 123
Brautigan, Richard, 245n
Breuhaus, Rachel, 111
Brexit, 66, 69
business, motivational interviewing in, 151–53
career choices, 225–43
as actions vs. identities, 230
author and, 225–26
escalation of commitment in, 229–30
of Ryan Grant, 226–28, 230, 241
identity foreclosure and, 230, 242
overthinking and, 235n
periodic checkups on, 233–35
rethinking, 228, 230, 242–43
scientist mindset and, 235
“what do you want to be” question and, 225–26, 230, 231, 232
see also life plans
Cassidy, Chris, 205–7
caveats, 173–74, 176, 255
Cavett, Dick, 143
Central Park bird-watching incident, 181–83
challenge networks, 83–84, 200, 218, 253
author’s use of, 86–87, 246
corporate cultures and, 86
Pixar’s use of, 83–84
shared values in, 84n
Wright brothers as, 89–90
Challenger space shuttle disaster, 207
change, continuity and, 31
change talk, in motivational interviewing, 152–53
charged conversations, 163–83
binary bias and, 165, 166
complexification in, 165–66, 167–68, 255
emotions in, 179–83, 179, 255
idea cults and, 176–77
nuance in, 168, 171, 174, 176, 183
perspective-
taking vs. perspective-seeking in, 178
productive vs. unproductive, 179–80, 179, 180
scientist mindset in, 183
Chatman, Jennifer, 89
children, see kids
choice, freedom of, 148, 255
climate change, beliefs about:
binary bias and, 169
complexity and, 172–73
desirability bias and, 168
media and, 170–73
preacher mindset and, 168
skepticism vs. denial in, 169
spectrum of, 169–70, 170
in U.S., 167, 168
climate deniers, 169
Clinton, Hillary, in 2016 election, 69, 71
cognitive ability, emotional intelligence vs., 175–76
cognitive flexibility, see mental flexibility
cognitive laziness, 7–8
as barrier to rethinking, 4
Coleman, Peter T., 163–64, 179
collective rethinking, 11, 161–222, 255–57
Columbia space shuttle disaster, 207, 210–11, 220
Columbia University, 163
commitment, escalation of, 229–30
Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, 169–70
common ground, search for, 104–5, 107, 108–9, 254
common identity, 129
competence:
confidence vs., 33–54, 39, 43, 44, 48–49, 49, 252
humility and, 215n
complexification, 199
caveats and contingencies in, 173–74, 176, 255
in charged conversations, 165–67, 255
media and, 171–73
as signal of credibility, 171, 174
conclusions:
author’s view of, 245–46
in fiction, 245
confidence, 46–48
in capacity to learn, 48, 252
competence vs., 33–54, 39, 43, 44, 48–49, 49, 252
humility and, see confident humility
ignorance and, 33, 40–41, 42–46, 43, 44
as measure of faith in self, 46–47, 47, 49, 53
mental blindness and, 41, 45
see also armchair quarterback syndrome; impostor syndrome
confident humility, 46–48, 47, 49, 52–54, 67, 72n, 112, 116–19, 215, 249
in motivational interviewing, 147, 157
confirmation bias, 25, 28, 29, 174n, 252
conflict:
avoidance of, 81–82
constructive, 77–93, 253
as energizing for disagreeable people, 82, 84
in families, 80–81
in low-performing vs. high-performing groups, 78–80, 79
see also relationship conflict; task conflict
conformity, group polarization and, 127–28
confusion, in learning process, 199, 255, 256
constructive conflict, 77–93, 253
contingencies, 174, 176, 255
continuity, change and, 31
Cooper, Christian, 181–82
core values, 55–56
beliefs vs., 64, 66n, 251
coronavirus pandemic, 248, 249
rethinking assumptions in, 9–10
Costanza, George (char.), 68, 118
counterfactual thinking:
beliefs and, 137–39
destabilizing stereotypes with, 134–40
Coutifaris, Constantinos, 213
craft, mastery of, 198
Crane, Frasier (char.), 55
crises, reversion to learned responses in, 5–7
criticism, reception to, 87n
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, 27
Cuomo, Andrew, 249
curiosity, 27–28, 59, 67, 92, 102, 105, 106, 115, 117, 137, 140, 145, 147, 156–59, 165, 174, 180, 188, 197, 199, 200, 203, 211, 214, 221, 251, 255
in motivational interviewing, 147, 157
Dalio, Ray, 63
Darwin, Charles, 33
Davis, Daryl, in encounters with white supremacists, 121–22, 139–41, 151
Davis, Murray, 59
Dear Penn Freshmen (website), 197
debates, 97–119
adversarial approach to, 102–3, 107
brick walls in, 116
confident humility in, 116–17
curiosity in, 117
disagreements reframed as, 91–92
focusing on key points in, 109–11, 254
as negotiations, 104
nuance in, 117
politician mindset, 107–8
preacher mindset, 110
prosecutor mindset, 110
question-based approach in, 112–13
responses to hostility in, 113–16
scientist mindset in, 102–6, 107, 108–9
search for common ground in, 107, 108–9, 254
defend-attack spirals, 105, 109
deniers, skeptics vs., 169
desirability bias, 25, 28, 29, 71, 168, 173, 174n
detachment:
of opinions from identity, 62, 69–70, 76
of past from present sense of self, 62–63, 69, 76, 251
Difficult Conversations Lab, 163–64, 179
disagreeable people:
conflict as energizing for, 82, 84
as good critics, 86–87
task conflict and, 83, 84
task conflict encouraged by, 90
see also pirates
discovery, joy of, 69, 188, 198, 203
Disney, 85
Doctorow, E. L., 242
Dodge, Wagner, 1–2, 5–6, 8, 11
doubt, 4, 28, 30–31, 45, 65, 67, 92, 165, 208, 211, 221, 234, 243, 250
benefits of, 47–49, 52, 54, 80, 250
debilitating effect of, 46–47, 52–53
in rethinking cycles, 27, 45, 67, 83, 92, 112–13, 137, 140, 147, 158, 165, 171, 187, 188, 208, 234, 261
see also confident humility; self-doubt
drafts and revisions, in learning process, 199–203, 256
Duke University, UNC rivalry with, 131
dumbstruck effect, 192
Dunning, David, 38, 40, 44, 158
Dunning-Kruger effect, 38–39, 40–41, 42n, 43, 52, 53, 252
Durant, Kevin, 124n
Dutton, Jane, 242
Earth, as seen from space, 128–29
echo chambers, 61, 164, 252
Edmondson, Amy, 208–9, 217–18
education:
entrenched beliefs in, 17
teaching students to question knowledge, 185–203
see also learning; teachers, teaching
Einstein, Albert, 22
elections, U.S., of 2016, 66–67, 69–71, 70, 71, 164
EL Education, 201–2
emotional intelligence:
cognitive ability vs., 175–76
overestimating, 42
emotions, 24, 59, 63, 69, 75, 78
binary bias in, 180
in charged conversations, 179–83, 179, 255
mixed, 180–81
as works in progress, 180, 255
England, career choices in, 233n
entrepreneurship:
decisiveness as overvalued in, 21–22
scientist mindset and, 20–22, 21, 251
erroneous thinking, 55–76
attachment to, 62
echo chambers and filter bubbles in, 61, 164, 252
joy of acknowledging, 61–62, 65–66, 69, 70, 71–72, 89, 252
escalation of commitment, 229–30
Étienne-Rousseau, Marie-Hélène, 143, 145, 147–48, 155, 158–59
Étienne-Rousseau, Tobie, 143, 145, 147–48, 155
Eversley, Karina, 206
excellence, ethic of, 198, 200
experience, expertise vs., 43–44
experience machine, 194
expertise, experience vs., 43–44
experts, questioning judgment of, 18
Facebook, precursor to, 8
fallibility, acceptance of, 59
feedback, 86, 212–13, 256
Feynman, Richard, 59
fiction, conclusion in, 245
fight-or-flight response, 60
filter bubbles, 61, 164, 252
Floyd, George, 10
forecasting, accuracy of, 65–73
rethinking and, 67–68, 248
forecasting tournaments, 65, 73
Forster, E. M., 158
Fragale, Alison, 131
Gagneur, Arnaud, 148–49, 155, 158–59
Gates, Bill, 212
Gates, Melinda, 212
Mean Reviews video and, 214–15
Gates Foundation, 208
Mean Reviews video at, 214–15
psychological safety at, 212–13, 214–15
Give and Take (Grant), 62n
givers, success rate of, 61, 62n
Goldman, Emma, 245
Goleman, Daniel, 175
Good Judgment, 65
Goodwin, Doris Kearns, 121
Google, 209
Gore, Al, 167, 168–69
Graf, Steffi, 124n
Graham, Paul, 114
Grant, Adam (author):
agreeableness trait of, 81–82, 89
approach to debate, 103–4, 113–15
career choices and, 225–26
challenge network of, 86–87
complexifying conversations, 174–77
family background of, 226
and joy of being wrong, 62, 89
motivational interviewing and, 151–53
online social network and, 8–9
questioning stereotypes, 137–38
as teacher, 195–98
Grant, Ryan, medical career of, 226–28, 230, 241–42
Great Depression, 249
greatness, of composers, 114–15
Greenspan, Stephen, 18, 19
Grindle, Nicole, 88–89
grit, 229–30
group polarization:
conformity and, 128
stereotypes and, 127–28
groups:
contact between, 139
stereotypes and, 139
gun control, 164
habits, 8, 9
cognitive laziness and, 7–8
Handey, Jack, 225
Hansen, Chris, 207, 211
Hansen, Michele, 117–18
happiness, pursuit of, 237–38
environment and, 238–40
meaning vs., 238, 240–41