How Minds Change

By David McRaney,

Book cover of How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion

Book description

Genes create brains, brains create beliefs, beliefs create attitudes, attitudes create group-identities, group identities create norms, norms create values, and values create cultures. The most effective persuasion techniques work backwards.

Ideas sweep across cultures in waves, beginning with early adopters who reduce uncertainty for the rest of the population. It's…

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Why read it?

3 authors picked How Minds Change as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

One of my favorite podcasts is David McRaney’s You Are Not So Smart, so I guessed his latest book would be fantastic. I was not disappointed.

Too many books that address the cognitive biases governing our beliefs either 1) treat the topic like a basket of insurmountable problems or 2) treat the topic like something we can only impact within our own mind. 

The third option is what fascinates me most, and it’s what McRaney bravely and superbly tackles: How can we use an understanding of how minds think and change to guide how we communicate with others (a…

I read a lot about the brain and how humans make decisions – and this book by David McRaney completely blew my mind.

Inspired by his own curiosity into why some people change their minds in incredibly drastic ways (like leaving a cult) when so many others remain stagnant. What is the difference? How can we use that insight to encourage better decision making and open mindedness?

David takes you on a journey of his own discovery with insights from experts, joining a team knocking on doors to understand voter polls, and so much more. The fundamental insights into how…

From Melina's list on having more influence at work.

I am a long-time fan of David McRaney’s.

He’s smart, funny, and provides well-written insights into how our brains work, a topic I passionately care about. I recommend all of his books, but his latest targets the topic of this collection – having a good conversation with someone who disagrees with us.

You will learn from David’s experience and research why simply laying out the facts doesn’t work and how *not* working hard to convince someone turns out to be the most convincing thing we can do!

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