Luminous English

THE SMARTER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY FAILMental horsepower doesn’t guarantee mental dexterity. No matter how much brainpower you have, if you lack the motivation to change your mind, you’ll miss many occasions to think again. Research reveals that the higher you score on an IQ test, the more likely youare to fall for stereotypes, because you’re faster at recognizing patterns

Decades before becoming a smartphone pioneer, Mike Lazaridis was recognized as a science prodigy. In middle school, he made thelocal news for building a solar panel at the science fair and won anaward for reading every science book in the public library. If youopen his eighth-grade yearbook, you’ll see a cartoon showing Mike asa mad scientist, with bolts of lightning shooting out

Over the following year, the startups in the control groupaveraged under $300 in revenue. The startups in the scientific thinking group averaged over $12,000 in revenue. They brought in revenue more than twice as fast—and attracted customers sooner,too. Why? The entrepreneurs in the control group tended to stay wedded to their original strategies and products. It was too easy to

A DIFFERENT PAIR OF GOGGLESIf you’re a scientist by trade, rethinking is fundamental to your profession. You’re paid to be constantly aware of the limits of your understanding. You’re expected to doubt what you know, be curious about what you don’t know, and update your views based on new data. In the past century alone, the application of scientific principleshas led to dr

When a man named Stephen Greenspan found himself in that situation, he decided to weigh his skeptical friend’s warning againstthe data available. His sister had been investing in the fund for several years, and she was pleased with the results. A number of her friends had been, too; although the returns weren’t extraordinary,they were consistently in the double digits. The fina

SECOND THOUGHTSWith advances in access to information and technology, knowledge isn’t just increasing. It’s increasing at an increasing rate. In 2011, youconsumed about five times as much information per day as you would have just a quarter century earlier. As of 1950, it took about fifty years for knowledge in medicine to double. By 1980, medical knowledge was doubling every s

CHAPTER 1 APreacher, a Prosecutor, a Politician,anda Scientist Walk into Your Mind Progressis impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannotchange anything.-George Bernard Shaw You probably don’t recognize his name, but Mike Lazaridishas had a defining impact on your life. From an early age, it was clear that Mike was something of an electronics wizard.

The third section is about how we can create communities oflifelong learners. In social life, a lab that specializes in difficultconversations will shed light on how we can communicate betterabout polarizing issues like abortion and climate change. In schools,you’ll find out how educators teach kids to think again by treatingclassrooms like museums, approaching projects like carp

Since then, rethinking has become central to my sense of self.I’m a psychologist but I’m not a fan of Freud, I don’t have a couch inmy office, and I don’t do therapy. As an organizational psychologistat Wharton, I’ve spent the past fifteen years researching and teachingevidence-based management. As an entrepreneur of data and ideas,I’ve been called by organizations like

If you’re a firefighter, dropping your tools doesn’t just requireyou to unlearn habits and disregard instincts. Discarding yourequipment means admitting failure and shedding part of youridentity. You have to rethink your goal in your job—and your role inlife. “Fires are not fought with bodies and bare hands, they are foughtwith tools that are often distinctive trademarks of