Hardcover, 352 pages
Published May 23, 2022 by Portfolio.
The 2022 Porchlight Marketing and Sales Book of the Year
A brain-bending investigation of why some people never change their minds—and others do in an instant—by the bestselling author of You Are Not So Smart
What made a prominent conspiracy-theorist YouTuber finally see that 9/11 was not a hoax? How do voter opinions shift from neutral to resolute? Can widespread social change only take place when a generation dies out? From one of our greatest thinkers on reasoning, HOW MINDS CHANGE is a book about the science, and the experience, of transformation.
When self-delusion expert and psychology nerd David McRaney began a book about how to change someone’s mind in one conversation, he never expected to change his own. But then a diehard 9/11 Truther’s conversion blew up his theories—inspiring him to ask not just how to persuade, but why we believe, from the eye of the beholder. Delving into …
The 2022 Porchlight Marketing and Sales Book of the Year
A brain-bending investigation of why some people never change their minds—and others do in an instant—by the bestselling author of You Are Not So Smart
What made a prominent conspiracy-theorist YouTuber finally see that 9/11 was not a hoax? How do voter opinions shift from neutral to resolute? Can widespread social change only take place when a generation dies out? From one of our greatest thinkers on reasoning, HOW MINDS CHANGE is a book about the science, and the experience, of transformation.
When self-delusion expert and psychology nerd David McRaney began a book about how to change someone’s mind in one conversation, he never expected to change his own. But then a diehard 9/11 Truther’s conversion blew up his theories—inspiring him to ask not just how to persuade, but why we believe, from the eye of the beholder. Delving into the latest research of psychologists and neuroscientists, HOW MINDS CHANGE explores the limits of reasoning, the power of groupthink, and the effects of deep canvassing. Told with McRaney’s trademark sense of humor, compassion, and scientific curiosity, it’s an eye-opening journey among cult members, conspiracy theorists, and political activists, from Westboro Baptist Church picketers to LGBTQ campaigners in California—that ultimately challenges us to question our own motives and beliefs. In an age of dangerous conspiratorial thinking, can we rise to the occasion with empathy?
An expansive, big-hearted journalistic narrative, HOW MINDS CHANGE reaches surprising and thought-provoking conclusions, to demonstrate the rare but transformative circumstances under which minds can change.
I didn't start with high expectations for this book but was pleasantly surprised. It was very insightful and clearly written - a mix of interesting conversations, humane stories and individual journeys, as well as some social science, psychology and neuroscience theory and research. I really enjoyed reading it. Now I need to give McRaney's podcast a second chance.
Worth it just for that line. Interesting study on the history of argument.
This book isn't a how-to guide on how to change minds, although the author does provide some simple lists of steps for the casual reader. The book instead works as a survey of the best real-world examples that McRaney could find. A reader whose curiosity is sparked about deep canvassing or street epistemology can go seek out the literature. The value McRaney brings as a science writer is introducing these topics to the world, explaining them to the layperson, investigating the connections among them, and linking them to culture and politics.
And the book also isn't a how-to guide on how to win arguments. It’s more of a defense of arguing itself, when conducted in good faith, as critical to the human race.
Best of all is to see the author's optimistic tone compared to his first two books, You Are Not So Smart and You Are Now Less Dumb. …
This book isn't a how-to guide on how to change minds, although the author does provide some simple lists of steps for the casual reader. The book instead works as a survey of the best real-world examples that McRaney could find. A reader whose curiosity is sparked about deep canvassing or street epistemology can go seek out the literature. The value McRaney brings as a science writer is introducing these topics to the world, explaining them to the layperson, investigating the connections among them, and linking them to culture and politics.
And the book also isn't a how-to guide on how to win arguments. It’s more of a defense of arguing itself, when conducted in good faith, as critical to the human race.
Best of all is to see the author's optimistic tone compared to his first two books, You Are Not So Smart and You Are Now Less Dumb. While those are fun and enlightening books, they’re built on the premise that people are flawed, while How Minds Change is built on the premise that people are capable.
