User Profile

Very informative to learn that the end of quarantines brought about by COVID vaccines were due in part to:

• Lessons learned from unglamorous work on medications for malaria and AIDS
• Decades of mRNA studies
• Computer modeling
• Earlier research backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to combat disease in poor areas of the world

If the COVID pandemic had occurred any earlier in human history, the results would have been even more devastating.

It's good that the author documented the struggles of the scientists and entrepreneurs who, after years of slow scientific progress, were able to quickly develop effective COVID vaccines.

The main downside is the writing style seemed a little odd to me. There were lots of short one-sentence paragraphs and quotes from main characters that didn't add anything to the story. And occasionally you come across text that seems completely out of place, like a reference to the TV show The Office, or the phrase "a serious dis."

Also, while the author admits that science is a "long, hard slog" where failure isn't really failure but an opportunity to learn, the book nonetheless focuses only on the winners of the COVID vaccine race (aside from some mention of drug giant Merck failing to partner with one of the successful labs). It would be interesting to learn about those who tried and failed to make COVID vaccines, and what the scientific community learned from those efforts. But maybe that's another book.

It took me three-fourths of a year but I finally made it through this book.

It has lots of names and places; it seems like each of the thousand pages could be expounded into a book itself. There are lots of examples of leaders doing the awful things they would have done anyway, but now with the certainty that they're doing it for Jesus Christ. There are also plenty of mentions of Christians doing great and helpful things in the world. There is a bit of theology, but overall events seem more driven by power and politics.

As a novice when it comes to history, I enjoyed this summary of civilizations in which Christians played a major role. The author has a pleasant style, occasionally snarky but mostly matter-of-fact. He doesn't have a horse in the race, which is a nice contrast to other books on Christianity which are starting with a conclusion and finding facts to fit that conclusion.

Recommended, but it might take a while.

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.

It's a rant, but one I enjoyed. The author is a college professor who sees experts and expert knowledge under attack by various forces such as:

• The nature of American rugged individualism, making those who want to be self-reliant wary of relying on the expertise of others
• Ever-improving marketing tactics that convince people that "the customer is always right", leading to "snowflakes" who cannot deal with being told they are wrong.
• Populist leaders who exploit people's paranoia and turn them against all authority figures (except the populist leader, of course, who is their hero and defender!)
• The "everyone gets a trophy" mentality that leads to the mistaken idea that, because everyone has equal rights under the law, somehow everyone's opinion or skills are equally useful.
• The Internet, which alters people's brains to believe they know more than they do, and to think of themselves as experts because of "research" that consists of looking stuff up on Google, or putting their trust in blogs and videos that give them opinions they already agree with.
• Poor decisions by experts themselves, who are tempted to speak outside their area of expertise, or to predict things they cannot reasonably predict, in order to be in the spotlight and make more money.

The author does admit that there have been times when people have been too trusting of experts and obedient to authority, such as the mid-twentieth century, but insists that things have gone too far in the other direction. At times I think he leans a little too far into dismissing people with legitimate gripes against corrupt authorities and systemic problems. Also his style is grumpy and hyperbolic (including the alarmist title), which probably helps sell the book.

Still, it's an engaging book, and I appreciate the author's plea to put experience and knowledge over gut reactions, curiosity over insularity, probability over certainty, and humility over bravado.

Do you know someone who is arrogant? Prideful, narcissistic, snowflake. They surround themselves with those who agree with them, or try to remake everyone they meet in their own image. In their mind, they always win. They call anyone who criticizes them "toxic" and love themselves just the way they are, because you can't improve on perfection. This seems bad.

But consider the opposite: the person who humbles themself to the point of self-loathing. They are a mere sinful human, totally depraved, incapable of being good. They think everyone is judging them and see the worst of every situation. Not wanting to make a decision or have any agency, this person becomes passive, leaving everything to God or human authorities rather than taking on responsibility⁠—rather than making the most use of whatever gifts they've been endowed with. This seems bad too.

The author of the book Confident Humility, Dan Kent, asks: what if humility is not the opposite of pride? What if shame and pride are actually the SAME THING, different expressions of the same human behavior that should be rejected? And in fact, humility is not the same as shame, but is rather a better alternative to both pride and shame?

Sounds novel and provocative, right?

Kent's book is short but packed with wisdom, includes personal and professional anecdotes, and uses plenty of excerpts from the Old and New Testament to back up his claims.

I heartily recommend this book. It leads me to reflect on how I think of and interact with others, and on how I consider myself. It's easy to read, and topic is clearly one that is important to the author. After reading the book, I'm convinced humility is an important topic for everyone.