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The Age of Magical Overthinking
- Notes on Modern Irrationality
- Narrated by: Amanda Montell
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
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The Age of Magical Overthinking
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Publisher's Summary
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.
Utilizing the linguistic insights of her “witty and brilliant” (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.
“Magical thinking” can be broadly defined as the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the “halo effect” cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger-than-life celebrities, to how the “sunk cost fallacy” can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we’ve realized they’re not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell’s prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.
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What the critics say
"An engaging package suitable for anyone who wants to better understand the chaos of our modern society. Montell’s take on how irrationality went mainstream is informed by erudite wit and an eye for telling images."—Kirkus, starred review
“Written with wit, smarts, and self-deprecating charm, The Age of Magical Overthinking is at once a guidebook for the era of misinformation and an illuminating, palm-to-the-forehead reveal of the delusions that underlie our own beliefs. Rarely have so few pages explained so much, so entertainingly.”—Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author of Stiff, Gulp, and Fuzz
"Empathetic and enviously shrewd, The Age of Magical Overthinking will cleanse your beleaguered mind the way a Tiktok 'guru' never could. Amanda Montell is a relatable and often brazenly funny narrator, as she creates a blueprint to breaking our minds’ worst habits. Who knew there was a path out of the forest of brain rot!"—Sabrina Imbler, author of How Far the Light Reaches
Editorial Review
What listeners say about The Age of Magical Overthinking
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shelby Ch'ng
- 2024-05-02
Modern slice on cognitive biases
I came across this book during a podcast and thought I'd look it up. I suggested it for my book club and I am so excited for the next meeting to discuss! Amanda is not only a great writer and has the linguistic skills of a trained ninja! She also has a very pleasant audio voice as well. The new triple threat for the modern woman. Well informed, uses all the best words, and makes me feel I am smarter for listening. Thank you for writing such a great book that helps me make sense of the world we are living in. A thousand thumbs up, hearts, likes or whatever the most appropriate social media thing is. It's hard not to put a halo on Amanda but she has a small "h" hallo (to give her space to be human). I'm a culty follower for sure! #noPressureAmanda #HugeFanInTheBestWay
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Hannah Kochuk
- 2024-05-06
Great casual read or listen
I like the way that Amanda describes complex ideas in a digestible manner but it was almost too simple at times. Still very entertaining and I like the way she cited her resources as it was easy to find the sources. Also, drink every time Amanda says bevy.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Maxime Tanguay
- 2024-05-20
Uneven but enjoyable
It was pleasant to listen to, and parts of the book sparked interesting thoughts. I appreciated the author’s candid honesty in recounting less flattering parts of her life. However, the overall work felt uneven. By the end, it became clear that the author didn’t succeed in seamlessly integrating the disparate elements. While some sections were good, the book as a whole felt inconsistent.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Laura W
- 2024-05-14
Pretty good but title overpromised
I was hoping for another zinger from Amanda, like Cultish, but didn’t get it from this book and I found myself wondering by the end what any of it had to do with the title, which I was excited about at first but I thought missed the mark. I like Amanda’s work overall but this one seemed oversaturated with unnecessary and sometimes cringey similes (the gift wrap / exacto knife one particularly annoyed me). Hope the next book has more bite!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Krystyna K.
- 2024-04-29
A Salve For My Mind
I think we all need this book. Amanda Montell, thank you!! There’s so much I could say, but don’t know where to start. If you’re reading this review and curious about The Age of Magical Overthinking, just press play and enjoy.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Pamela Trischuk
- 2024-08-26
Meh
It’s a fine book, though at times feels a little disjointed and confused about what it is about/wants to be. Is it memoir or pop psych? Sociological exploration or rant? Really feel like the title, descriptors and even branding of this one miss the mark and are a bit misleading as to what you’re actually gonna get.
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