How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I haven't read any of them, but over the last few years I've seen a pretty good number of books about human thinking processes – how it works, how it can/can't be changed, and how this can/may/should change the way we approach decision-making, etc. (it's not that I'm uninterested, there's only so much time). Unlike me, Alan Jacobs has read many of these – and one thing he notes, that while these books are great on the science of human cognition, there's also an art to it. Enter this book.

The sub-title is “A Survival Guide for a World at Odds.” Now, while it's clear that our society is quite divided, I honestly don't think that the world is really all that much more divided than we've been before – even in this society. However, I think it's safe to say that we're much more open and aggressive about the divisions that exists, and far less inclined to listen to the other side(s). Jacobs' writing can help his readers bridge some of the divisions with those they interact with (not every one will want to, I'm sure, but they could try if they want to). I almost think that this book could be called How to Disagree instead, because so much of the book (but not all of it) is about how to disagree with others like civil, empathetic, adults, looking to change minds (or have our own be changed); not simply to attack someone or win an argument.

Jacobs begins by showing what strategies, devices, etc. we all already use in our thinking (taken largely from common sense/experience or all the science-y books mentioned above), and then as we're aware of these, he shows how we can improve them. Building on ideas from one chapter to the next and showing how something we learned already can inform what he's discussing now, these are not individual essays, but a cumulative case. I find it difficult to give examples for just that reason – his is a carefully laid out argument, and summarizing some of my favorite components would do little justice to those parts and not work that well out of context. So, I'll keep it vague. He addresses how the idea of “thinking for oneself” is impossible, how it's problematic to have an “open mind” always, the importance of waiting, of not having to address everything, and how it's vital to keep a diverse selection of thoughtful people in your life.

Jacobs doesn't only draw from social sciences and philosophers (but he does, and frequently – in an accessible way), he cites and draws from Robin Sloan, Walter White, C. S. Lewis, George Orwell and many others. He does so in a way that illustrates his points, strengthens and furthers his arguments. (I point this out, because I just finished a book that seemed only to do this kind of thing to lengthen chapters – no light was added, just space taken up). While readers from High School on up can feel as if the ideas are stretching their minds, the writing will not – Jacobs (as always) is good at convincing the reader they can handle bigger ideas.

Frankly, I wish this book (or one much like it) was required reading for anyone wanting a social media account – I've been telling all sorts of people to read it for a few days now, and I probably won't stop anytime soon. How to Think is helpful, insightful, entertaining, wise, and – dare I say? – thought-provoking. Go get it.

Disclaimer: I received this copy from a Goodreads Giveaway.

This is a hard review to write. I found this book to be excellent, and I think I probably need to re-read it at least once more and potentially another couple of times to get the full benefit.

Basically, in this book, Alan Jacobs talks extensively about the way we, as individuals, need to rethink our interactions with people “from the other side.” I believe this would be beneficial for people on either side of the political spectrum, and especially for those people who have an interest in interacting with the other side for any reason. As I'm sure you know, in today's world, it's super easy to live in your own bubble and exclude thought that isn't along the same lines as what you believe. It's evident that there is little respect given from one side to the other in regular discourse and it's become toxic to the point that it is tearing the country apart.

This book won't solve that problem. But it's not for lack of trying. If everyone were forces to read it, it might actually help things. But in reality, that's never going to happen. Instead, people will continue to unfriend their conservative (or liberal) “former friends,” further pushing interaction and honest discourse to the side. Limiting their exposure to other ideas (that might actually benefit them!) so they can continue to hold doggedly to their group's ideology and making the other side seem more and more monstrous as time goes by.

While I feel strongly that the topics discussed were excellent and handled fairly, reading the book made me somewhat melancholy about things in general because I don't see any evidence that people in our current world even want to deal with the other side. People want to get emotionally involved and when groups of people get emotional, the herd mentality takes over, and unfortunately, that is never a good thing in society. Herd mentality almost always pushes things to their ultimate most disastrous outcome and that, unfortunately, is where I see things inevitably headed in Western society currently. God bless us (and save us) all.

Short Review: How to Think is a short book (157 pages of main content) that is somewhat along the lines of Exercise for Young Theologians or Letters to a Young (X) types of book. Jacobs is writing as an English professor that has taught comprehension and communication skill via literature and composition for more than 30 years. He is not specifically writing to ‘young people'. But it does feel a bit like wisdom from an elder in a good way.

How to think isn't a structured 5 steps to better thinking or an analysis of logical fallacies, although there is a discussion of logical fallacies and there are suggestions on how to think better. Largely it is about creating habits of thought that re-enforce good thinking.

First, stop overestimating yourself. You are probably not as good at thinking and being open to alternative ideas as you think you are. You are impacted by the community around you, there is no ‘independent thinking' that comes to your own ideas. All ideas are shared.

Start actually listening. Make sure you can not only understand others, but understand them in a way that they would agree with your assessment. And then surround yourself with good thinkers that think differently than you do. Assume people are not evil because they have different ideas. That doesn't mean all ideas are equally good, just that people rarely adopt different ideas because they are intentionally trying to be evil.

Much of this is about breaking down tribalism. Tribalism is part of how we are created. But we don't have to only by tribal. Jacobs uses the phrase, ‘by that you mean' as an example of how we have tribal interpretations. Often using a few words or metaphors to communicate far more than they were intended.

I am going to read this again in print. I listened to the audiobook in a day. (It is short). But if you are thinking about picking it up, I would skip to the back and read the 12 point checklist about how to think better. If that checklist makes rough sense, this is probably a good book to pick up.

It is not intended to be a definitive treatment of logical thinking. Nor is it claiming to be super innovative. But it is well written, clear and helpful.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/how-to-think/