Shackled: Why We Are Predisposed to Resist Belief Change and How to Overcome Our Instincts

Shackled: Why We Are Predisposed to Resist Belief Change and How to Overcome Our Instincts PDF

Author: Fiona So

Publisher: Fiona So

Published: 2023-12-10

Total Pages: 107

ISBN-13:

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"Shackled: Why We Are Predisposed to Resist Belief Change and How to Overcome Our Instincts" is a riveting exploration into the human psyche. This book uncovers the hidden chains of cognitive biases that bind our thinking and decision-making processes, revealing why we are naturally inclined to resist changes in our beliefs. Navigating the complex terrain of neuroscience, the book demystifies the brain's design and our inherent predispositions, making these intricate concepts approachable for all readers. The narrative is punctuated with personal anecdotes, painting a vivid picture of how these biases manifest in real-world situations. But what sets this book apart is its focus on breaking free from these chains. It provides practical and actionable strategies to counteract our inherent resistance to belief change, encouraging a shift from emotional reactions to rational problem-solving. By understanding and overcoming our instinctual biases, we can make more informed decisions and improve our quality of life. "Shackled" is more than a book—it's a catalyst for self-reflection, critical thinking, and personal growth. It champions the importance of lifelong learning and continuous self-improvement, serving as a valuable guide for those wishing to unshackle their minds and navigate life with greater mindfulness and clarity.

The Believing Brain

The Believing Brain PDF

Author: Michael Shermer

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2011-05-24

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1429972610

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The Believing Brain is bestselling author Michael Shermer's comprehensive and provocative theory on how beliefs are born, formed, reinforced, challenged, changed, and extinguished. In this work synthesizing thirty years of research, psychologist, historian of science, and the world's best-known skeptic Michael Shermer upends the traditional thinking about how humans form beliefs about the world. Simply put, beliefs come first and explanations for beliefs follow. The brain, Shermer argues, is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses, the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning. Our brains connect the dots of our world into meaningful patterns that explain why things happen, and these patterns become beliefs. Once beliefs are formed the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which accelerates the process of reinforcing them, and round and round the process goes in a positive-feedback loop of belief confirmation. Shermer outlines the numerous cognitive tools our brains engage to reinforce our beliefs as truths. Interlaced with his theory of belief, Shermer provides countless real-world examples of how this process operates, from politics, economics, and religion to conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and the paranormal. Ultimately, he demonstrates why science is the best tool ever devised to determine whether or not a belief matches reality.

How We Know What Isn't So

How We Know What Isn't So PDF

Author: Thomas Gilovich

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2008-06-30

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1439106746

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Thomas Gilovich offers a wise and readable guide to the fallacy of the obvious in everyday life. When can we trust what we believe—that "teams and players have winning streaks," that "flattery works," or that "the more people who agree, the more likely they are to be right"—and when are such beliefs suspect? Thomas Gilovich offers a guide to the fallacy of the obvious in everyday life. Illustrating his points with examples, and supporting them with the latest research findings, he documents the cognitive, social, and motivational processes that distort our thoughts, beliefs, judgments and decisions. In a rapidly changing world, the biases and stereotypes that help us process an overload of complex information inevitably distort what we would like to believe is reality. Awareness of our propensity to make these systematic errors, Gilovich argues, is the first step to more effective analysis and action.

The Cult of Smart

The Cult of Smart PDF

Author: Fredrik deBoer

Publisher: All Points Books

Published: 2020-08-04

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1250200385

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Named one of Vulture’s Top 10 Best Books of 2020! Leftist firebrand Fredrik deBoer exposes the lie at the heart of our educational system and demands top-to-bottom reform. Everyone agrees that education is the key to creating a more just and equal world, and that our schools are broken and failing. Proposed reforms variously target incompetent teachers, corrupt union practices, or outdated curricula, but no one acknowledges a scientifically-proven fact that we all understand intuitively: Academic potential varies between individuals, and cannot be dramatically improved. In The Cult of Smart, educator and outspoken leftist Fredrik deBoer exposes this omission as the central flaw of our entire society, which has created and perpetuated an unjust class structure based on intellectual ability. Since cognitive talent varies from person to person, our education system can never create equal opportunity for all. Instead, it teaches our children that hierarchy and competition are natural, and that human value should be based on intelligence. These ideas are counter to everything that the left believes, but until they acknowledge the existence of individual cognitive differences, progressives remain complicit in keeping the status quo in place. This passionate, voice-driven manifesto demands that we embrace a new goal for education: equality of outcomes. We must create a world that has a place for everyone, not just the academically talented. But we’ll never achieve this dream until the Cult of Smart is destroyed.

Why Fish Don't Exist

Why Fish Don't Exist PDF

Author: Lulu Miller

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2021-04-06

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1501160346

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Nineteenth-century scientist David Starr Jordan built one of the most important fish specimen collections ever seen, until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake shattered his life's work.

The Anatomy of Violence

The Anatomy of Violence PDF

Author: Adrian Raine

Publisher: Pantheon

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 501

ISBN-13: 0307378845

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Provocative and timely: a pioneering neurocriminologist introduces the latest biological research into the causes of--and potential cures for--criminal behavior. With an 8-page full-color insert, and black-and-white illustrations throughout.

Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps

Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps PDF

Author: Jennifer Garvey Berger

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2019-01-29

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 1503609782

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Author and consultant Jennifer Garvey Berger has worked with all types of leaders—from top executives at Google to nonprofit directors who are trying to make a dent in social change. She hears a version of the same plea from every client in nearly every sector around the world: "I know that complexity and uncertainty are testing my instincts, but I don't know which to trust. Is there some way to know what to do when I can't know what's next?" Her newest work is an answer to this plea. Using her background in adult development, complexity theories, and leadership consultancy, Garvey Berger discerns five pernicious and pervasive "mind traps" to frame the book. These are: the desire for simple stories, our sense that we are right, our desire to get along with others in our group, our fixation with control, and our constant quest to protect and defend our egos. In addition to understanding why these natural impulses steer us wrong in a fast-moving world, leaders will get powerful questions and approaches that help them escape these patterns.

How Change Happens

How Change Happens PDF

Author: Duncan Green

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 0198785399

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"DLP, Developmental Leadership Program; Australian Aid; Oxfam."

Wounded Boys Heroic Men

Wounded Boys Heroic Men PDF

Author: Daniel Jay Sonkin

Publisher: Adams Media

Published: 1998-06-01

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9781580620109

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Offers adult male victims of child abuse a procedure for facilitating the recovery process, and suggests ways to break the cycle of violence.