Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know
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- Create Date：2021-03-18 22:19:53
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Adam M. Grant
- ISBN：0753553880
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Summary
We need to spend as much time rethinking as we do thinking。
Why do we refresh our wardrobes every year， renovate our kitchens every decade， but never update our beliefs and our views？ Why do we laugh at people using computers that are ten years old， but yet still cling to opinions we formed ten years ago？
For too many of us， our ways of thinking become habits that we don't bother to question， and mental laziness leads us to prefer the ease of old routines to the difficulty of new ones。 We fail to update the beliefs we formed in the past for the challenges we face in the present。 But in a rapidly changing world， we need to spend as much time rethinking as we do thinking。 Think Again is a book about the benefit of doubt， and about how we can get better at embracing the unknown and the joy of being wrong。 Evidence has shown that creative geniuses are not attached to one identity， but constantly willing to rethink their stances and that leaders who admit they don't know something and seek critical feedback lead more productive and innovative teams。
New evidence shows us that as a mindset and a skilllset， rethinking can be taught and Grant explains how to develop the necessary qualities to do it。 Section 1 explores why we struggle to think again and how we can learn to do it as individuals， arguing that 'grit' alone can actually be counterproductive。 Section 2 discusses how we can help others think again through learning about 'argument literacy'。 And the final section 3 looks at how schools， businesses and governments fall short in building cultures that encourage rethinking。
In the end， learning to rethink may be the secret skill to give you the edge in a world changing faster than ever。
Why do we refresh our wardrobes every year， renovate our kitchens every decade， but never update our beliefs and our views？ Why do we laugh at people using computers that are ten years old， but yet still cling to opinions we formed ten years ago？
For too many of us， our ways of thinking become habits that we don't bother to question， and mental laziness leads us to prefer the ease of old routines to the difficulty of new ones。 We fail to update the beliefs we formed in the past for the challenges we face in the present。 But in a rapidly changing world， we need to spend as much time rethinking as we do thinking。 Think Again is a book about the benefit of doubt， and about how we can get better at embracing the unknown and the joy of being wrong。 Evidence has shown that creative geniuses are not attached to one identity， but constantly willing to rethink their stances and that leaders who admit they don't know something and seek critical feedback lead more productive and innovative teams。
New evidence shows us that as a mindset and a skilllset， rethinking can be taught and Grant explains how to develop the necessary qualities to do it。 Section 1 explores why we struggle to think again and how we can learn to do it as individuals， arguing that 'grit' alone can actually be counterproductive。 Section 2 discusses how we can help others think again through learning about 'argument literacy'。 And the final section 3 looks at how schools， businesses and governments fall short in building cultures that encourage rethinking。
In the end， learning to rethink may be the secret skill to give you the edge in a world changing faster than ever。
Reviews
Michael Smith
，
I think this would be a good book for teachers and all people who interact with others。 Keep an open mind to the message。 Question everything。 Present your views but listen to others who have conflicting or totally opposite ones。 Seek where there is shared views。 Accept when you are wrong。 A major take away is that every book written is one person interpretation of another view of the research they've conducted。 That's not to say it's wrong or right。 It's just an analysis of what they found。 It I think this would be a good book for teachers and all people who interact with others。 Keep an open mind to the message。 Question everything。 Present your views but listen to others who have conflicting or totally opposite ones。 Seek where there is shared views。 Accept when you are wrong。 A major take away is that every book written is one person interpretation of another view of the research they've conducted。 That's not to say it's wrong or right。 It's just an analysis of what they found。 It was a book outside of my normal interest。 Which presents additional info to some of the other books that I've recently read。 Continue growth。 。。。more
Jung
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Harboring doubt doesn’t make you weak or incompetent， and neither does making a mistake。 True progress and personal growth are born from constantly reassessing your ideas and opinions， and by adopting a humble attitude toward knowledge。 So the next time someone tells you they’re 100 percent sure that they’re right and you’re wrong， you can be almost certain that it’s them who needs to think again。Actionable advice: You are your values， not your beliefs。How do you define yourself？ If you get your Harboring doubt doesn’t make you weak or incompetent， and neither does making a mistake。 True progress and personal growth are born from constantly reassessing your ideas and opinions， and by adopting a humble attitude toward knowledge。 So the next time someone tells you they’re 100 percent sure that they’re right and you’re wrong， you can be almost certain that it’s them who needs to think again。Actionable advice: You are your values， not your beliefs。How do you define yourself？ If you get your sense of identity from your beliefs， then you might want to think again。 When your sense of self comes from the opinions you hold， it makes it far more difficult to change them。 Because your whole identity is based on them， you end up getting defensive and clinging on to opinions， even when evidence suggests they’re no longer valid。 So instead of identifying with your beliefs， define yourself through your values instead。 After all， your core values， such as fairness， integrity， or excellence， won’t need to change throughout your life， but your beliefs about how to advance them probably will。 。。。more
Frederik Jukema
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In this time of *accelerated change* we should always rethink and re-evaluate our current standpoint。 This book explains that very well and has some great practical tips on how to put on our *scientist mindset* and think like scientists。 Truly a great and informative book！
Zhivko Kabaivanov
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Think Again （2021） examines the science behind changing your mind – and persuading others to change theirs。 It explores the biases and assumptions that we bring to our decision-making， and outlines how individuals and organizations can build a mindset of lifelong curiosity。
QUINNS
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Having doubts does not make you weak or incompetent， and neither does making a mistake。 Actual progress and personal growth are born from continually reassuring your ideas and opinions and adopting a humble attitude toward knowledge。 So whenever someone tells you that they are 100 per cent sure that they're right and you're wrong， you could be almost certain that it's them who needs to rethink。 You are your values， not your beliefs。 You are stabbing yourself in the foot if you get your sense of Having doubts does not make you weak or incompetent， and neither does making a mistake。 Actual progress and personal growth are born from continually reassuring your ideas and opinions and adopting a humble attitude toward knowledge。 So whenever someone tells you that they are 100 per cent sure that they're right and you're wrong， you could be almost certain that it's them who needs to rethink。 You are your values， not your beliefs。 You are stabbing yourself in the foot if you get your sense of identity from your views。 When your sense of self comes from the opinions you hold， it makes it far more difficult to change them。 You ended up getting defensive and clinging to views， even when evidence suggests they are invalid。 So instead of identifying with your beliefs， define yourself through your values instead。 After all， your core values， such as fairness， integrity， or excellence， won't need to change throughout your life。 But， as this book suggests， your beliefs about how to advance those values probably will。 。。。more
Martin Kilkenny
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Pretty good。 Some ideas were great。 Others had me drifting for a bit。
Scarlet Bushman
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I skimmed the second half of the book because it was due at the library。 Very Interesting read。 It encourages us to not “think we know it all” and how to talk to others of opposing views which was all Interesting。
suki
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 One of my biggest weaknesses is basing all project decisions based on “data”。 I put this in quotations not because it is falsified data， but because it may simply be the wrong data to focus on， or look at。I mention this because Adam challenges you to continuously ask yourself…”what would change my mind？”Recently I had a project with the goal of ensuring timely returns for device analysis （successful， but because I was challenged） where we desired data to measure our success。 The problem was the One of my biggest weaknesses is basing all project decisions based on “data”。 I put this in quotations not because it is falsified data， but because it may simply be the wrong data to focus on， or look at。I mention this because Adam challenges you to continuously ask yourself…”what would change my mind？”Recently I had a project with the goal of ensuring timely returns for device analysis （successful， but because I was challenged） where we desired data to measure our success。 The problem was the data wasn’t clean， or mainly unavailable。 With tunnel vision， I was convinced the solution would be to of course fix the process， but in the interim， calculate the estimated x% of data that was unreliable。 It was here that I was challenged by a senior - “are you sure this is worth doing？” While this was not the exact words that Adam would use， this is an example of how I didn’t use the drafting method。 I was honed in on one solution and it turned out that our efforts， time and resources would be better placed putting the process in place rather than calculating how wrong our data was （which we already knew）。It took one minute of questioning my proposal for a lightbulb to go off in my head - hm， maybe my hypothesis was wrong after all。 If I’d proposed 4 solutions， peer reviews may have gone more smoothly。Adam also mentions three phases one goes through:1。 I’m not important2。 I am important3。 I want to contribute to something important。I teeter between 1 and 2 often。 It was in this moment I leaned towards 3。 There have been many moments of stubbornness on my part like this in my career。 I’ve always looked up to scientists because I imagined them to be the best and the brightest。 The problem is I quantified this to textbook knowledge and solving problems quickly。 In reality， they are always doubting themselves… confident humility。 I’m taking a page from Adam’s routine and setting aside some time per week （or who knows， maybe I need it per day） to challenge why my decisions and project planning is wrong。 。。。more
Shubham Kumar
，
A Good Read， but it heavily revolves around an idea， so it feels like it's getting too dragged at times。 Nonetheless， a book worth the time。 A Good Read， but it heavily revolves around an idea， so it feels like it's getting too dragged at times。 Nonetheless， a book worth the time。 。。。more
Colin Marks
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It seems these days people are becoming polarised， stuck in the trench of their opinions and unwilling to listen or accept other views。 This is prominent in politics， especially in the USA， where the majority of votes follow party lines。 This wasn't always the case， but the explosion of social media and politicised news broadcasting has formed echo chambers where non-opposing， dissenting views are rarely heard。 People are losing the skill of having nuanced conversations， and therefore aren't cha It seems these days people are becoming polarised， stuck in the trench of their opinions and unwilling to listen or accept other views。 This is prominent in politics， especially in the USA， where the majority of votes follow party lines。 This wasn't always the case， but the explosion of social media and politicised news broadcasting has formed echo chambers where non-opposing， dissenting views are rarely heard。 People are losing the skill of having nuanced conversations， and therefore aren't changing their minds on important issues。Adam Grant's Think Again discusses how this can be avoided。 By seeking out information that goes against your views， engaging and asking questions of people who disagree， and frequently challenging and questioning your own opinions， you can adjust your thoughts。The book is well researched， well structured and fun to read。 Recommended。Book supplied by Netgalley for an honest review。 。。。more
Gail Blanco
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A great book to read， especially if you've read and enjoyed Blink， by Malcolm Gladwell。 What's learned in Blink is very important， but not the end of an ongoing process。 A great book to read， especially if you've read and enjoyed Blink， by Malcolm Gladwell。 What's learned in Blink is very important， but not the end of an ongoing process。 。。。more
Nancy
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Some interesting thoughts but nothing revolutionary。 The author endlessly promotes himself and his “wisdom” in the many examples he sites。
Jim
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As a rule， Americans loathe wafflers; we tend to elevate those who hold to their beliefs， no matter what。 But maybe it’s time to think again about that mindset。 Grant reveals the power of positive re-thinking。
Dana Pope
，
This is an incredible book。 How can anyone learn or grow without being open to other ideas or be open to just learn。 Just because we have always thought a certain way doesn't guarantee we are right。 Our mind has to be open to receive information， and admit when we've made a mistake。 Being wrong doesn't mean we are foolish or weak， it means we are learning。Rethinking is how we keep our knowledge and our thoughts up to date。 We need to be willing to open our minds， not die by our， that's how we ha This is an incredible book。 How can anyone learn or grow without being open to other ideas or be open to just learn。 Just because we have always thought a certain way doesn't guarantee we are right。 Our mind has to be open to receive information， and admit when we've made a mistake。 Being wrong doesn't mean we are foolish or weak， it means we are learning。Rethinking is how we keep our knowledge and our thoughts up to date。 We need to be willing to open our minds， not die by our， that's how we have always thought， beliefs。 This is a great read。 。。。more
Scott Wozniak
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Another strong book from Adam Grant， this time on the learning process。 Before we can grow or improve， we have to be open to learning。 This book is an exploration of how to do that， what keeps us from doing it more， including a lot of practical ways to apply that in our lives。 Learning new things includes unlearning your old stuff。 In the end， it can become a pleasure all it's own， but it isn't automatic。 Another strong book from Adam Grant， this time on the learning process。 Before we can grow or improve， we have to be open to learning。 This book is an exploration of how to do that， what keeps us from doing it more， including a lot of practical ways to apply that in our lives。 Learning new things includes unlearning your old stuff。 In the end， it can become a pleasure all it's own， but it isn't automatic。 。。。more
Stefan Andrei
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Great listen with lots of useful advice and examples on how to improve our way of thinking and question our sometimes-locked beliefs。A few things I picked up in this one:- How impostor syndrome can actually be beneficial to growth。- Various ways to improve active listening and questioning with the goal to put the interlocutors thinking under his own scrutiny。 - Identity foreclosure and how it can lead to depression and later identity crisis- Embracing "being wrong" as opposed to seeing it as a f Great listen with lots of useful advice and examples on how to improve our way of thinking and question our sometimes-locked beliefs。A few things I picked up in this one:- How impostor syndrome can actually be beneficial to growth。- Various ways to improve active listening and questioning with the goal to put the interlocutors thinking under his own scrutiny。 - Identity foreclosure and how it can lead to depression and later identity crisis- Embracing "being wrong" as opposed to seeing it as a failure。 - Motivational interviewing， that is apparently being used by vaccine whisperers to change the minds of anti-vaxxers。 。。。more
Lama Nassar
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As I go through my highlights and sit to rate this book， I'm on the fence between 4 or 5 stars- Going with the 4 for now， notwithstanding the right to rethink it。 Grant raises great arguments that I completely agree with， however part of me found some of his reasoning too anecdotal and simplistic。 He may have fell for desirability bias？ Being the indecisive person I am， I was almost inclined to give it 5 starts for making me feel reassured about my indecisiveness and self-doubt。。This book hits h As I go through my highlights and sit to rate this book， I'm on the fence between 4 or 5 stars- Going with the 4 for now， notwithstanding the right to rethink it。 Grant raises great arguments that I completely agree with， however part of me found some of his reasoning too anecdotal and simplistic。 He may have fell for desirability bias？ Being the indecisive person I am， I was almost inclined to give it 5 starts for making me feel reassured about my indecisiveness and self-doubt。。This book hits home for me for many reasons。。。 I'm a firm believer that we all are "work-in-progress"。 With experiencing different cultures early on， I grew fairly flexible and open to my own beliefs being challenged。 I think this comes more naturally to anyone who left their comfort zone/ changed their environment growing up。 A great deal of our beliefs tend to be shaped by our environment/culture/society that we cannot begin to remember how we've arrived at those beliefs。 At any moment of conflict， we're invited to rethink and question those。 It's easy for me now to even forget some of the beliefs I've let go of。 Had I read this 10 years ago， I would have received it very differently。。 But I do know this， the uncertainty of being intellectually curious far outweighs the comfort of a nonnegotiable belief system。 Growth happens when we remove ourselves from our comfort zone and get comfortable feeling uncomfortable。 The world would be a much better place if everyone read this and learned to have empathy in understanding where people are coming from。 In a nutshell， here are my takeaways from the book:1。 Stay intellectually curious and refrain from growing too attached to your beliefs。 It's better to be curious than certain or consistent2。 Maintain humility- no one expects you to have all the answers， no one does3。 Define yourself by your values rather than your beliefs4。 Imposter syndrome keeps us in check5。 Fact-check information before you consume it- incredibly relevant to today's world of misinformation and fake news6。 If you want to open people's minds， engage in reflective listening and focus on the common ground you share with others rather than the differences7。 Avoid identity foreclosure and escalation of commitment- Don't commit to one version of you， there are several paths to happiness so keep yourself open。 。。。more
Sara Alaee
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I love Adam Grant's writing！ This book is all about humility， challenging ourselves to rethink some of our core beliefs and letting go of the fear of being wrong。 I love Adam Grant's writing！ This book is all about humility， challenging ourselves to rethink some of our core beliefs and letting go of the fear of being wrong。 。。。more
Linda
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I found this book timely and fascinating。 It definitely make you think！
Art Thurnauer
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I am rethinking everything I've thought about。 Interesting read， and helped me better understand some of traps of thinking only one way。 Wish I had him as a prof， though he wasn't born yet。 :-） I am rethinking everything I've thought about。 Interesting read， and helped me better understand some of traps of thinking only one way。 Wish I had him as a prof， though he wasn't born yet。 :-） 。。。more
Renee
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Perfect book for the times we are living。 We should make it required reading for parlementarians。
Diane S ☔
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3。5 Do you make up your mind and stick to it no matter what？ Are you unable to handle constructive criticism？ Are you so set on doing things one way even when another， often better way can be found？ Do you refuse to discuss things with those who don't share your opinions？This and much more is discussed in this book。 Using examples such as the demise of the blackberry and the success of the IPhone to the Wright brothers whose arguments eventually led to problem solving。 How someone showing you th 3。5 Do you make up your mind and stick to it no matter what？ Are you unable to handle constructive criticism？ Are you so set on doing things one way even when another， often better way can be found？ Do you refuse to discuss things with those who don't share your opinions？This and much more is discussed in this book。 Using examples such as the demise of the blackberry and the success of the IPhone to the Wright brothers whose arguments eventually led to problem solving。 How someone showing you that you are wrong could be a learning experience and the many who believe this is true。 Non confrontational ways to discuss with those whose opinions differ from your own。 There is much inside that makes a great deal of sense。 Now if I can just practice some of what I learned。 Interesting book。 Interesting subject especially in our age of misinformation。ARC from Netgalley。 。。。more
Ricardo Vargas
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Great work from Adam Grant。 I love the way he writes and his approach of challenging yourself on what you believe it is true。
Michael Jones
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In our polarized American society， the timing could not be better for this most recent of Adam Grant's work。 The current climate has been exhausting with the constant rhetoric of the right blaming the wrong for all of the world's problems。Grant steps us through the traps of our habits of preaching， prosecuting and politicking to prove to others that we are right （and， that they are wrong）。 He helps us understand the value of keeping our own views current and aware。 He then expands that out to wo In our polarized American society， the timing could not be better for this most recent of Adam Grant's work。 The current climate has been exhausting with the constant rhetoric of the right blaming the wrong for all of the world's problems。Grant steps us through the traps of our habits of preaching， prosecuting and politicking to prove to others that we are right （and， that they are wrong）。 He helps us understand the value of keeping our own views current and aware。 He then expands that out to working with others， and then he moves on to suggest how we may create a network of people who evolve their thinking and who provide an environment for a collective flexibility and evolution in thought。Imagine being able to openly converse with people whose ideas are different， but who shared common values。 Imagine people who could differentiate between values， which would tend to be rather firm and static， and ideas which should be open to new information， changing assumptions and evolving realities。 What if we could have a lively discussion over how to solve a difficult problem without attaching false descriptions and linkages to the ideas - e。g。， liberal， right-wing， radical， anti-[whatever]， racist， socialist。 And， even better， can we stop identifying the speakers of those ideas with these same labels。 If the labels were meant to be informative， that would be one thing， but they are usually meant to vilify the speaker。Rethinking is necessary， but not necessarily easy or comfortable。 Exercise is not necessarily easy or comfortable either， but it keeps your body flexible and helps get rid of unwanted， unused baggage。This book should be required reading for every CEO and their staff， every organization leader and their team， and everybody in or seeking public office。 But， you need to hurry up and get that done。。。before I change my mind。 。。。more
Nightmaresky
，
I really enjoyed this book and it's being added to my all time favorite list。 It's a charming and interesting story about psychology。 The author gives the reader some great advice that I think would help in many situation。 I enjoy the stories and science behind each point he makes。 I especially appreciate this book after the political turmoil we just faced as a nation。 If you like non-fiction， science， psychology， social science， or humor genres this is the book for you。Also。。。 Mayo （You'll unde I really enjoyed this book and it's being added to my all time favorite list。 It's a charming and interesting story about psychology。 The author gives the reader some great advice that I think would help in many situation。 I enjoy the stories and science behind each point he makes。 I especially appreciate this book after the political turmoil we just faced as a nation。 If you like non-fiction， science， psychology， social science， or humor genres this is the book for you。Also。。。 Mayo （You'll understand if you read this book。） 。。。more
Fran Cormack
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So many great ideas in here that I will be bringing into my life。 "Career check ins" will be one of them， ensuring I'm avoiding the escalation of commitment on any particular decisions I've made。 So many great ideas in here that I will be bringing into my life。 "Career check ins" will be one of them， ensuring I'm avoiding the escalation of commitment on any particular decisions I've made。 。。。more
Pasquale Mellone
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Amazing book。 It helped me re-thinking and questioning a lot of my assumptions。 It also gave me tools to apply to my business， like questioning， scientific thinking and feedback
Henri
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Made me think of many heated arguments I've had and how I might have done things differently。 Had I only told myself that I don't know everything。 Made me think of many heated arguments I've had and how I might have done things differently。 Had I only told myself that I don't know everything。 。。。more
Pirada
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I found the chapter 9 and 10 are my most favorite chapters。 And I think having the Action for impact is a very good summary of the whole book。Note: I actually listened to the audiobook along with reading the e-book。 The author himself narrated his book very well and he also added more contents in the audiobook version。
Bryan
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