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The Scout Mindset
- Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't
- Narrated by: Julia Galef
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
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The Scout Mindset
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Summary
Winner of best smart thinking book 2022 (Business Book Awards)
Guardian best books of 2021
When it comes to what we believe, humans see what they want to see. In other words, we have what Julia Galef calls a 'soldier' mindset. From tribalism and wishful thinking, to rationalising in our personal lives and everything in between, we are driven to defend the ideas we most want to believe—and shoot down those we don't.
But if we want to get things right more often we should train ourselves to think more like a scout. Unlike the soldier, a scout's goal isn't to defend one side over the other. It's to go out, survey the territory and come back with as accurate a map as possible. Regardless of what they hope to be the case, above all, the scout wants to know what's actually true.
In The Scout Mindset, Galef shows that what makes scouts better at getting things right isn't that they're smarter or more knowledgeable than everyone else. It's a handful of emotional skills, habits and ways of looking at the world—which anyone can learn.
With fascinating examples ranging from how to survive being stranded in the middle of the ocean, to how Jeff Bezos avoids overconfidence, to how superforecasters outperform CIA operatives, to Reddit threads and modern partisan politics, Galef explores why our brains deceive us and what we can do to change the way we think.
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Critic reviews
"Original, thought-provoking and a joy to read." (Tim Harford)
"This is a book that will make a real difference in how you think." (Sean Carroll)
"Highly recommended. It's not easy to become (more of) a scout, but it's hard not to be inspired by this book." (Rutger Bregman)
"With insights that are both sharp and actionable, The Scout Mindset picks up where Predictably Irrational left off. Reading it will teach you to think more clearly, see yourself more accurately, and be wrong a little less often." (Adam Grant)
What listeners say about The Scout Mindset
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 29-04-21
Insightfull and convincing
I have encountered some of these ideas before, and found it intriguing and convincing to see them combined into a complete mindset instead of as a bunch of individual ideals. I even found a new way to view my writing, or lack thereof, that might help me overcome my mental barriers. I especially liked how the author considered the pros and cons of both the opposing and her own side, and gave examples of how she herself has found herself in the soldier’s mindset.
I did, however, miss more examples on how to identify when you are being too harsh on yourself. Most of the examples of self delusion assume that you think you are better at something than you really are. As a person suffering of, sometimes, crippling self doubt, I didn’t find this very relatable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- jally raekelboom
- 22-01-23
Insightful
Really great book with lots of research references. Liked the way it was laid out with the beginning having ties to the end.
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- Anonymous User
- 16-04-21
Great self improvement book
In this book Julia Galef presents two approaches to thinking about and interacting with world: scout mindset and soldier mindset. Soldier mindset is our default way of thinking that often prevents us from seeing the world clearly. Scout mindset is opposite of that. It's a mindset we force on ourselves to escape traps of soldier mindset like motivated reasoning.
The book provides series of examples, studies that show us the impact and advantages of scout mindset. Also it contains a range of techniques that can help us to get into scout mindset.
Overall I think it is well written, easy to listen and gives you lots to think about and improve on.
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- Anonymous User
- 19-03-24
Magnificent :)
It took me a while to harmonize with the flow but around half of the book I submerged fully and with great joy. Important topics, great insights and pleasant and direct style of writing
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- Tony
- 10-08-21
held my attention throughout.
Julia Galef is a very able communicator with an interesting and engaging perspective. I certainly enjoyed this audio book.
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- Tara
- 03-09-21
I will be giving this book to my kids
This book is superb - it's helpful, short and practical, just what I needed. More than just identifying ways that we fool ourselves, this book offers simple practical ways to catch ourselves mid-flight and change the outcome. It's also a good guide to being kind to others despite disagreements. I will be giving this book to my kids and re-reading it myself, probably several times.
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- Marc
- 11-05-22
Mindset Made Flexibly Robust
This book is a well-researched, well-performed toolkit for avoiding the many trappings of group think in our time.
Highly recommended for those who value free thinking…and also for those who think they don’t need such a book!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- David Mears
- 18-04-21
for rationalists
This book is not about "be rational, biased human!" so much as "the first step is to actually desire to seek truth". There isn't too much new *substance* here if you have heard of things like the Intellectual Turing Test and Keep Your Identity Small and are familiar with Julia's work. If so, the new stuff will be the inspirational anecdotes about cases where people embodied the scout mindset. These stories, which include both famous people and friends of Julia, can be good inspiration and motivation to be a scout. One made me sob.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Ricky
- 20-04-21
invaluable - scout's honour
Julia has long been one of my favourite advocates for the way of thinking she calls here the scout mindset. This is a very cogent and accessible case for the utility of this approach. Essential reading for anyone struggling to have productive conversations on fraught topics, just generally improve the quality of their decision making
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1 person found this helpful
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- Tina
- 13-01-22
One of the best bins I’ve ever read
She’s super clear and concise. Given me a practical way to cope with uncertainties and difficulties in life. Love it!
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