Rationality: what it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters
(Book)
"Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it explain why there seems to be so much irrationality in the world, including, let's be honest, in each of us? These are the goals of Steven Pinker's follow-up to Enlightenment Now (Bill Gates's "new favorite book of all time"). Humans today are often portrayed as cavemen out of time, poised to react to a lion in the grass with a suite of biases, blind spots, fallacies, and illusions. But this, Pinker a cognitive scientist and rational optimist argues, cannot be the whole picture. Hunter-gatherers--our ancestors and contemporaries--are not nervous rabbits but cerebral problem-solvers. A list of the ways in which we are stupid cannot explain how we're so smart: how we discovered the laws of nature, transformed the planet, and lengthened and enriched our lives. Indeed, if humans were fundamentally irrational, how did they discover the benchmarks for rationality against which humans fall short? The topic could not be more timely. In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding--and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that sequenced the genome and detected the Big Bang produce so much fake news, quack cures, conspiracy theories, and "post-truth" rhetoric? A big part of Rationality is to explain these tools--to inspire an intuitive understanding of the benchmarks of rationality, so you can understand the basics of logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, the optimal ways to adjust our beliefs and commit to decisions with uncertain evidence, and the yardsticks for making rational choices alone and with others. Rationality matters. As the world reels from foolish choices made in the past and dreads a future that may be shaped by senseless choices in the present, rationality may be the most important asset that citizens and influencers command. Steven Pinker, the great defender of human progress, having documented how the world is not falling apart, now shows how we can enhance rationality in our lives and in the public sphere. Rationality is the perfect toolkit to seize our own fates"--
Notes
Pinker, S. (2021). Rationality: what it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters. [New York], Viking.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Pinker, Steven, 1954-. 2021. Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters. [New York], Viking.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Pinker, Steven, 1954-, Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters. [New York], Viking, 2021.
MLA Citation (style guide)Pinker, Steven. Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters. [New York], Viking, 2021.
Record Information
| Last Sierra Extract Time | Apr 13, 2024 06:29:36 AM |
|---|---|
| Last File Modification Time | Apr 13, 2024 06:34:06 AM |
| Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Apr 18, 2024 02:10:20 AM |
MARC Record
| LEADER | 04486pam a2200517 i 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | 2021003592 | ||
| 003 | DLC | ||
| 005 | 20210916082500.8 | ||
| 008 | 210216s2021 nyua b 001 0 eng | ||
| 010 | |a 2021003592 | ||
| 020 | |a 9780525561996 | ||
| 040 | |a DLC|b eng|e rda|c DLC|d GCmBT | ||
| 042 | |a pcc | ||
| 049 | |a JRSA | ||
| 050 | 0 | 0 | |a BF441|b .P56 2021 |
| 082 | 0 | 0 | |a 153.4/2|2 23 |
| 099 | |a 153.42 P655 2021 | ||
| 100 | 1 | |a Pinker, Steven,|d 1954-|e author. | |
| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a Rationality :|b what it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters /|c Steven Pinker. |
| 264 | 1 | |a [New York] :|b Viking,|c [2021] | |
| 300 | |a xvii, 412 pages :|b illustrations ;|c 24 cm | ||
| 336 | |a text|b txt|2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a unmediated|b n|2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a volume|b nc|2 rdacarrier | ||
| 504 | |a Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-388) and indexes. | ||
| 520 | |a "Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it explain why there seems to be so much irrationality in the world, including, let's be honest, in each of us? These are the goals of Steven Pinker's follow-up to Enlightenment Now (Bill Gates's "new favorite book of all time"). Humans today are often portrayed as cavemen out of time, poised to react to a lion in the grass with a suite of biases, blind spots, fallacies, and illusions. But this, Pinker a cognitive scientist and rational optimist argues, cannot be the whole picture. Hunter-gatherers--our ancestors and contemporaries--are not nervous rabbits but cerebral problem-solvers. A list of the ways in which we are stupid cannot explain how we're so smart: how we discovered the laws of nature, transformed the planet, and lengthened and enriched our lives. Indeed, if humans were fundamentally irrational, how did they discover the benchmarks for rationality against which humans fall short? The topic could not be more timely. In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding--and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that sequenced the genome and detected the Big Bang produce so much fake news, quack cures, conspiracy theories, and "post-truth" rhetoric? A big part of Rationality is to explain these tools--to inspire an intuitive understanding of the benchmarks of rationality, so you can understand the basics of logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, the optimal ways to adjust our beliefs and commit to decisions with uncertain evidence, and the yardsticks for making rational choices alone and with others. Rationality matters. As the world reels from foolish choices made in the past and dreads a future that may be shaped by senseless choices in the present, rationality may be the most important asset that citizens and influencers command. Steven Pinker, the great defender of human progress, having documented how the world is not falling apart, now shows how we can enhance rationality in our lives and in the public sphere. Rationality is the perfect toolkit to seize our own fates"--|c Provided by publisher. | ||
| 650 | 0 | |a Critical thinking. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Practical reason. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Choice (Psychology) | |
| 776 | 0 | 8 | |i Online version:|a Pinker, Steven, 1954-|t Rationality|d [New York] : Viking, [2021]|z 9780525562009|w (DLC) 2021003593 |
| 907 | |a .b26903763 | ||
| 945 | |y .i85657906|i 33029111038519|l pocag|s -|k |u 7|x 1|w 0|v 7|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i85657918|i 33029111038527|l ranag|s -|k |u 10|x 2|w 1|v 1|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i8565792x|i 33029111038535|l cenag|s -|k |u 9|x 2|w 0|v 15|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i85657931|i 33029111038543|l carag|s -|k |u 11|x 1|w 1|v 1|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i85657943|i 33029111038550|l valag|s -|k 04-23-24|u 6|x 0|w 1|v 2|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i85657955|i 33029111038568|l nntag|s -|k |u 8|x 0|w 0|v 0|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i85657967|i 33029111038576|l rioag|s -|k |u 4|x 0|w 0|v 0|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i85657980|i 33029111038592|l kinag|s -|k |u 7|x 1|w 0|v 1|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i85657992|i 33029111038600|l mckag|s m|k |u 11|x 3|w 0|v 6|t 3|z 09-22-21|o - | ||
| 945 | |y .i85674904|i 31652003339133|l wdpa|s -|k |u 4|x 1|w 0|v 6|t 0|z 09-28-21|o -|a 153.4 Pin 2021 | ||
| 945 | |y .i85675404|i 36796030016340|l fola|s -|k 04-16-24|u 14|x 2|w 2|v 7|t 3|z 09-28-21|o l|a 153.42 PIN 2021 | ||
| 995 | 0 | |a Loaded with m2btab.marciveb 2021-10 | |
| 995 | 0 | |a Loaded with m2btab.splbtbi 2021-09 | |
| 995 | 0 | |a Loaded with m2btab.ingra 2021-07 | |
| 998 | |e -|d a |f eng|a car|a cen|a fol|a kin|a mck|a nnt|a poc|a ran|a rio|a val|a wdp | ||
