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(A cognitive bias is an error in thinking borne from our unique interpretation of the world.)
This book is about such a big idea, Montell tellsMarie Claire.
I found a lot of books that talk about these subjects are written by men, she says.
“This is a sort of updated, fresher, and a slightly more feminine version.
(We doubt many philosophers have explored, say, the Halo effect through the prism ofTaylor Swift.)
Marie Claire:First of allwhat is magical overthinking?
This is an age-old cognitive quirk, something thats always been embedded in the human mind.
I found you might apply that personal experience of magical thinking to the broader culture.
Theyre psychological shortcuts that weve always taken subconsciously so that make sense of the world enough to survive it.
Theyre really colliding with the information age in a way thats causing a lot of confusion and pain.
That is the phenomenon Ive been calling magicaloverthinkingthis clash between our innate human mysticisms and the culture weve created.
MC:Does all of this contribute to what you call modern irrationality?
And what exactly does that mean?
AM:Humans have never been perfectly rational.
We jump to a lot of conclusions without realizing that we do that.
There was a time in history when those conclusions were good enough to jump to.
I used them to explain so many irrationalities that are so present in culture right now.
MC:What can we do to stop overthinking the wrong things and stop underthinking the right things?
AM:Big question!
[laughs] This is not a self-help bookI wanted to make that clear from the beginning.
For example: Knitting is found to decrease depression in depressive patients.
Like, when I receive an email that feels a little curt, I will spin out.
Thats whats causing us to feel so bad.
MC:In your opinion,isthere meaning to all of lifes events?
AM:We really want there to be.
Which is so ironicoftentimes, most times, things happen at random.
Things happen due to a combination of small events that trigger a chain reaction.
We as human beings are really, really motivated by meaning.
Meaning is really important to us.
So I understand why people sometimes project meaning onto things where there isnt any.
MC:How do you hope people feel when they exit the book?
I hope readers come away learning we are all motivated by cognitive biases.
They manifest in different ways, and theyre different because we all have different values.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
Leave your ballet flats in your checked bag.
Uncle Harry for the gifting win.
