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The Scout Mindset

Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't

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The Scout Mindset

By: Julia Galef
Narrated by: Julia Galef
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Winner of best smart thinking book 2022 (Business Book Awards)
Guardian best books of 2021

'Original, thought-provoking and a joy to read' Tim Harford

'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

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.

'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©2021 Julia Galef Career Success Decision-Making & Problem Solving Motivation & Self-Improvement Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Time Management & Productivity Career Inspiring
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Critic reviews

Julia Galef doesn't simply harangue us for not thinking clearly; she diagnoses why we do it, and suggests concrete ways to improve our rationality. This is a book that will make a real difference in how you think (Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply Hidden)
Julia Galef is an intellectual leader of the rationalist community, and in The Scout Mindset you will find an engaging, clearly written distillation of her very important accumulated wisdom on these topics (Tyler Cowen, author of Big Business and The Great Stagnation)
Drawing on her extensive knowledge of the scientific literature and of popular culture, Julia Galef explores the remarkable human capacity for self-deception - and shows us how we can catch ourselves in the act of fooling ourselves (Philip Tetlock, author of Superforecasting)
The Scout Mindset offers an insightful, entertaining and genuinely useful guide to thinking more clearly (Don Moore, author of Perfectly Confident)
An engaging and enlightening account from which we all can benefit
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, bestselling author of Humankind and Utopia for Realists)
We know a lot about how flawed human reasoning is, but surprisingly little about how to repair it in our daily lives. Thankfully, Julia Galef is here to change that. With insights that are both sharp and actionable, her book 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, author of Originals and Give and Take, host of WorkLife podcast)
Julia understands human thinking with incredible clarity and she's a master at communicating that clarity to others through her writing and metaphors. I haven't stopped thinking about the scout mindset ever since I first heard Julia explain it (Tim Urban, writer and creator of Wait But Why)
Julia Galef is one of the smartest, most exciting voices not just in American rationalism, but in American writing period. She is consistently fascinating (Johann Hari, international bestselling author of Stolen Focus and Lost Connections)
Julia Galef, one of our foremost experts on identifying the problem of motivated reasoning and cognitive biases, has produced the best work to date on what to do about it, both personally to improve our lives and socially to make the world a more rational and reasonable place for all. A must-read for all who have trouble saying "I was wrong" and "I change my mind", which is all of us (Michael Shermer, writer, founder of Skeptic, and New York Times bestselling author of The Moral Arc)
All stars
Most relevant
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.

Insightfull and convincing

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Julia Galef is a very able communicator with an interesting and engaging perspective. I certainly enjoyed this audio book.

held my attention throughout.

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This is a true must read for anyone. Aside from the very important topic this book is entertaining, wellwritten, thoroughly researched and concise.

Everyone should read this book

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Focusing on what a scout mindset is and how to avoid being a soldier, I believe will be deeply helpful in this strange online world we now inhabit

Excellent

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The narrator is the author and she's fantastic. I loved the soldier vs scout analogy, the tests and the stories in this audiobook. Some stories felt shallow to me so they did not work as good examples. I liked that the book/narrator repeated core concepts, that helped me remember and understand the message and meaning. Is there a companion PDF? I wouldn't mind having one with the tests and heuristics all listed again.

A very practical framework.

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