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Uncertain : The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure - Maggie Jackson

Uncertain

The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure

By: Maggie Jackson

Hardcover | 7 February 2024

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In a world that's growing more terrifyingly unpredictable, the swift certain answer seems just right. But while pursuing the secrets to good thinking in scientific laboratories, operating rooms, corporate boardrooms, and on the frontiers of Artificial Intelligence, award-winning author Maggie Jackson realized that in devaluing uncertainty we have been overlooking the crucial missing link to the higher-order mind. Once largely neglected as a topic of study, the newly discovered gifts of not-knowing now fascinate the greatest cognitive scientists - and offer us a remarkable antidote to the narrow-mindedness of our day. Uncertain reveals the startling cognitive riches that are abandoned in the flight from the unknown and the unsure. Understanding when and how to be unsure is what distinguishes a superior expert from one who is merely good enough, as young doctors are now being taught. An ambivalent executive is far more resourceful in a crisis than the ultra-decisive leaders we admire, groundbreaking research shows. By learning to wield uncertainty with skill and care, we can deftly navigate conflict and surprise, bolster our memory and creative imagination, and gain resilience. Featuring cutting-edge research and in-depth reporting, this paradigm-shifting book shows us how to skillfully confront the unexpected and unknown, and how to seek not-knowing in the service of curiosity, wisdom, and discovery. In these pages, Jackson shows how dissent, even if wrong, provokes a group to better complex problem-solving; how moving beyond a first-reflex decision unlocks more successful long-term solutions; and how mounting evidence reveals that the more frequently we set down our devices and navigate the branching architecture of our memories, the more we strengthen our brains in unanticipated ways. An unpredictable, changeable world has been with us all along. Liberating ourselves from the ever-alluring but mistaken belief that life could be otherwise offers a startling new vision of human progress and of what it means to know.
Industry Reviews

"Maggie Jackson's incisive and timely book is a provocative exploration of the surprising benefits of not knowing. Richly researched and briskly written, it dismantles the stigma around uncertainty — and shows how this state of mind can jolt us from intellectual complacency and foster creativity, resilience, and mutual understanding. Uncertain is a triumphant ode to the wisdom of being unsure." - Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Power of Regret, Drive, and When



"Once I started reading I could not stop. Jackson is a great thinker and storyteller and this is her best work yet. Beautiful, inspirational, compelling, and urgently needed, Uncertain is that rare book that will change the way you think." - Sherry Turkle, MIT Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology and New York Times-bestselling author of Reclaiming Conversation and The Empathy Diaries



"It's all too easy to seek the comforting simplicity of the certain. With cutting-edge science and insights both surprising and practical, Uncertain shows how cultivating an open and unsettled mindset can help us to spark curiosity, compassion, and creativity." - Gretchen Rubin, New York Times-bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Life in Five Senses



"Possibly nothing is more critical to the survival of humanity at this moment than an understanding of what it means to be uncertain. Maggie Jackson brings her usual wit, clarity, and precision to a central topic in human cognition. This wonderful book is enjoyable as well as important." - Michael I. Posner, National Medal of Science-winning psychologist and author of Educating the Human Brain and Images of Mind



"Powerful." - Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature



"Anyone in a leadership position will recognize how this brilliant book captures those moments when you really don't know or you don't trust the conventional wisdom. This outstanding book is for anyone who wants to understand the mindset of uncertainty, a challenge that is more important than ever in a world of accelerating change." —Douglas L. Peterson, president and chief executive officer of S&P Global



"We humans are quite fond the idea of certainty, of knowing what comes next. Jackson's insightful book Uncertain is essential reading, highlighting that, rather than causing anguish or fear, embracing uncertainty can help us navigate our way through an increasingly complex and ever-changing world." - Zan Boag, editor-in-chief of New Philosopher magazine



"After reading this groundbreaking book, things that felt threatening can feel like doable challenges, even exciting possibilities. Uncertain is truly a book for our times." — Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute and author of the best-selling Mind in the
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