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Talks at Google

Ep460 - Amanda Montell | The Age of Magical Overthinking

Jul 2, 2024
Amanda Montell, NY Times Bestselling author, discusses modern irrationality in 'The Age of Magical Overthinking.' Topics include cognitive biases like the 'halo effect' in celebrity worship, sunk cost fallacy in relationships, and manifestation theories driving conspiratorial thinking.
32:33

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Magical thinking helps restore agency during chaos, but modern overloads lead to irrationality.
  • Cognitive biases like the halo effect and sunk cost fallacy impact society and individual decisions.

Deep dives

Magical Overthinking in the Modern Age

Magical thinking serves as a coping mechanism during times of crisis, allowing individuals to feel a sense of control over uncontrollable situations. However, in the modern information age, cognitive biases collide with excess information, leading to overthinking and underthinking. The book delves into cognitive biases like the halo effect and the sunk cost fallacy, shedding light on how these biases impact society.

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