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The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality

Notes on Modern Irrationality

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The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality

By: Amanda Montell
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About this listen

In the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to eleven. Amanda Montell blends cultural criticism and personal narrative to explore our modern cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages and highlights of magical overthinking.

"Magical thinking" can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world. Whether that's "manifesting" their way out of poverty, staving off cancer with positive vibes, or transforming an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one through loyalty alone.

In a series of razor sharp and introspective chapters, Montell delves into cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the "halo effect" cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger-than-life celebrities, to how the "sunk cost fallacy" can keep us in detrimental relationships long after they no longer serve us.

Told with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell delivers a powerful prevailing message of hope and forgiveness for our anxious human experience. If you ever find yourself struggling, despite your best efforts, to keep faith in our overwhelming information overload, this book will be your guiding light.

Now’s the time to make sense of the senselessness and refresh our minds. Montell illuminates in the chaos, quieting the havoc, and invites us to listen, as even in the most startling dissonance, there is harmony.

©2024 Amanda Montell Literary History & Criticism Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Psychology & Interactions Social Sciences

Critic Reviews

"Empathetic and enviously shrewd, The Age of Magical Overthinking will cleanse your beleaguered mind the was a TikTok 'guru' never could. Amanda Montell is a relatable and often brazenly funny narrator, as she creates a blueprint to breaking our minds' worst habits. Who knew there was a path out of the forest of brain rot!" - SABRINA IMBLER

"Written with wit, smarts and self-deprecating charm, The Age of Magical Overthinking is at once a guidebook for the era of misinformation and an illuminating, palm-to-the-forehead reveal of the delusions that underlie our own beliefs. Rarely have so few pages explained so much, so entertainingly." - MARY ROACH

"Amanda Montell's unbeatable intellect helps make human life much more interesting, and a little less baffling." – MICHELLE TEA

"Reading The Age of Magical Overthinking feels like talking to a brilliant friend. With vulnerability, humour, and refreshing sincerity, Montell excavates everything from celebrity worship to toxic relationships to the allure of nostalgia. In readable, stylish prose, she offers nuanced insights into contemporary culture, all while giving the reader companionship and hope." – HEATHER DRAKE

"An engaging package suitable for anyone who wants to better understand the chaos of our modern society. Montell's take on how irrationality went mainstream is informed by erudite wit and an eye for telling images." – KIRKUS, starred review

"The Age of Magical Overthinking is a fantastic voyage into the furnace room of the modern mind. I emerged from these enlightening pages with a new understanding of my own cognitive biases, as well as an unbiased awe of Amanda Montell's abundant gifts." – MONA AWAD

All stars
Most relevant
Pretty fun and relatable memoir. Narration was good and I’m curious to read “cult” now! Worth a listen if you’re pottering about the home

It’s not about OCD folks lol

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The way the author picks apart thinking errors is sometimes insightful but often what she means to say is obfuscated by overly constructed prose more suited to a printed book.

Not what I expected

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I was primed to read this after reading “The Anxious Generation”, and I was lulled in by the interesting premise of cognitive biases influencing our thinking in the modern world.

Instead, the book is a collection of essays about the authors life, with social media, cognitive biases and magical thinking working as a bit of an under current (but also, not really). I used to think that universal truth could be found whenever a talented writer writes about their lived experience, but when you’re lived experience is being the daughter of a world renowned cancer researcher and agonizing over the advantages of being a writer in New York and L.A, it’s hardly relatable. If anything, I came away from this thinking that magical thinking is a privilege reserved for wealthy girlies.

There’s a lot of good writing here though. I get the impression that the author is a really nice person, and frankly, I think she’s probably so nice that no one edited this as hard as they should’ve. The line about the author taking psilocybin mushrooms and going to the Getty was already irritating, but it became grating when she forcefully mentioned it three more times. Apparently you can get shrooms delivered in L.A too? Either that, or she’s talking about weed edibles and is trying to make herself sound cooler. Either way, it’s annoying. There’s a lot of that here.

I’m sure if you’re a wealthy young woman from New York or California, you’ll enjoy this book. If you’re not, it’ll probably just leave you a big perplexed at what these people find relatable now.

Great Title, Meh Book…

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Great insights and examples. Would love a PDF summary of the biases and high level example.

Highly informative and engaging

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Easy to digest ideas with great examples and references, made relatable and enjoyable with entertaining narration

Entertaining and informative

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