The Scout Mindset
Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Remove from Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus voucher
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
The Scout Mindset
Narrated by:
Julia Galef
Buy Now for $22.62
-
Narrated by:
-
Julia Galef
-
By:
-
Julia Galef
Summary
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
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)
Fascinating
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Much better than I thought it would be
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
changed my mindset for good
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great content and narration
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The central premise - we often engage arguments from a combative mindset, where we entrench our position, seek compatible facts as ammunition, and fight tooth and nail - which can be a real problem when we're wrong.
Being a scout, on the other hand, keeps us open to new data and points of view, anything that helps us better understand and navigate that map of reality.
The narrator was clear and could be speed to 1.5x without impacting comprehension.
A physical copy could be preferable for some as the book has many references...
That stated, I've been able to rewind and repeat key segments, and the convenience of the audio book can't be overstated.
Well worth your time.
Be a scout, not a soldier
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.