Jonathan Haidt, NYU-Stern School of Business and author of The Righteous Mind The Enlightenment torchbearer is eloquent in his defence of clear thinking. It's cheaper, more entertaining, and more effective. If you've ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead. James McConnachie * Sunday Times * Steven Pinker is among the best science writers in history, and with Rationality he applies his talents to one of the most important and misunderstood human abilities - tracking reality with a brain that was designed to do so under some circumstances but not others. Punchy, funny and invigorating, this could be the textbook. Pinker wants probability theory and psychological biases to be taught in schools and universities. is an impassioned and zippy introduction to the tools of rational thought. Steven Pinker is the high priest of rationalism. 'A terrific book, much-needed for our time' Peter Singer Brimming with insight and humour, Rationality will enlighten, inspire and empower. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book - until now. Instead, he explains, we think in ways that suit the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning we have built up over millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, causal inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives and set the benchmarks for rationality itself. How can a species that discovered vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, quack cures and conspiracy theorizing? In Rationality, Pinker rejects the cynical cliche that humans are simply an irrational species - cavemen out of time fatally cursed with biases, fallacies and illusions.

It's cheaper, more entertaining, and more effective' Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. Pinker is the high priest of rationalism' Sunday Times 'If you've ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead.

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021 'Punchy, funny and invigorating.

Steven pinker rationality