The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality
(OverDrive Listen)
Published:
Simon & Schuster Audio 2024
Format:
OverDrive Listen
Edition:
Unabridged
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A BookPage Best Nonfiction Book of 2024
From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.
Utilizing the linguistic insights of her "witty and brilliant" (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.
"Magical thinking" can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain's coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the 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 we've realized they're not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell's prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.
A BookPage Best Nonfiction Book of 2024
From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.
Utilizing the linguistic insights of her "witty and brilliant" (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.
"Magical thinking" can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain's coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the 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 we've realized they're not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell's prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.
Formats
OverDrive Listen
Need Help?
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
More Details
Street Date:
04/09/2024
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781797175577
Reviews from GoodReads
Loading GoodReads Reviews.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
Amanda Montell. (2024). The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality. Unabridged Simon & Schuster Audio.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Amanda Montell. 2024. The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes On Modern Irrationality. Simon & Schuster Audio.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Amanda Montell, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes On Modern Irrationality. Simon & Schuster Audio, 2024.
MLA Citation (style guide)Amanda Montell. The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes On Modern Irrationality. Unabridged Simon & Schuster Audio, 2024.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
| Library | Owned | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Digital Collection | 3 | 1 |
| East Hampton Public Library | 0 | 0 |
There is 1 hold on this title.
Staff View
Grouped Work ID:
43842a88-f6bc-83e6-48ef-3089d0dabfea
API Extraction Dates
Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
May 22, 2024 11:36:33
Date Updated:
May 22, 2024 11:36:33
Last Metadata Check:
Jul 05, 2025 13:22:23
Last Metadata Change:
Jun 29, 2025 04:19:36
Last Availability Check:
Jul 05, 2025 13:22:25
Last Availability Change:
Jul 05, 2025 13:22:25
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Jul 05, 2025 22:18:25
OverDrive Product Record
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/5054-1/{7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB}IMG100.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/5054-1/{7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB}IMG200.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/5054-1/{7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB}IMG150.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/5054-1/{7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB}IMG400.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- formats
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781797175577
- name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
- id: audiobook-mp3
- identifiers:
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781797175577
- name: OverDrive Listen
- id: audiobook-overdrive
- identifiers:
- edition
- Unabridged
- mediaType
- Audiobook
- primaryCreator
- role: Author
- name: Amanda Montell
- isOwnedByCollections
- True
- title
- The Age of Magical Overthinking
- dateAdded
- 2024-05-22T20:11:00Z
- contentDetails
- href: https://link.overdrive.com?websiteID=242&titleID=10108419
- type: text/html
- account:
- name: LION: Libraries Online (CT)
- id: 1354
- sortTitle
- Age of Magical Overthinking Notes on Modern Irrationality
- crossRefId
- 10108419
- subtitle
- Notes on Modern Irrationality
- id
- 7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB
- starRating
- 3.1
OverDrive MetaData
- isPublicDomain
- False
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/5054-1/{7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB}IMG100.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/5054-1/{7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB}IMG200.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/5054-1/{7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB}IMG150.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/5054-1/{7FBC8BF3-1CEB-4C86-9A80-17BFF3B170CB}IMG400.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- isPublicPerformanceAllowed
- False
- formats
- duration: 06:05:09
- fileName: TheAgeofMagicalOvert_9781797175577_10108419
- partCount: 0
- fileSize: 175277242
- identifiers:
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781797175577
- name: OverDrive Listen
- isReadAlong: False
- id: audiobook-overdrive
- onSaleDate: 4/9/2024
- samples:
- source: From the book
- formatType: audiobook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=7fbc8bf3-1ceb-4c86-9a80-17bff3b170cb&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- languages
- code: en
- name: English
- creators
- role: Author
- fileAs: Montell, Amanda
- bioText: Amanda Montell is a writer and linguist from Baltimore. She is the author of the acclaimed books Wordslut, Cultish, and The Age of Magical Overthinking. Along with hosting the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and more. She holds a degree in linguistics from NYU and lives in Los Angeles with her partner, plants, and pets. Find her on Instagram @Amanda_Montell.
- name: Amanda Montell
- role: Narrator
- fileAs: Montell, Amanda
- bioText: Amanda Montell is a writer and linguist from Baltimore. She is the author of the acclaimed books Wordslut, Cultish, and The Age of Magical Overthinking. Along with hosting the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and more. She holds a degree in linguistics from NYU and lives in Los Angeles with her partner, plants, and pets. Find her on Instagram @Amanda_Montell.
- name: Amanda Montell
- subjects
- value: Biography & Autobiography
- value: Psychology
- value: Sociology
- value: Nonfiction
- publishDate
- 2024-04-09T00:00:00Z
- edition
- Unabridged
- publishDateText
- 04/09/2024
- mediaType
- Audiobook
- shortDescription
- INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A BookPage Best Nonfiction Book of 2024
From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.
Utilizing the linguistic insights of her "witty and brilliant" (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.
"Magical thinking" can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty,... - isOwnedByCollections
- True
- title
- The Age of Magical Overthinking
- fullDescription
- INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A BookPage Best Nonfiction Book of 2024
From the bestselling author of Cultish and host of the podcast Sounds Like a Cult, a delicious blend of cultural criticism and personal narrative that explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.
Utilizing the linguistic insights of her "witty and brilliant" (Blyth Roberson, author of America the Beautiful?) first book Wordslut and the sociological explorations of her breakout hit Cultish, Amanda Montell now turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases in her most personal and electrifying work yet.
"Magical thinking" can be broadly defined as the belief that one's internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches, or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in The Age of Magical Overthinking, Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain's coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.
In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the 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 we've realized they're not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell's prevailing message is one of hope, empathy, and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it. - sortTitle
- Age of Magical Overthinking Notes on Modern Irrationality
- crossRefId
- 10108419
- classifications
- subtitle
- Notes on Modern Irrationality
- popularity
- 12813
- publisher
- Simon & Schuster Audio
- links
- self:
- href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BPQEAAA20/products/7fbc8bf3-1ceb-4c86-9a80-17bff3b170cb/metadata
- type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
- shareInLibby:
- href: https://link.overdrive.com/share?q=Az6aADHmp90
- type: text/HTML
- self:
- id
- 7fbc8bf3-1ceb-4c86-9a80-17bff3b170cb
- bisacCodes
- code: BIO026000
- description: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs
- code: PSY008000
- description: Psychology / Cognitive Psychology & Cognition
- code: SOC022000
- description: Social Science / Popular Culture