Nonsense

The Power of Not Knowing

De: Jamie Holmes

Narrado por: Jamie Holmes

An illuminating look at the surprising upside of ambiguity—and how, properly harnessed, it can inspire learning, creativity, even empathy

Life today feels more overwhelming and chaotic than ever. Whether it’s a confounding work problem or a faltering relationship or an unclear medical diagnosis, we face constant uncertainty. And we’re continually bombarded with information, much of it contradictory.

Managing ambiguity—in our jobs, our relationships, and daily lives—is quickly becoming an essential skill. Yet most of us don’t know where to begin.

As Jamie Holmes shows in Nonsense, being confused is unpleasant, so we tend to shutter our minds as we grasp for meaning and stability, especially in stressful circumstances. We’re hard-wired to resolve contradictions quickly and extinguish anomalies. This can be useful, of course. When a tiger is chasing you, you can’t be indecisive. But as Nonsense reveals, our need for closure has its own dangers. It makes us stick to our first answer, which is not always the best, and it makes us search for meaning in the wrong places. When we latch onto fast and easy truths, we lose a vital opportunity to learn something new, solve a hard problem, or see the world from another perspective.

In other words, confusion—that uncomfortable mental place—has a hidden upside. We just need to know how to use it. This lively and original book points the way. Over the last few years, new insights from social psychology and cognitive science have deepened our understanding of the role of ambiguity in our lives and Holmes brings this research together for the first time, showing how we can use uncertainty to our advantage. Filled with illuminating stories—from spy games and doomsday cults to Absolut Vodka’s ad campaign and the creation of Mad Libs—Nonsense promises to transform the way we conduct business, educate our children, and make decisions.

In an increasingly unpredictable, complex world, it turns out that what matters most isn’t IQ, willpower, or confidence in what we know. It’s how we deal with what we don’t understand.

©2015 Jamie Holmes (P)2015 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Holmes... debuts with a provocative analysis of the roots of uncertainty... The author's bright anecdotes and wide-ranging research stories are certain to please many readers."—Kirkus Reviews

"This isn't really about 'nonsense,' as in silliness, but about ambiguity—when it's helpful, when it's not; and how people react to it for good or ill... The many fans of the work of Malcolm Gladwell... will enjoy this readable and thought-provoking work."—Library Journal (starred)

"By clearly staking out his thesis and exploring the topic with a dash of mischief, Holmes convincingly demonstrates that stressful situations can cause us to cling more steadfastly to our beliefs and discard unwelcome information, but he also offers a primer on how to combat these natural tendencies. While life is full of nonsense, managing our response to uncertainty makes all the sense in the world."—Booklist

Chapter on Psychology of Inventing is Pure Gold

Great book, good casual speaking style. Easy to listen to. He is not repeating the same old studies that most book have beat to death. Some interesting new ones in here regarding cognitive psychology. Chapter on Invention was valuable if you want to increase your creativity.

some good, some not so good

has some obvious stories and other that don't particularly relate to the topic at hand, but interesting nonetheless.

This book was a good surprise

There are a lot of books out there that are a huge success but doesn't have much to offer in terms of things you can use in your life. When you read them, the ideas make sense, but after you close you usually forget about what you read.

Other books start great with first or second chapters that are great but at the beginning of the third chapter everything goes downhill (I'm looking at you "The Power of Habit").

This is not the case with this book. Every chapter have something new and interesting to offer. After the first ten minutes the book started to change my perspective on why we think and act in a certain way and helped me to understand why sometimes we do things that doesn't make a lot of sense. Most of self help books can't do that. But I'm not sure if this book can be defined as "self-help" because it's so well researched that I think it would be offensive. There's no magic or mambo jambo, just a lot of research condensed in a simple way.

The only issue I have with this book is the last chapter. It's a good take on creativity but it goes on and on telling details of stories that doesn't add anything to the point the author is trying to make.

This book even got me to order some really old dusty books from the 60's on cognitive dissonance and I have allergy to dust, so you can imagine how impressed I was with everything I read and heard.

I'm not saying this book is a revolution but it's good enough to make a dent on the way you see things.

For audiobook listeners the narrator is the author and he's OK but this book it's too good to not have a professional narrator.

Great Material - Weak Delivery

The material in "Nonsense" is great. It explores why the mind greatly desires certainty such that it will prefer certain-sounding nonsense over easily observed contradictions of that nonsense. It explores why the mind tends to shun ambiguity and uncertainty, yet engaging with ambiguity and uncertainty has great value, in creativity, performance, and mental tranquility. It also gives some techniques on how to get comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty and to use that comfort to achieve desired results.

The author narrates the book. He's one of the better author narrators, but presentation is slow and on the flat side. I almost never listen above 1x speed, but I had to do so with this book to make the pacing tolerable.

A further weakness is that the book could use tighter editing. It's not so bad that it's an article inflated into a book, but probably 20% of the words could be removed with no loss in meaning. One could say that the text wallows a bit too much in ambiguity and uncertainty. This, combined with the slow narration pace makes this book a somewhat annoying read despite the otherwise excellent quality of the material.

As with many books, it is most polished at the beginning and least polished towards the end. The book would be improved with a concluding summary that boils down the content to a few actionable ideas. My desire for this, is of course, is probably from my desire for certainty. But that's how we humans are.

I think I'd say it was pretty good

Would you consider the audio edition of Nonsense to be better than the print version?

I listen while commuting

What was one of the most memorable moments of Nonsense?

Oh, you know...

What about Jamie Holmes’s performance did you like?

The reading was very well done.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

at least a few...

Any additional comments?

no

Not Nonsense, Just Nonsensical

very disappointing. power not developed. ambiguity more appropriate than nonsense. prologue best section. Not recommended.

not much there

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Various studies were recited with a rather general (but accurate) recurring message. We don't do as well when we are stressed. Some people are more troubled by vagueness than others.