Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know is a popular psychology book written by Adam Grant and published in 2021. Grant, an organizational psychology professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a podcast host and entrepreneur, argues for the power of rethinking and unlearning to better understand our world and ourselves. His prior books include Give and Take (2013), Originals (2016), and Option B (2017), cowritten with Sheryl Sandberg.

Plot Summary

Part 1 focuses on being able to rethink at an individual level. In Chapter 1, Grant introduces four archetypes to which he’ll return throughout the book: preacher, prosecutor, politician, and scientist. When we make decisions and engage with others, Grant believes that we tend to adopt the style of a preacher, prosecutor, or politician. We preach to protect and promote our own ideas, prosecute to prove others wrong, and politick when we lobby for others’ approval. In these modes, we’re so focused on defending our own beliefs that we are often unable to listen to others or recognize the flaws in our thinking. He argues that we should adopt the mode of scientist more often, which encourages us to doubt our own ideas, be open to new ideas, and update our beliefs in response.