An urgent examination of self-silencing culture and the toxic impact of groupthink, by the author of Divergent Mind and founder of The Neurodiversity Project. Nerenberg empowers readers with tools to understand the mind and navigate an increasingly polarized world, from campuses and workplaces, to the media and beyond. Connected across geography and culture via the internet, the world is both a vast, limitless landscape and an ever-shrinking echo chamber. Communication, especially discourse over free speech, is becoming increasingly divisive; one person''s right to speak comes into conflict with another seeking to prevent harm. Our tolerance for differing opinions is also narrowing: A "wrong" remark or comment, no matter how seemingly innocent, can result in banishment Contradictory ideas spark hysteria and backlash--what is referred to as "cancel culture." Polarization affects everyone of us--among friends and families, workplaces and communities--and threatens the fabric of society In this timely book, Jenara Nerenberg analyzes this phenomenon of "self-silencing," asking potent questions about how harmful groupthink has become accepted. Applying her expertise in journalism, psychology, and public health, she digs deep into urgent problems that are worsening under a culture of self-censorship, including loneliness, isolation, and polarization. But there is hope. Nerenberg offers insights for how to identify and escape groupthink and transform fear into empathy, allowing space for authentic communication that reduces--rather than causes--harm to others.

Autorentext

Jenara Nerenberg is an international journalist and author of the groundbreaking and bestselling Divergent Mind. With a background in political theory and public health, she synthesizes micro and macro trends to uncover nuanced layers underlying modern social relations. She grew up in San Francisco, left high school at sixteen, attended community college, and made her way to Berkeley and Harvard. From there she launched a journalism career in Asia, corresponding on a freelance basis for CNN and Fast Company, with pieces in TIME, NPR and elsewhere. She speaks regularly at institutions, libraries, and companies around the world, from Stanford to the Aspen Institute and elsewhere.

Klappentext

A timely guide to help you re-examine your ideas, encounter debate, and navigate a polarized world with calm rationality.

"Nerenberg offers ways to speak up, stand alone, and be true to ourselves. . . . Nerenberg’s timely and thought-provoking analysis is sure to spark discussion." – Booklist

Trust Your Mind takes you on a stunning tour of self-silencing, groupthink, and their antidote: critical reasoning. From conducting in-depth interviews to uncovering scientific research and sharing her own personal story, bestselling author Jenara Nerenberg offers searing insights on how to identify and exit everyday extremism and transform fear and hesitation into courageous dialogue that embraces dissent.

If you’ve ever felt suddenly silenced or taken over by your own self-censorship, Trust Your Mind has been praised as “compelling, lucid and timely” by social psychologist Ethan Kross and hailed as “a bold call to think deeper and speak truer” by social psychologist Kurt Gray for how the book reinvigorates an ethic of pluralism at a time when respect for differing viewpoints is narrowing:

• Contradictory ideas spark hysteria and backlash—resulting in mobbing and “cancel culture”

• A “wrong” remark or comment, no matter how seemingly innocent, gets twisted and results in banishment

• Polarization and pressure to conform to “the group”—friends, families, workplaces, and communities—fuels alienation and threatens the fabric of a connected society Trust Your Mind guides you along the difficult path toward critical thinking and illuminates:

• The origins of self-silencing culture and how to counter the devastating loss of independent thought

• The inner workings of critical reasoning and how to “come down to earth” away from everyday extremist thinking

• How to forge existential survival skills and what Nerenberg calls “an emotional backbone"

Communication has become increasingly divisive; Nerenberg calmly shows readers how to walk through discomfort, stay grounded in one’s own viewpoint while encountering opposition, and stay connected. To examine and communicate one’s own ideas—like a deep-sea diver, investigator or anthropologist—is a vital, strategic skill and exploration for individuals in the 21st century.