77 pages • 2-hour read
Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know
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Book Club Questions
General Impressions
Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.
1. How did Grant's use of diverse examples—from NASA disasters and vaccine hesitancy to the Wright brothers—affect your engagement with the book's core message? Have you encountered similar approaches in other popular psychology books, such as the works of Malcolm Gladwell?
2. What was your initial reaction to Grant's framework of the four modes of thinking (preacher, prosecutor, politician, and scientist)? Which mode did you most identify with? Did your approach change as you read the book?
3. In what ways did the book challenge or reinforce your existing beliefs about intelligence and learning? What aspects of Grant's argument for "rethinking" did you find most convincing or problematic?
Personal Reflection and Connection
Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.
1. Think about a time when you strongly held a belief that you later changed. What prompted that change? How does your experience align with or differ from Grant's descriptions of rethinking cycles?
2. Grant discusses the concept of "confident humility." How do you balance confidence in your abilities with openness to the possibility of being wrong? What areas of your life might benefit from the application of confident humility?
3. Consider your own challenge network. Which people in your life help you to identify blind spots? How has their feedback shaped your thinking over time?
4. Reflect on a recent disagreement in which you found yourself in preacher, prosecutor, or politician mode. How might the outcome have been different if you had adopted a scientist's mindset?
5. When have you experienced task conflict and relationship conflict in your professional life? How did you navigate each situation?
Societal and Cultural Context
Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.
1. How does Grant's discussion of binary bias relate to current political and social polarization? What are the implications for public discourse?
2. Consider Grant's analysis of performance cultures versus learning cultures. How do these concepts apply to contemporary workplace trends and educational institutions?
3. What role does social media play in either promoting or hindering people’s ability to rethink their positions? How might people create more opportunities for productive dialogue in digital spaces?
Literary Analysis
Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.
1. How does Grant use the contrast between success stories and cautionary tales to build his argument? What makes this approach effective or ineffective?
2. Analyze how Grant combines scientific research with personal anecdotes. How does this approach strengthen or weaken his overall argument?
3. How does Grant's discussion of identity foreclosure relate to his larger argument about separating beliefs from identity? What connections do you see between these concepts?
4. Examine how Grant builds his case for rethinking. What role do the different sections (individual, interpersonal, and collective rethinking) play in developing his argument?
5. How does Grant's writing style reflect or contradict his own advice about thinking like a scientist?
Creative Engagement
Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.
1. If you were to design a workshop based on Grant's principles of rethinking, what three key exercises would you include, and why?
2. Imagine that you have been tasked with creating a learning culture in an organization that is resistant to change. Using Grant's framework, what specific steps would you take first?
3. How might Grant's concepts of rethinking be applied to fields that he does not directly address in the book? Choose one area and explain how his principles could be implemented.
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