§Plenty of books offer useful advice on how to get better at making quick-thinking, intuitive choices. But what about more consequential decisions, the ones that affect our lives for years, or centuries, to come? Our most powerful stories revolve around these kinds of decisions: where to live, whom to marry, what to believe, whether to start a company, how to end a war.
Full of the beautifully crafted storytelling and novel insights that Steven Johnson's fans know to expect, Farsighted draws lessons from cognitive science, social psychology, military strategy, environmental planning, and great works of literature. Everyone thinks we are living in an age of short attention spans, but we've actually learned a lot about making long-term decisions over the past few decades. Johnson makes a compelling case for a smarter and more deliberative decision-making approach. He argues that we choose better when we break out of the myopia of single-scale thinking and develop methods forconsidering all the factors involved.
There's no one-size-fits-all model for the important decisions that can alter the course of a life, an organization, or a civilization. But Farsighted explains how we can approach these choices more effectively, and how we can appreciate the subtle intelligence of choices that shaped our broader social history.
Full of the beautifully crafted storytelling and novel insights that Steven Johnson's fans know to expect, Farsighted draws lessons from cognitive science, social psychology, military strategy, environmental planning, and great works of literature. Everyone thinks we are living in an age of short attention spans, but we've actually learned a lot about making long-term decisions over the past few decades. Johnson makes a compelling case for a smarter and more deliberative decision-making approach. He argues that we choose better when we break out of the myopia of single-scale thinking and develop methods forconsidering all the factors involved.
There's no one-size-fits-all model for the important decisions that can alter the course of a life, an organization, or a civilization. But Farsighted explains how we can approach these choices more effectively, and how we can appreciate the subtle intelligence of choices that shaped our broader social history.
Riveting... As a deep thinker and gifted storyteller, Johnson is the right author to tackle the topic. He's at his best when analyzing impossibly complex decisions... One of Johnson's thought-provoking points is that [people who excel at long-term thinking] read novels, which are ideal exercises in mental time travel and empathy. I think he's right NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Praise for Farsighted:
Riveting... As a deep thinker and gifted storyteller, Johnson is the right author to tackle the topic. He s at his best when analyzing impossibly complex decisions... One of Johnson s thought-provoking points is that [people who excel at long-term thinking] read novels, which are ideal exercises in mental time travel and empathy. I think he s right. The New York Times Book Review
Johnson is explicitly focused on real-life decisions that (ideally) involve serious deliberation... [He]reminds us that, fundamentally, choices concern competing narratives, and we re likely to make better choices if we have richer stories, with more fleshed-out characters, a more nuanced understanding of motives, and a deeper appreciation of how decisions are likely to reverberate and resound. The Wall Street Journal
Johnson is well-placed to dig into these dilemmas of decision-making, as he gracefully serves up examples ranging from 17th-century urban planning to contemporary artificial intelligence. Financial Times
[An] excellent book... altogether insightful. Brain Pickings
An anecdote-packed, insight-laden exploration of what works, and what doesn t, when it comes to our most complex decisions, Johnson s latest book makes a convincing case for adding more storytelling to the C-suite and beyond. San Francisco Chronicle
Johnson is a succinct, colorful, and skillful writer, and this book is one of those rare works that is highly relevant to the daily functioning of just about everybody. Publishers Weekly
Praise for Steven Johnson:
Mr. Johnson s erudition can be quite gobsmacking. The Wall Street Journal
A great science writer. Bill Clinton, speaking at the 2013 Clinton Foundation Health Matters conference
A first-rate storyteller. The New York Times
A maven of the history of ideas. The Guardian
Steven Johnson s mind works in wondrous ways. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
[An] excellent book altogether insightful.
Riveting... As a deep thinker and gifted storyteller, Johnson is the right author to tackle the topic. He s at his best when analyzing impossibly complex decisions... One of Johnson s thought-provoking points is that [people who excel at long-term thinking] read novels, which are ideal exercises in mental time travel and empathy. I think he s right. The New York Times Book Review
Johnson is explicitly focused on real-life decisions that (ideally) involve serious deliberation... [He]reminds us that, fundamentally, choices concern competing narratives, and we re likely to make better choices if we have richer stories, with more fleshed-out characters, a more nuanced understanding of motives, and a deeper appreciation of how decisions are likely to reverberate and resound. The Wall Street Journal
Johnson is well-placed to dig into these dilemmas of decision-making, as he gracefully serves up examples ranging from 17th-century urban planning to contemporary artificial intelligence. Financial Times
[An] excellent book... altogether insightful. Brain Pickings
An anecdote-packed, insight-laden exploration of what works, and what doesn t, when it comes to our most complex decisions, Johnson s latest book makes a convincing case for adding more storytelling to the C-suite and beyond. San Francisco Chronicle
Johnson is a succinct, colorful, and skillful writer, and this book is one of those rare works that is highly relevant to the daily functioning of just about everybody. Publishers Weekly
Praise for Steven Johnson:
Mr. Johnson s erudition can be quite gobsmacking. The Wall Street Journal
A great science writer. Bill Clinton, speaking at the 2013 Clinton Foundation Health Matters conference
A first-rate storyteller. The New York Times
A maven of the history of ideas. The Guardian
Steven Johnson s mind works in wondrous ways. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
[An] excellent book altogether insightful.