Rethink, Steven Poole
Rethink, Steven Poole
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Rethink
The Surprising History of New Ideas

Author: Steven Poole

Narrator: Simon Mattacks

Unabridged: 10 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download (DRM Protected)

Published: 02/09/2017


Synopsis

A brilliant and groundbreaking argument that innovation and progress are often achieved by revisiting and retooling ideas from the past rather than starting from scratch—from The Guardian columnist and contributor to The Atlantic.Innovation is not always as innovative as it may seem. This is the story of how old ideas that were mocked or ignored for centuries are now storming back to the cutting edge of science and technology, informing the way we lead our lives. This is the story of Lamarck and the modern-day epigeneticist whose research vindicated his mocked 200-year-old theory of evolution; of the return of cavalry use in the war in Afghanistan; of Tesla’s bringing back the electric car; and of the cognitive scientists who made breakthroughs by turning to ancient Greek philosophy.Drawing on examples from business to philosophy to science, Rethink shows what we can learn by revisiting old, discarded ideas and considering them from a novel perspective. From within all these rich anecdotes of overlooked ideas come good ones, helping us find new ways to think about ideas in our own time—from out-of-the-box proposals in the boardroom to grand projects for social and political change.Armed with this picture of the surprising evolution of ideas and their triumphant second lives, Rethink helps you see the world differently. In the bestselling tradition of Malcolm Gladwell, Poole’s new approach to a familiar topic is fun, convincing, and brilliant—and offers a clear takeaway: if you want to affect the future, start by taking a look at the past.

About Steven Poole

Steven Poole is the award-winning author of Rethink, Unspeak, Trigger Happy, You Aren’t What You Eat, and Who Touched Base In My Thought Shower?. He writes a column on language for The Guardian, and his work on ideas and culture also appears in The Wall Street Journal, The New Statesman, The Atlantic, The Baffler, The Point, The Times Literary Supplement, Edge, and many other publications. He was educated at Cambridge, lived for many years in Paris, and is now based in East London.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tara

This is a terrific book. It offers a critique of 'new technology' and - indeed - new ideas. Poole provides a history and historiography of science 'discovery.' I was very impressed with how Poole probed 'bad ideas' and data sets that did not create new knowledge. The failed technologies are given a......more

Goodreads review by Gary

In an age in which ideas have to be epically disruptive in order to be considered worthy, Poole adroitly reminds us that while there is new, there isn’t as much as we may think. A lot of innovative ideas were innovative hundreds of years ago and didn’t catch on for a variety of reasons he explains w......more

Goodreads review by Rosa

Being vindicated hundred or thousand years later is not a scientist or philosopher dream, but experience confirms this happens all the time. Meanwhile, the world enriches with their knowledge, and humanity uses the discoveries to progress. Innovation could be a revival of past ideas whose time have c......more

Goodreads review by Libby

4 stars for making me think (and rethink), sharing discoveries and a long view that at times brought humor and comfort and clarity. Other ideas brought great discomfort, and it bothered me that the author was fairly forward about his opinion on many of them. That made it harder for me to feel freedo......more