We are just two hours away from the How Minds Change event at The Gladstone in Toronto. I hope I see some of you there. The event is sold out, but there IS a wait list: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/how-minds-change-david-mcraney-…

I just learned there are only 18 tickets left for Toronto, which is amazing, y'all. Most sold in the first hour, and the show will definitely be sold out before the end of the day. They tell me there will be a waiting list if you don't manage to grab one of these last few tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/how-minds-change-david-mcraney-…

When faced with an inescapable and unwanted situation, we often rationalize our predicament so as to make it seem less awful and more bearable, but what if that situation is a new law or a new administration?

Let's hang out in Toronto on April 22 at the extra super gnarly How to Talk to People About Things Conversation Series with Misha Glouberman -- I'll be talking about my next book on how and why people do and do not change their minds, and what does and doesn't work according to the latest research.

Info below, and tickets here on April 11: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/how-minds-change-david-mcraney-…

Here is the transcript for YANSS episode 122: Tribal Psychology: https://youarenotsosmart.com/…/transcript-tribal-psychology/

We aren’t treating tribalism as a basic human drive, but that’s what it is. Fast food lowered the cost to satisfy a basic drive, and we grew fat. Then we figured it out. Social media lowered the cost to exhibit tribal behaviors, and we are growing apart. But we can figure this out too.

From episode 120 - The Backfire Effect - Part Four: https://soundcloud.com/yo…/120-the-backfire-effect-part-four

The latest research into the backfire effect...complicates things...but it also provides tremendous insights into how (and how not) to change people's minds.

“I want a machine-learning algorithm to learn what tumors looked like in the past, and I want it to become biased toward selecting those kind of tumors in the future,” explains philosopher Shannon Vallor. “But I don’t want a machine-learning algorithm to learn what successful engineers and doctors looked like in the past and then become biased toward selecting those kinds of people when sorting and ranking resumes.”

I was on KCUR's Central Standard yesterday, pre-promoting my new book about how people change their minds. Full audio at the link: http://kcur.org/post/changing-your-mind#stream/0

One of the most effective ways to change people’s minds is to put your argument into a narrative format — a story — but not just any story. The most persuasive narratives are those that transport us. Once departed from reality, we become highly susceptible to belief and attitude change.

Another great video from James Burke, stories about Connections and ruminations about what he is currently exploring...

According to some psychologists, to create a team that is collectively intelligent, you likely need to focus on three specific factors, and in this episode of the podcast, you'll learn all about them -- and why they seem to matter more than anything else.