What do you think?
Rate this book
THE BUG IN OUR THINKING: AND THE WAY TO FIX IT
"A beautiful use of storytelling & the art of getting you to think about your thinking" Paul McKenna
“Accessible, thought-provoking, and insightful. … [a] fitting critique of the technocratic overdetermination of everything that extends into almost every corner of our lives today.” William McNeill, Professor of Philosophy, DePaul University, Chicago.
"The book is phenomenal. I love the way it all seems like disparate facts and he draws all the threads together in a flash of light. He’s funny, erudite and serious, all at the same time." Peta Woolley
"John Heron meets Roger Zelazny in this rollercoaster ride through some of the multi-layered intricacies of human consciousness and how we make sense of things. Written for grownups ~ such an immense relief to be spared the smug condescension to be commonly found in such writings. Willbourn is determined to meet us on his level, and if we’re not there already we find ourselves picked up by the scruff and ceremoniously brought along. Quite exhilarating. And very very funny in many parts. I don’t agree with everything he says, but I loved reading it anyway. This is a robust, challenging, absorbing, lively and illuminating read. And utterly human and personal. Almost impossible to put down." Catherine Llewellyn www.yesyounow.today
What if a single cause lies beneath millions of misunderstandings and mistakes?
What if the foundation of modern technology introduced an invisible bias into our thinking?
What if you could understand why so many arguments go wrong and how to set them right?
In a world awash with illusion and misinformation this is a profound and practical guide towards clarity. It has philosophy for non-philosophers, hypnosis for non-hypnotists and stories for hungry hearts. From Arizona to Madagascar we join an intriguing journey in search of understanding via psychotherapy, storytelling and the British Library, uncovering on our way the vulnerabilities that lurk within our language.
Give this book to your friends on the other side of the debate. Any debate. Any side.
HUGH WILLBOURN is the bestselling author with Paul McKenna of I can Mend your Broken Heart. He is a therapist, negotiation consultant and storyteller. He has a PhD in philosophy from City University, London. For twelve years he was the co-owner of the highly regarded and innovative qualitative market research agency Corr Willbourn Research & Development.
“Accessible, thought-provoking, and insightful. … [a] fitting critique of the technocratic overdetermination of everything that extends into almost every corner of our lives today.” William McNeill, Professor of Philosophy, DePaul University, Chicago.
"The book is phenomenal. I love the way it all seems like disparate facts and he draws all the threads together in a flash of light. He’s funny, erudite and serious, all at the same time." Peta Woolley
"John Heron meets Roger Zelazny in this rollercoaster ride through some of the multi-layered intricacies of human consciousness and how we make sense of things. Written for grownups ~ such an immense relief to be spared the smug condescension to be commonly found in such writings. Willbourn is determined to meet us on his level, and if we’re not there already we find ourselves picked up by the scruff and ceremoniously brought along. Quite exhilarating. And very very funny in many parts. I don’t agree with everything he says, but I loved reading it anyway. This is a robust, challenging, absorbing, lively and illuminating read. And utterly human and personal. Almost impossible to put down." Catherine Llewellyn www.yesyounow.today
What if a single cause lies beneath millions of misunderstandings and mistakes?
What if the foundation of modern technology introduced an invisible bias into our thinking?
What if you could understand why so many arguments go wrong and how to set them right?
In a world awash with illusion and misinformation this is a profound and practical guide towards clarity. It has philosophy for non-philosophers, hypnosis for non-hypnotists and stories for hungry hearts. From Arizona to Madagascar we join an intriguing journey in search of understanding via psychotherapy, storytelling and the British Library, uncovering on our way the vulnerabilities that lurk within our language.
Give this book to your friends on the other side of the debate. Any debate. Any side.
HUGH WILLBOURN is the bestselling author with Paul McKenna of I can Mend your Broken Heart. He is a therapist, negotiation consultant and storyteller. He has a PhD in philosophy from City University, London. For twelve years he was the co-owner of the highly regarded and innovative qualitative market research agency Corr Willbourn Research & Development.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 15, 2023
5 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 20, 2023
Why I like this book?
Because it triggered my curiosity at the beginning and is still intriguing until the end - “what is this story for?”.
Because it conveyed the messages in non conventional ways (with conversations, stories, and its strange messiness / openness).
Because I cannot give a summary of the book or its takeaways. You read it and find your own. Or feel like you want to think and read it again later…
Because I think it will be worth your time.
Because it triggered my curiosity at the beginning and is still intriguing until the end - “what is this story for?”.
Because it conveyed the messages in non conventional ways (with conversations, stories, and its strange messiness / openness).
Because I cannot give a summary of the book or its takeaways. You read it and find your own. Or feel like you want to think and read it again later…
Because I think it will be worth your time.
Read
April 30, 2025Whether to give it five stars, or four... is a dilemma over a pointless abstraction, which touches at the core themes discussed throughout this book.
The book is a warm, friendly contemplation of lucid thoughts about the state of humanity, thoughts borne out of a several decades of rigorous study and rich life experience.
It's brainy, without being boring or boorish
Without being a work of genius, it avoids glibness.
It avoids becoming a sauna of psychobabble,
And it avoids becoming a pile of studies referenced reverentially in a spirit of scientism.
It's as close as possible to spending hours of your free time with somebody interesting, bright and gentle, who relates to you a lot of stories.
As such, let me suggest that this book is worth the time of pretty much everyone in the world.
P. S. The audio version of the book is the most pleasant audio book this reviewer has ever listened to.
The book is a warm, friendly contemplation of lucid thoughts about the state of humanity, thoughts borne out of a several decades of rigorous study and rich life experience.
It's brainy, without being boring or boorish
Without being a work of genius, it avoids glibness.
It avoids becoming a sauna of psychobabble,
And it avoids becoming a pile of studies referenced reverentially in a spirit of scientism.
It's as close as possible to spending hours of your free time with somebody interesting, bright and gentle, who relates to you a lot of stories.
As such, let me suggest that this book is worth the time of pretty much everyone in the world.
P. S. The audio version of the book is the most pleasant audio book this reviewer has ever listened to.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews