Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure

by Maggie Jackson

A revolutionary guide to flourishing in times of flux and angst by harnessing the overlooked power of our uncertainty.



In an era of terrifying unpredictability, we race to address complex crises with quick, sure algorithms, bullet points, and tweets. How could we find the clarity and vision so urgently needed today by being unsure? Uncertain is about the triumph of doing just that. A scientific adventure tale set on the front lines of a volatile era, this epiphany of a book by award-winning author Maggie Jackson shows us how to skillfully confront the unexpected and the unknown, and how to harness not-knowing in the service of wisdom, invention, mutual understanding, and resilience.



Long neglected as a topic of study and widely treated as a shameful flaw, uncertainty is revealed to be a crucial gadfly of the mind, jolting us from the routine and the assumed into a space for exploring unseen meaning. Far from luring us into inertia, uncertainty is the mindset most needed in times of flux and a remarkable antidote to the narrow-mindedness of our day.



In laboratories, political campaigns, and on the frontiers of artificial intelligence, Jackson meets the pioneers decoding the surprising gifts of being unsure. Each chapter examines a mode of uncertainty-in-action, from creative reverie to the dissent that spurs team success. Step by step, the art and science of uncertainty reveal being unsure as a skill set for incisive thinking and day-to-day flourishing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self Help, Sociology, Philosophy, Science, Audiobook

333 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[CanadianReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the introduction and the first two chapters only, stymied by writing that I sometimes found unclear, unnecessarily detailed, and generally frustrating. For example, I question the author’s need to describe researchers’/experts’ physical appearance (e.g., their blue eyes, athletic physique, the particular hat they happened to be wearing etc.) or the precise circumstances under which the author met them. Does it matter to the reader that Jackson waited two hours to interview French visionary/neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene, that he could then only see her for 15 minutes but became so enthusiastic during their discussion that it was ultimately extended? I don’t think so. The text is larded with extraneous detail of this kind. It drained me.

Having said all this, I appreciated some of the points Jackson presented. She observes that the more discombobulated and confused we are, the more likely we are to cling to certainty or to methods that have worked for us in the past but are wrong for the present. Another valuable fact, backed up with good evidence, is that experts of many years often miss unusual details that novices can actually detect. Knowing a lot can make you blind to subtle anomalies. It’s in the bread-and-butter operations, for example, that surgeons perform over and over again that they are most likely to encounter problems.

I feel I gave this book a reasonable test drive. I chose to abandon it because I felt I was being pressed to wade through large amounts of inconsequential detail in order to get to the occasional nugget. Unfortunately the “gold” was encased in excess verbiage. I was certainly interested in the book’s topic, but Jackson’s writing put me off.

[Andrea McDowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not entirely what I wanted or expected (outside of one chapter), but I enjoyed it. 3.5* rounded up.

What I had hoped for was a more philosophical or even scientific exploration of the kind of uncertainty most people experience: not knowing what is coming next, not feeling able to control or predict one's future. Instead it was a collection, largely, of scientific and business uncertainty: how much do I know about subject x or how to make money in market y?

And it's not that this is uninteresting, it's just not what I wanted to know.

Just over 20 years ago, I had a kid with an undiagnosed genetic condition. It remained undiagnosed and presumably undiagnosable for about 15 years. The odds of this condition are now, given current case numbers, about one in five hundred million, so even with the diagnosis we don't know much.

There has been a lot of uncertainty and precarity in our family life; and what I have learned is that this uncertainty is pretty well universal, only if you have a fair bit of privilege, you can ignore that. You can believe in the stability and known-ness of your life and your future, until some fluke or gene quirk or accident or betrayal pulls the rug out. Then maybe you spend a lot of time flailing around trying to restore that feeling of stability (I did). I also learned that accepting and daily confronting the actual uncertainty led to a better understanding of one's actual scope of influence and a whole skill set for making plans that can be upended on a dime, among other lessons.

Our culture and its various medical branches act on the assumption that a way of being learned in safety, stability and predictability is "normal" and "healthy," but I've increasingly questioned that. In what sense could one look at human history or prehistory and think that same-ness was what we evolved to maximize our response to? Doesn't it make more sense that we evolved adaptations to both chaos and stability, and that both have strengths and weaknesses? And given the century we're facing down, don't we *want* more people who can cope and flourish in uncertainty?

I was hoping for a discussion more on those lines. Mostly, what I got was a discussion of the value of uncertainty in scientific predictions and experiments, the brain's prediction algorithms, memory, and remaining open to different political perspectives via deep canvassing. (I have read so many reviews of deep canvassing now from so many adherents that I am full up and have met my lifetime quota. Seriously, no more.) It was interesting, but it felt a little flat. I mean, yes, it's cool, but not where most people are living uncertainty in their actual lives. We are not mostly business leaders, politicians and scientists. Most of us are confronting uncertainty in our jobs, paycheques, wallets, weather, and health status.

There was one chapter that dug into this a bit via the research into the strengths and capacities of those who have dealt with adversity and precarity by growing up poor. Here she does make a strong case against the "deficit model" of assuming that people who grow up without money (which is most people!) are in some way, or definite ways, less-than people who grow up with money.

... question the assumption that low self-control was an innate flaw or always irrational. 'For a child accustomed to stolen possessions and broken promises, the only guaranteed treats are the ones you have already swallowed' .... the deficit model, the prevalent assumption in his field that children from challenged backgrounds are cognitively damaged and in need of 'fixing' ... failed to account for people's capacity to adjust to the demands of their current environments. ... many social workers, resilience researchers, and psychologists viewed impoverished children's wariness and opportunism as a kind of excusable frailty. They saw such reactivity as a mismatch with the safe, predictable world that everyone should inhabit. What mattered for people in lower-socioeconomic strata were the future skills that they would need in order to fit into the mainstream one day, or so the common thinking went. ... What do kids growing up in a world where threat can come without warning have to learn to do well? ... What do they do as well as or better than kids across town who have order, resources, and sometimes surfeits of adult attention? ... Youths raised in upheaval pick up on subtle changes in a fast-evolving situation, such as faint signs of anger or deceit ... When coaxed to feel that the world was growing more unpredictable via a newspaper article, participants raised in chaos excelled on tests of working memory updating... And increasingly, policymakers, scientists, foundations and activists are heeding his calls to question the overly clean-cut story of poverty's deficits and rehumanize people whose skills have been denigrated by a society deeply fearful of unpredictability.

That was the kind of data I was hoping to find, and that chapter (the second-last) was worth the price of the book to me.

[Annkgary · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was in high school, I attended a weekend retreat titled, Drift or Direction. The idea was to have group discussions that would allow each of us to identify if we had a direction in our lives, or if we were more apt to be drifters. I came away from the weekend with a clear sense that my life was going to be a “directed drift.”That while I might have some idea of where of where my life might be headed, I would be open to other possibilities along the way. And some of the best things in my life have been those that were not anticipated or clearly already decided.
When I picked up, Maggie Jackson‘s book, Uncertain, I was excited to read her expound upon the idea of not always being sure when heading into decisions, looking forward, and making plans. With careful research, she speaks to the fact that our, what I might refer to as, instantly available “answers” and expanding societal divisions have both contributed to a bad name for being uncertain about anything. Jackson opens our eyes to the real opportunities in uncertainty, how it can lead to better decisions, how it can allow us to come together more easily, and how it can open us up to new and different opportunities and possibilities.
An excellent storyteller within this non-fiction treatise, Jackson brings together much historical and empirical information that embraces an opening up of our minds. This book could not come at a better time for each of us as individuals and for the collective good. And I’ll continue on my “directed drift” with new optimism for what it has already and might still bring.

[Deb Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I heard an interview with the author on NPR and the book sounded fascinating. For someone who is whole heartedly trying to embrace uncertainty I thought this book might provide valuable insights.
It didn't for me. I couldn't finish it. It appeared to be case study after case study without a valuable conclusion to any of them. It was difficult even to see how they related. A little like Malcolm Gladwell, but he actually provides conculsions and insights to the studies. Overall, I was disappointed because I think it is a fascinating subject and did not get any wisdom or wonder from this book.

[Michael Herchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I particularly liked about the book is how Jackson challenges the negative perception of uncertainty, portraying it as a valuable mindset rather than a flaw. The chapters on creativity, dissent, and team success showcase real-world examples of how uncertainty can be a catalyst for positive outcomes. The book not only highlights the importance of stepping back and seeking feedback but also encourages readers to see uncertainty as a skill set for navigating the complexities of our changing world.

In a time where quick answers and divisive thinking dominate, "Uncertain" offers a refreshing perspective on the untapped potential found in uncertainty. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking insights into better decision-making, fostering creativity, and building resilience in the face of uncertainty. It's a timely and optimistic exploration that has the potential to shift how we view and approach the uncertainties in our lives.

[Regina Mastrogiacomo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the aspect of this book very interesting. I like thinking about how its good to take a step back when you aren't sure of what you are doing and to get feedback from others. I like that this uncerainty is showing up at surgical units, schools, politics and AI's where it is important to understand the pitfalls of plowing ahead when one is in doubt of what one is doing, or needs to step back and ask different questions that are more realistic, so that the outcomes will be better.

This is a wonderful book that makes one step back and ponder other aspects of life where we should slowdown and really ask, why are we doing this and is there another way or a better way, especially when we are allowing technology to take over are thinking for us and not examing if its right way to do things. Where slowing down allows us to talk to each other and find common ground and find solutions to tough problems and that it shows we are in this boat together.

I want to thank Globe Pequot, Prometheus and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book that made me ponder more too.

[Scott McGarvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie is very certain in her follow-up to Distraction. Putting forth an idea that seems to go against the grain of contemporary group think, she wrestles some potentially creative gems from an overlooked source of inspiration.

[Aaron Mikulsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of this book was written with such elegance; other parts were difficult to follow or over my head. The book is really 200 pages since the last 100+ pages are notes and references. It's very well researched but many of the examples and studies were not very interesting. The last section on AI was very weak and probably should not have even been included. I'd read this for the poetic nuggets, but I'll include many of them here for you:

“‘I know’ seems to describe a state of affairs which guarantees what is known, guarantees it as a fact. One always forgets the expression, ‘I thought I knew.’” - Ludwig Wittgenstein

Are we becoming like search engines, dispatching answers before questions are fully asked?

“Day-to-day, humans spend much of their time jumping to conclusions based on cognitive shortcuts honed from what has worked in the past.” “Ever-ready gut cognition is slow to learn and resistant to change. The best of thinkers, in contrast, are willing to question and so are agile. Answers both right and wrong must have afterlives. The best understanding is subject to continual change and discovery. We can bolster our capacity for lingering in the gray spaces where cognitive treasures abound. Uncertainty’s edge is where we find the better solution and the path of hope.

Martin Luther King rose to lead the civil rights movement with conviction and humility, often admitting to allies and skeptics alike that he did not know the way. Social revolutions, he once said, are not all “neat and tidy.” King responded to the vehement yeses and nos of the movement with the courage of a maybe – the only call to action that fully confronts the unknown. The best thinking begins and ends with the wisdom of being unsure.

“Uncertainty plays an essential role in higher-order thinking, propelling people in challenging times toward good judgment, flexibility, mutual understanding, and heights of creativity. It is the portal to finding your enemy’s humanity, the overlooked linchpin of superior teamwork, and the mindset most needed in times of flux.”

As William James wrote, “Not a victory gained, not a deed of faithfulness or courage is done, except upon a maybe.”

“It is not uncertainty that we should fear but a growing reluctance and perhaps waning ability to seek nuance, depth, and perspective, all fruits of skillfully confronting what we do not know. This path does not offer the easy way out. Uncertainty unsettled us – and that is its gift.”

“In not-knowing, there is a golden promise of further possibilities and a sense of falling short.”

“Faced with a glimpse of a challenge or a question, do we rush to seize an answer, or do we slow down to wonder, to consider, and to explore?”

When the stakes are high, those who do not know gain the cognitive advantage. “Those who sustained a meld of positive and negative views on a crisis – who in effect saw their understanding as incomplete – considered a wider range of responses; included more diverse voices in decision-making; and responded with more novel and resourceful measures. Ambivalence inspired a more subtle understanding of the problem and actions better calibrated to the situation.”

The Einstellung effect (name for the German term “way of thinking”) is - after people master one particular method of solving a problem, they become blind to better, quicker routes to resolving a similar challenge. It’s a heuristic or Achilles’ heel of shortcut thinking as we leap to the first, most familiar life raft that we can find and then cling there. “We bypass the messy edges and hidden layers of a predicament in a rush to find shelter in our commensurate know-how.” The more trying the moment, the faster people shut down their minds.

Poet John Keats asserted that, “life‘s complexities demand an intense unassumingness that he called negative capability, a capacity to dwell in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts.” [Keats died at age 25 of tuberculosis after self-diagnosing the disease that had stumped his doctors.]

Populist rhetoric and political ego aside, it is critical to question past ideals and outdated hierarchies of expertise. “What-if questions, especially those most contrary to our assumptions, propel us beyond the familiarity that we seek to preserve and expand our budding notion of what’s going on.” Pose a counterfactual. How often do we unwittingly live in the shadow of our assumptions?

“Astute awareness begins in the recesses of the mind with our response to the unexpected.” “The brain doesn’t just weave story-like predictions from experiences past and present. It simultaneously runs an astonishing series of reality checks on these tales. Along with computing probabilistic interpretations of raw sensory data, Frontline processing regions compare whether our first readings on the world sync with our expectations. If your guesses prove correct, then your neurons are already firing a pattern that matches incoming sense data,” explains neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett. The perceptive powers of the unconscious brain are limited, fleeting, yet impressive.


Nathaniel Silberschlag, a principal horn player at the Cleveland Symphony at age 21 once said, “If you can’t hear the note before you’re playing it, it may not happen. In my head, while there is silence, the music has already kind of begun.”

Growing evidence reveals that it is the unexpected, not the rote and routine, that is the starting point to expanding our knowledge. Life’s surprises invite us to pay attention. No surprise, no learning. By being too entranced with reward, we wind up retreating from the teachings of uncertainty, however. Just being willing to expect change makes us more alert to shifts in the fabric of life, studies show. Humans as a species are highly sensitive to the vagaries of life. People who learn to reappraise stress as natural and useful are more perceptive and effective in challenging situations. See stress not as something to fear, but as the body’s way of revving up for a demanding situation. Open your eyes, your heart, and your mind to the unknown. The challenge is daunting, yet this is exactly where hungry minds seek to be. Curiosity (Paul Silvia is a pioneer in the modern study of curiosity) ebbs and flows, rises after exercise and recedes in times of psychological depression. Being consistently inquisitive is linked to higher satisfaction with life. Curious people tend to be playful, unreserved, often unconventional thinkers who handle uncertainty well; they visually explore the world around them more broadly with curious eyes. Stress tolerance is the facet of the curious disposition that is most linked to overall well-being.

During sleep, rest, or a pause, parts of the mind reach out to parse experience and so strengthen the troves of knowledge that equip us to face the future. During sleep, the mind is weaving together past and present, weighing relevance and resonance, embarking on “memory evolution.” Fallow time seems to provide the protective quiet necessary for the brain to begin processing and stabilizing fragile traces of new experience. Building knowledge demands both quiet time and cultivation. Lingering in the space of uncertainty rescues us from the cruel prison of shallow understanding.

Hippocampal neurons are both highly interconnected and deeply linked to nearly all areas of the higher-order cortex. In replay, the mind is not pushing playback on a recording of life, but rather integrating and anchoring memories in context. Memories live and die in the dynamic interplay between these connections, and in sleep and rest, our minds gain needed time and space to begin weaving new experiences into the memory palaces that we navigate each day. Memory is a never-ending work of metamorphosis. Replay opens a critical dialogue between the hippocampus and the neo-cortex, keeper of our lasting schema. The hippocampus is starting to teach the cortex which memories to store. The two regions then engage in vibrant cross talk as they sift, sort, curate, and integrate new knowledge with old.

Dreams are a form of sleep-based memory processing that allows us to “understand possibilities.” “To remember is to construct, and to learn, we must abstract, glorying in knowledge that becomes over time, enduring, flexible – and imperfect.” People’s minds wander on average up to nearly half of their waking lives, recent research shows. “Nearly half of our mental wanderings take us into the unchartered tomorrow. Our thoughts turned to the future roughly every 15 minutes.” The kids with the brightest futures “play with ideas.” High levels of imagination correlated with self-control in various studies, never the reverse. A youth who can muse on life’s possibilities probably is going to be the most successful in overcoming obstacles. Rest is not idleness! “Adolescence who displayed more abstract reflection on a story during interviews later showed more default network activity and more coordinated default-executive patterns of connectivity while musing on the same tale in the scanner. They also had more complex daydreams. And over time, those teens who showed more robust growth and connectivity of default and inner-executive regions tended to be more successful at school, flexible, satisfied with their social relationships, and willing to reflect on their identities.” Research shows that even negative future-oriented daydreams boost our mood. [According to one analysis of US police reports, daydreaming causes an estimated 60% of fatal crashes attributed to distraction. Studies in China and France point to similar links between daydreaming and the risk of an accident.”]
“The daydream and the future beckon. Turning within, we sketch life’s tomorrows, testing out who we seek to become.” Knowledge is limited but imagination encircles the entire world. The idle dreamer is on the verge of first world-class discovery. Yet, spending time comfortably in your head goes against our culture. Idleness is looked down upon, and if you’re sitting down, you’re almost demonized. “How can we start to trust in the merit of an inner life? Could we learn to pursue reverie as an intimate discipline of discovery? We can begin by musing on the daydream as a sketchbook of the mind.”

Leonardo da Vinci saw the messy indeterminate a path to creative discovery when he wrote, “Confused things rouse the mind to new inventions.” da Vinci‘s notebooks were fully recognized as works of genius only in modern times. In them, he worked out his evolving ideas in many domains. The manuscripts are infused with clarity and precision, yet they have an unfinished quality.

“Reverie offers us in essence the freedom to fail, to stumble and try again, as we seek a tenuous hold on the wisp of a good idea. The inefficiencies of the daydream remind us of the fragility of nascent creativity, of the impermanence of thought, and of all that we must relinquish, all that will evade us, en route to inspiration. In reverie, we can gain the raw makings of invention if we are willing to gently guide a mind adrift.”

One of the most famous measures of creativity is the “alternative uses test.” It’s used to uncover the capacity for divergent or unconventional thinking by asking a question like, what can you do with a brick, tire, or a shoe?
The schema of divergent thinkers are more flat, networked, and flexible.
“An inching pace of creation is the price of admission for the chance to make a leap toward a better tomorrow.”
“At the end, your career may be defined by a few small insights, so you have to be willing to put in those months for potentially having that one idea that will be the blockbuster.”

Charles Darwin struggled with what he called “mental rioting” on philosophy, nature, poetry and his observations to help usher in the modern scientific era. He wrote in his autobiography, “My memory is extensive, yet hazy.” Early on, he disciplined himself to write down any fact, observation, or thought that opposed his results. When On the Origin of Species went to press in 1859, Darwin proclaimed that he gained much by delaying the publishing and lost nothing by it. The book’s only illustration was a tree – critical to Darwin‘s vision. It is a Tree of Life, an ancient schema that illustrates all that he had discovered: the world of gradual and often-imperceptible change, vibrant connectivity, inescapable cycles of death and life, constant struggle, and fertile time alternating with the fallow.

Remembering means building palaces of memory and then bringing their treasures to light.

Be able to give space between reactions. Stepping away comes from trying not to be too much in control. Letting our minds quiet to digest and parse experience, then struggling and often stumbling to catch up with our shifted knowledge is key. When we set aside decisions, research, and ideas to percolate, the thinking doesn’t come from thinking harder, it comes from letting our thoughts sift and then confronting them once again.

Constant device use erodes time for rest and sleep, further disrupting memory processing. Higher smartphone use is linked to poorer sleep and worse memory.

By struggling to recollect, we can strengthen the connections, patterns, and contradictions of our growing stores of wisdom.

It’s the not-knowing that makes a work good. It’s the not-knowing what the future entails that can lead you to places of true understanding and beauty.

Chapter 5 title - Outside the Walls of Our Perspective: how tolerance sets us free

The secret to tolerance may lie where we least want to look, with the help of those we shun. “Prejudice begins with a glance, but flourishes behind the walls that we build to silence and distance one another.” Eradicating prejudice demands drawing closer to probe and then try on their perspective. “When we take the perspective of another we can begin to see not just someone’s uniqueness, but also the fuller texture of a life.” [Only 25% of Americans discuss important matters with someone from a different race, ethnicity, or political party. Four in five Facebook friends are like-minded politically.] Our core networks are not only homogenous but also shrinking. Across society, proximity and conformity tend to strengthen homogeneity of views, while distance and disregard deepen bias.

How can we make open-mindedness a daily practice, one encounter at a time?
Imagine life as an outgroup member or an outcast.
Brief crosscutting conversation helps as facing one another; the strangers emerge feeling closer to each other.
We need to question ourselves as much as we question others.
Consider the unknown sides of a person.
Know that somewhere between the path of easy accord for us and cold disregard for them, there is a middle ground.
Seek beyond our comfort zone: that is a place we may never seek without an inner struggle.
Knowing apartness breeds hatred, quickly and easily.
Seeing the other up close as a unique human, imagining another’s perspective, finding their individuality and your commonality, and learning our limits together can open minds.
Be willing to change. When two are willing to change, the world opens up.

“Tolerance is the only way that we can shield one another from the dark side of ourselves. Tolerance is the chance to create with another an evolving understanding. It is a mutual promise to keep learning. The most partisan people on either side, share a conviction beyond politics: intolerance of uncertainty.”

There can be too much cohesion, unity and homogeneity. Homogeneity discourages people from scrutinizing behavior. Cohesion feels wonderful, and it can quickly turn into a group opiate. Once we settle into the embrace of a unifying view, it becomes increasingly difficult to break away. Agreement breeds further perceptions of similarity. Agreeing is both rewarding and risky, a comfort that humans cling to even at enormous cost. Yearning for accord, people are stunningly likely to miss out on the differences between them that literally can save them from a fall.

Samuel Sommers has done much research as a scholar of bias and diversity at the University of Michigan. He found: Racially mixed jurors were more comprehensive and remained truer to the facts of the case. These groups not only made fewer inaccurate statements but also corrected their mistakes more often. They speculated more often about missing clues as well. In contrast, homogeneous groups became lazy “information processors.”
“Diversity is not about harmony, but about unleashing creative dissonance, of being able to see the world in all its complexity.” Diversity has long been haunted by the seeming taint of friction. Work teams with a mix of genders, roles, ethnicities, or races report higher levels of conflict and more dissatisfaction. They also tend to identify less with the group. For decades, diversity’s rough edges have been seen as something to smooth away by stressing commonality or teambuilding, efforts that study show may help a group bond or feel good, but do not tend to improve problem-solving performance. Friction of dissimilarity creates more innovative ideas and produces better results. Dissent stimulates thinking that is wide and curious as well as deep and scrutinizing. Mere exposure to dissent has a dramatic effect on people’s later capacity for originality. Social effervescence is sparked by the friction that emerges when differences are acknowledged and unpacked. “Disagreement becomes, in essence, collective uncertainty-in-action. This is the work of courage and of equity.” Good friction involves the “productive zone of disagreement” which involves brief “micro-conflicts,” most of which involve expressions of uncertainty. Holding onto the doubt is a critical part of working “at the edge of what is possible.” The use of expressions of uncertainty, such as “maybe,” “possibly,” or “somewhat,” can go far in making disagreement productive. These hedge words alert a group that it is on unfamiliar territory and that there is more to know. They help nurture conversational receptiveness, a willingness to engage productively with opposing viewpoints.
Groups must counterbalance the risk of belonging by setting up practices to preserve a culture of conflict. Curbing the innate human longing for cozy cohesion, demands constant vigilance, and a ceaseless willingness to court uncertainty. We must occupy the enlightening space between yes and no. Groups that cultivate judicious conflict, dissent, and mutual criticism tend to be high-performing, growing evidence reveals. Groups that skillfully nurture friction to explore what they do not know feel uneasy alongside a sense of challenge.

[Roy Kenagy · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was so much packed in this book and her intelligence is clear but it was so hard for me to use anything from this book and it was even harder for me to stick with it.

[Lian Chang]

from

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concepts in this book were quite good, but I did not enjoy the writing. Readers are made to wade through overly-detailed descriptions and multiple examples well after the point of the chapter is thoroughly made. I ended up skimming or outright skipping some examples because they were not necessary to understand, nor did they add anything to the narrative. It felt like content added to make this a book instead of an article.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many interactions seem based on certainty. We want to be right, so we tend to believe and follow the lead of people who seem certain. But by not acknowledging uncertainty, we lose opportunities to learn and innovate. In Uncertain, Maggie Jackson gives us some insight (and data) about why being uncertain can improve conversations, innovation, and even AI.

I get concerned when I see statements made with absolute certainty on subjects where I know there is some nuance. I want to be critical of the overly confident speaker, but the excess of questionable certainty we see has likely as much to do with the audience: we are wired to want simple answers, and for the most part, we give into that wiring. This means it’s easier to get followers, make points, and (in a professional context) get paid for answers rather than for acknowledging uncertainty and asking the right questions... even when the latter is usually better.

As a software developer and participant in civic conversations, the ideas in this book resonated in ways. Jackson helps you to understand the value of uncertainty in domains as varied as team dynamics, interviewing, problem-solving, and politics. Some of the many insights that surprised me were:

• A diverse group doesn’t just bring new ideas to the group; it also helps group members question their own assumptions.
• While experience gives you the ability to match patterns are provide answers quickly, expertise means being able to acknowledge that the patterns might not be what they seem.
• As much as reaching out to those you disagree with can help change minds, it’s equally important to question your own group if you want to influence others.

Uncertain may well be one of my favorite books. It will help you find the power in not being sure, something we might all need help with.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was taking my oral comprehensive exams in grad school, one of my professors asked a question I didn’t quite know the answer to. After much speculation I finally said “I don’t know.” He looked at me smugly and said “That’s what I was waiting for!” It was a valuable lesson in humility and uncertainty, and Maggie Jackson’s book brought it all back for me. There is power in being able to admit we don’t know something and open ourselves to new learning and new relationships. Jackson discusses the importance of diversity and openness in collaboration- something we can only achieve when we are willing to not know everything. The chapter on Life at the Edge opens the discussion on what we have to learn from those whose lives are most precarious-when we discard the deficit model and look to people’s strengths. In the chapter Notes From the Mind’s Own Sketchbook, Jackson reminds us of the importance of daydreaming. Creativity thrives in the space of not-knowing. And the final chapter on uncertainty in AI was fascinating- in the process of creating intelligence we learn so much about ourselves. The truth is, there is so much about life that is uncertain. Maggie Jackson reminds us that by embracing it we open ourselves up to so much more wisdom and joy.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Per the subtitle, there is indeed plenty of wisdom and wonder in being unsure. Too bad you won't find much discussion of that here.

First, the end of chapter 1? The Flint water crisis and similar matters cited are the arrogance of hypercapitalism, not hypercertainty.

Chapter 2? The Enigma? The whole story was told in a fractured manner. And, any arrogance of certainty was not on the part of non-Turing codebreakers but the Germans who invented it, the Germans who used it, etc. Later on, the author writes some stereotypically "puffing" statements about the two "darling" neurotransmitters of pop science lite, dopamine and norepinephrine. I knew this didn't look great.

Chapter 3? As I started grokking more? Not about uncertainty. Chapter 4, as I grokked more quickly? Ditto.

DNF wall.

I had hoped for something with bits of science of mind, but less than this, some psychology, and maybe even bits of philosophy. A disappointment.

And with the disjointed writing and other things, also a recommendation to not read any other books of Jackson's. (That said, with all her books here 3.5 stars or less, that's kind of obvious.)

[Beth Bonness · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first introduction to Maggie Jackson happened during a search for one of my newsletters about curiosity and uncertainty. Her NYT article,"How to Thrive in an Uncertain World,” struck a chord. The book takes us across hundreds of hours and thousands of miles while researching. Maggie peppers her chapters with anecdotes adding a personal touch to the research.

The book is divided into 4 parts:
Awakenings: how we can become aware of the possibilities in the space of uncertainty
Byways of the Mind: my favorite section, I use the 6 minute pause all the time to allow new information to be absorbed
Thinking as We: new perspective on how tolerance and collaboration (especially now) helps; how people who have a high tolerance for risk interact differently in the world, they argue to listen as one example
Aspiring minds: interesting concepts around weaving uncertainty into AI and how that can make us humans better too

There are too many quotes to include here, all I can do is encourage you to pick up a copy and be prepared to mark it up and take 6 minute breaks after you read another new insight.

Thank you Maggie,
Beth

[Dana G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this topic and had high hopes for the book. Unfortunately, I found it to be repetitive and too long, like a really smart friend who won't stop sharing fun facts, even if those little tidbits have little to do with the original topic. I expected more of a philosophical dive into uncertainty. Instead I found detailed example after detailed example, long after I got the author's point. There were definitely some interesting and intriguing pieces of information, but they were drawn out in a way that made me feel like I was racing to finish the book. Sometimes the information was interesting enough but didn't easily connect to the book's premise. Other times the premise was overstated and over explained. All in all, there were some gems in here (speculations of a more open ended future of AI, the benefits of sleep for generating ideas and recalling information, the social benefits of approaching others without knowing/assuming), but those gems were hidden in a rambling narrative that didn't work for this reader.

[Rob Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a book club at work and found it to be solid, though I didn't love it as much as I thought I might based on the premise. The main idea is that we benefit from allowing ourselves to question things, rather than assuming we understand how or why something is as it is. The strongest part of the book is when she discussed the value of diversity in helping groups get to better outcomes because of the different perspectives people bring to the table. However, other parts of the book meandered, and the practicality seemed less clear. The last chapter was a great discussion, but felt slightly disconnected from the rest of the book because it discussed the future of AI and the value of uncertainty in how we train these systems. Overall, this felt like a series of essays loosely connected to the idea of uncertainty, rather than a cohesive argument for a specific set of practices. For me, however, my biggest personal take-away was a reminder of the importance of reflection for learning and growth.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just had trouble retaining much from here. Even when I did retain anything, I found myself grazing it, wishing each chapter was shorter -- which was weird because the chapters aren't long and the cook isn't long.

Some advantages of being uncertain: it helps people learn by making them aware of their limitations. It gives people "fresh eyes" and a fresh perspective. It allows us to be more tolerant of those unlike us. It helps groups avoid likemindness that leads to worse performance. It can help with collaboration. It's a way to develop street smarts and learn how to get by. It also helps us overcome our mental traps and develop new skills. AI that acts with certainty is far more likely to lead to easy/massive goof ups, but AI taught to incorporate uncertainty does better.

The whole thing just felt bland to me. Your mileage may very.

[Aoife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie Jackson’s Uncertain is a powerful exploration of why embracing ambiguity is not a weakness, but a vital skill for our fast-changing world. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, and real-world stories—from surgeons to scientists—Jackson reveals how uncertainty fuels sharper thinking, deeper learning, and greater empathy.

This is not a light read, but it’s a rewarding one. Jackson challenges the myth that we always need to be sure, offering practical strategies for staying open-minded, asking better questions, and thriving in complexity. A timely, thought-provoking book for anyone navigating change, leading teams, or seeking clarity in the unknown.

[Maddie Huntley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is definitely wordy, there’re a ton of details and it feels meandering at times. I cherish it - the winding path and all of the stories woven in. the details the author incorporated were interesting — I felt sort of like I got to be a fly on a wall while she chatted with the experts she mentions. I also got a strong sense that the author worked on this book, or conceptualized it for a long time / or alternatively re-imagined things she learned over time and revisited them with new knowledge while she was doing background research for this book. Either way, I recommend it.

[Betsy Cavendish · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best aspects of this boo is that it is such a learned antidote to all the talk about how to relieve stress -- as if the goal of life is never to stretch yourself, with all the uncertainty that comes with such stretching. Jackson celebrates the growth and innovation and happiness that ensue from embracing forging into the unknown. Jackson is warm, humane, gifted, detailed, and inspiring. The book is an exemplar of why we need liberal arts thinkers who can draw deftly from many disciplines and knit ideas together cogently.

[Glenn Montgomery · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for something that tapped a wisdom beyond the typical scientific approach. I found the quotes at the beginning of each chapter more useful than much of the content which sometimes relied on illustrations ill-suited for the topic. Her tendency to "geek out" on the minutiae of experts activities and experimentation was for me an example of missing the forest for the trees. Ironically, the author attempt to convince us of the power of uncertainty was written with such certainty, she left little room to reflect and wax philosophical.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one I couldn’t quite finish (and I now realize that I did this not once, but twice, after checking it out from library a second time and not realizing I had tried to get through it before) … there are so many important ideas here and I have listened to the author do a couple of amazing-engaging interviews on this topic so I’m bummed that I didn’t love the book equally as much as hearing her speak … unfortunately I just got stuck & couldn’t motivate myself to finish (either time).

[Jane]

I enjoyed this book. It definitely gave me a new appreciation for being still in the not knowing. Our information age can be quite overwhelming. This book inspired me to think outside the box on a few problems in my life and contemplate solutions that I had not allowed myself to imagine due to my relationship with certainty. Even though the author was a bit word at times, I found it very thought provoking and helpful.

[Anna Hitchcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful, deeply-researched, thought-proving book. It truly made me question how approach my life, relationships and general decision making. I found the connection between uncertainty and fostering curiosity towards the unknown to be fascinating and mind-altering. I definitely recommend this book.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating compilation of studies and research. I love the theme and ideas but this is one of the most poorly written books I’ve ever read. I started editing the sentences just to make sense of them because the sentence structure of the majority of sentences is horrible. I couldn’t tell what the sentence was about until the end of the sentence. The paragraphs are structured similarly.

[Paul Vogelzang · Rating 5 out of 5]

The new book is excellent and was shared with me by the publisher. I loved it and hope to interview author @Maggie_Jackson: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
It's a great book with amazing advice and caring; times are uncertain and unpredictable, but we can do this.

[Betty Hitchcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jackson’s book coaches to reflect, pause, engage dissention through exposing the reader to an array of experiences the breadth of which are amazing in and of themselves. This romp through so many disciplines ends with AI, a juggernaut of our time. Yes, a hopeful must read for the curious!

[Joseph Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and thoughtful work on the power of knowing that we don’t know it all. Multilayered approach through various ways this shows up, the author does a great job of making a great case for the power of uncertainty.