Rethink: The Surprising History of New Ideas

Guardian columnist Poole (Trigger Happy 2.0) explores the ways ideas are adapted, amended, and abandoned over time, and considers where the human capacity for rethinking might take us in the future. Poole represents human understanding not as a linear trajectory but rather as “a wild roller-coaster ride full of loops and switchbacks.” In the 21st century doctors are reconsidering the benefits of leeches and shock therapy, and ideas ahead of their time, such as a 1965 invention similar to the e-cigarette, come back around. Poole champions thinkers who have fallen by the wayside, including pre-Darwin evolutionist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Copernicus’s rival Tycho Brahe, and considers current theories that may eventually gain ground, such as Rupert Sheldrake’s controversial “morphic resonance” theory of collective memory. The most entertaining chapters concern “zombie” ideas, which reemerge despite being demonstrably false, such as the belief that the Earth is flat, and “placebo” ideas, which are useful without necessarily being true, such as the contested theory that alcoholism is a disease. Poole rounds out the discussion with ideas currently undergoing an ideological makeover, such as eugenics (newly relevant due to innovations in gene-editing techniques), and predictions of the most promising ideas for the future. Poole covers a remarkable amount of ground in the history of Western thought, from ancient Greek philosophy to modern warfare. With the exception of some mind-bending theoretical physics, the book is remarkably accessible and well-organized. Such a cross-section of material guarantees there is something here for everyone. [em]Agent: Jon Elek, United Agents. (Nov.) [/em]