Mindwise by Nicholas Epley.

The experience of reading this book was marked with “Aha!” moments, with sprinkles of “So that’s why they did that!” Staying true to its description, Mindwise explains — in thorough and research-backed detail — why we continue to assume things about other people even though our assumptions are consistently proven wrong, why we over-exaggerate our knowledge of other humans’ minds, and why we tend to think of our own minds as far more advanced and developed than the other basics surrounding us.

Mindwise does not go light on giving credit where it is due. If you’re one who struggles through reading work that cites, and cites, and cites, this probably isn’t the book for you. The good news is that you’ll know, undoubtedly, that what you’re reading is true, and that that truth is recorded and traceable. The bad news is that it definitely mirrors the work of someone who was threatened with the consequences of plagiarism more than once. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book because I am a bit of a research nerd and I love when science backs my assumptions (read: I love being right and being proven right). I get the feeling that Mr. Epley is the same way.

I bought this book in undergrad when my mind was not developed enough to sit through 20-page chapters of cited research interrupted by fun stories and riveting conclusions. In retrospect, I was better off buying a fiction book that detailed a depressed black girl fawning over a guy who told her more than twice that he didn’t want to be with her, but she continued on the path of willingness, anyway. I digress, however.

Four years and two degrees later, I was in a better state of mind to read and understand this book, and I’m grateful that I didn’t give it away during its season of isolation in my life. I should mention that this book does involve a heavy dose of fancy psychologist jargon that will implore you to read some paragraphs more than twice at times. Still, if you are in favor of new knowledge and always feeling like you know more than everyone else in the room, I highly recommend it. Beyond the words that will cause you to download (and use) the Dictionary app, Mindwise does an excellent job in explaining why we tend to cement ourselves in our assumptions of other people’s minds and intentions.

One of my favorite excerpts uses the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina to explain how people’s actions can lead us to incorrectly infer the state of their inner mind. In assuming that the individuals and families who “ignored” the strongly-urged warning to leave the state and evacuate to safety were “stupid,” “passive,” and “inflexible,” the assumer decided not to consider a broader perspective of the particular circumstances. By not adopting a broader view, the assumer made a narrow assumption about a person’s intellect based on their behavior. Now, this is not to say that sometimes a person’s behavior won’t mirror what they’re thinking, because more often than not, it will. This is to say, however, that instead of jumping to that conclusion first, we should adopt a broader observation of circumstances instead of honing in on what a person does as the deciding factor of how stupid (or smart) they are. With the example of Hurricane Katrina, a broader view would have lent the possibility to consider financial restraints, the absence of family or attainable shelter in other parts of the state (or out-of-state), family size and how difficult it would be to travel with a large party (not to mention infants and/or pets), and other very considerable elements that would hamper anyone’s ability to just pick up and go even with the threat of impending danger. We (read: white people) should not have assumed that those who stayed in Louisiana at the time were incompetent and lazy because, in reality, they probably just couldn’t leave even though they wanted to.

Read duration: Again, the book is super good, y’all. With 188 pages (excluding the acknowledgements, epilogue, and citing material, which would put the book at an insurmountable 242 pages), you can easily read (and retain) this gem in 2-3 weeks. It’s full of knowledge, and if you’re one who likes to boast about your valedictorian achievement and the fact that you skipped the first grade, it’ll only add to your mental arsenal. One of my recent favorites.

Here is it on Amazon, and you can also find it at Barnes & Noble.