'How Not to Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind' by James O'Brien.
We live in complicated times. Thanks to traditional and social media, we're not only more aware of socio-political issues than ever before, but also expected to have something to say about them all. On top of everyday discussions with friends and family, it's become the norm for TV and radio presenters to ask us to text, tweet or email our opinions on the topic of the day. But can we always tell which opinions come from facts and experience, and which are inspired by feelings and trauma? And are we doing ourselves - and the wider debate - a disservice by not working out which is which? These questions lie at the heart of James O'Brien's latest book, 'How Not to Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind'.
Thinking Man's Trumpet
In 'How Not to Be Wrong', journalist, podcaster and radio presenter James O'Brien uses himself as a case study in understanding why we hold the opinions that we do. After entering therapy, he was forced to revisit some of his core beliefs and attitudes, many of which he'd argued for vigorously throughout his broadcast career. He was surprised by the results. Exploring his response to topics including corporal punishment, visible tattoos, white male privilege, and obesity using techniques honed with his callers, he realised some of his own, deeply held opinions were based on something other than fact. By delving into the emotional source of these opinions and recognising his own contradictions and hypocrisies, he demonstrates how it is possible to understand their origins and indeed change his mind. But are his readers ready for a similar journey?
Case in Point
'How Not to Be Wrong' reverses the approach used in O'Brien's previous book, 'How to Be Right in a World Gone Wrong'. In the latter, he used logical thinking to dissect other people's opinions, but in this book he critiques his own. This makes for an interesting and thought-provoking book that is also brave, in its way. After all, people in the public eye are often portrayed as all hero or all villain, so to show your readers that you get it wrong sometimes by holding extremely subjective or contradictory opinions bucks the narrative and risks challenge or disappointment from all sides. 'How Not to Be Wrong' shows that there is nuance in opinion, and it's worth reflecting on the issues you feel most passionately about to separate personal bugbears from those causes that should be fought for.
Left, Right, Centre
Interestingly for someone considered a prominent leftie, a number of the opinions O'Brien examines are more normally associated with the right. For example, he looks at his defence of historic corporal punishment and his belief in marriage as the relationship gold standard. On the whole, I got the impression of a human being trying to muddle their way through and live a 'good' life in the same way all human beings are, which was refreshing and gave the book a relatable sense of honesty.
Write Stuff
While the process that O'Brien describes was relatable, sometimes his vocabulary had me reaching for the dictionary. Not a bad thing necessarily - after all, how else do we learn new and useful words? - but if the intention of this book is to bring these ideas to a wider audience, some of the language could act as a barrier.
Overall
I found 'How Not to Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind' very interesting, and surprisingly practical. As with O'Brien's previous book, I think public discourse would feel much more constructive if his logical and common sense approach were applied more often, but you know that the worst offenders would a) never let go of their bombast-founded popularity, and b) read this book in the first place, except perhaps to ridicule it. For those of us baffled and perhaps overwhelmed by the way things are discussed these days, however, 'How Not to Be Wrong' presents a thought-provoking and attractive alternative.
Now, what next...?
This post is based on the hardback of 'How Not to Be Wrong: The Art of Changing Your Mind' by James O'Brien. It was published by WH Allen, an imprint of Ebury Publishing, in 2020.
