I picked up this book with no background knowledge about the author or topic, but it was recommended as a good book on improving critical thinking skills. Later I found quite a few TED talks online by the writer, and learned about the impressive life that the author lived as a doctor in Sweden and overseas as well as a global health expert.
The book starts with a short quiz and these results are enough to really change the way you see the world around you. Once the author explains all the background behind each question the book really comes together.
There are ten points to be aware of – ten blind spots that could affect your thinking and lead you astray while considering an issue. The author illustrates (literally) and explains each point, writing in a style that is very enjoyable to read. Because he is writing in a non-native language the expressions and the way he describes situations are very unique. He seems like a very intense person with a quirky sense of humor, and later when seeing him do TED talks online I could understand where it comes from.
Along with the ten points he also tells stories of his experiences and these make for very good reading. Sometimes he diverges a bit when a topic is more interesting to him but I was able to forgive the short digressions – the book isn’t too long at all.
The book does deliver on its promise and the challenge for me now is to keep these blind spots in mind in the future. I’m good at keeping 2-3 things in my head at once but 10 will be tough. It would be worth going back and skimming this book again after a while to really help the points sink in.
This book was published in 2017 and the author died shortly before publication. I was especially surprised to read the section where he outlined his 5 biggest fears for the world in the future, and the number one threat on his list was a global pandemic. It is amazing to consider that he died just a few years before this fear was actually realized.
Next I’ll be reading A Journey Without Maps by Graham Greene.
