Can a book we read make us more rational? Can it help us understand why there is so much absurdity in the world? Steven Pinker, author of the book Enlightenment Now (Bill Gates' "new favorite book of all time"), answers all these questions.

Today, humanity is driving scientific understanding to new heights, yet it seems to be losing its reason. How can a species that developed vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much false news, so many quacks, so many conspiracy theories? Pinker dismisses the cynical cliché that humans are simply irrational – cave people, burdened with biases, fallacies, and delusions.

In reality, we think in logical ways when we act within the low-tech contexts where we spend most of our lives, but we fail to leverage the powerful tools of rationality that we have discovered over millennia: logic, critical thinking, probabilities, correlation, and causality, as well as the best ways to update our beliefs and commitments, both individual and collective.

These tools are not a typical part of our education, and this is the first time they are presented so clearly and entertainingly in a book. Rationality is important. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere and is the ultimate driving force of social justice and moral progress.

Overflowing with Pinker's usual insight and humor, this book enlightens, inspires, and empowers.