Peter Lamont Bücher

Radical Thinking is a book about being more curious. It's about noticing the window through which you look. The window that frames your view of the world. It is, of course, a restricted view. Whatever you think - about any subject at all - it's based on what you notice and how you interpret what you see and hear. It's based on limited information, which is presented to you in a particular way, and on your personal preferences. Beyond this, there's a bigger picture. To see it, you need to be more curious. You need to wonder about what you're missing. You need to look at things from different angles. You need to realise the limits of your view. Radical Thinking is a look at the things that shape how we think about the world around us, and how, by noticing these things, we can make more sense of everything else. Written by a professor of psychology, it is based on more than twenty years of research and teaching on curious things, and on how people make sense of them.

We assume that the Indian rope trick is a piece of ancient Hindu magic. But think again: it is actually the product of a hoax which appeared in the Chicago Tribune in 1890. This wonderfully researched, playfully written book takes us on a journey through Victorian society where we discover the interest in magic of Charles Dickens; Alfred Russell Wallace; Edward, Prince of Wales; Lord Northbrook and Charles Darwin. We learn how in an age of reason the British came to love all things Oriental and how the legend of the rope trick came to be perpetuated throughout the 20th century as fanatical public figures and aristocrats went to India in search of it and returned claiming to have seen it being performed. This is a charming history book filled with colourful characters, known and unknown, all of whom pursued an obsession. Some were respected members of society, some were incredibly eccentric and utterly deluded. It is set against the background of Victorian society and shows how the writing of history itself can perpetuate myths and legends.