Uncertain
UNCERTAIN:
THE WISDOM AND WONDER OF BEING UNSURE
Maggie Jackson
Prometheus, November 7, 2023
Hardback $27.95, eBook $19.99
ISBN-13: 9781633889187, eBook ISBN: 9781633889194
ASIN: B0CBDJ17ZL
Jackson reports:
I’ve been intrigued for years by the question of what cognitive skills we need to flourish in a tech-centric age of flux. Along with focused attention—the topic of my book Distracted, (2nd Ed., 2018)—what types of thinking offer paths to clarity and depth? What are the necessary counterpoints to our steady diets of hurried, skimming reactivity? When I set out to write a new book investigating these questions, the answers took me by surprise.
At the outset, I envisioned an opening chapter on uncertainty’s relation to good thinking. I assumed this mindset was just a hurdle to overcome en route to a definitive answer. In time, however, I discovered that I had deeply misunderstood the nature of being unsure. Far from being synonymous with inertia and weakness, uncertainty plays a starring role in creativity, curiosity, adaptability, and even resilience, new research shows. I had found a critical missing link to thinking well and a timely focus for my book.
Maggie Jackson
Photo by Karen Smul
I decided to organize the book around a series of modes of what I call uncertainty-in-action, from productive dissent and creative reverie to the fallow time needed for meaning-making. This is my third book, and as before, I brought the story to life via research from across the sciences and humanities and copious reporting, this time in operating rooms, robotics labs, political campaigns, and more. I interviewed hundreds of people and did research in three countries and six states.
Shaping my book and decoding a complex, often-misunderstood subject took time. I benefited from supportive early feedback from my agents and from an outside editor, and from talks that I gave on the work-in-progress. Still, it was a difficult process, and some denizens of our efficiency-smitten culture raised eyebrows at how many years it took.
Yet in looking back, I believe that the errors, detours, and not-knowing intrinsic to the process were essential to the work of decoding uncertainty’s mysteries. In effect, I wound up living the teachings of my book. I hope that Uncertain helps writers and readers alike rethink their assumptions about not knowing and discover the overlooked wisdom of being unsure.
Contact info:
- Maggie Jackson, maggie@maggie-jackson.com, https://www.maggie-jackson.com/, Twitter (X): @maggie8jackson, Instagram: maggiemmjackson
- Book: Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure
- Publicist: Emily Jeffers, 800-462-6420, ejeffers@rowman.com
- Agent: Richard Pine/Eliza Rothstein, 212-922-3500, https://www.inkwellmanagement.com/
NASW members: will your book be published soon? Promote it by submitting your report for Advance Copy.
Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book, or had done differently.
See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines.
View Advance Copy archives at https://www.nasw.org/member-article/advance-copy.
Thinking of writing a book? If you are a NASW member, you may access a list of more than 200 books and online resources to help you craft your book proposal, find an agent and funding sources, negotiate your contract, learn about self-publishing, publicize and market your book, and more at https://www.nasw.org/article/write-book.
View the recording of a recent Advance Copy Virtual Business Chat, A Primer for Authors on Book Publicity. NASW member login required.
Send book info and questions about book publishing to Lynne Lamberg, NASW book editor, llamberg@nasw.org.
Follow @LynneLamberg on Twitter for news about science/medical books, writing, and NASW authors.
Banner image adapted from original photo by Maggie Jackson.
NASW invites publishers and publicists to purchase NASW website ads to promote their authors and books. Visit https://www.nasw.org/node/add/ad to access NASW’s self-service purchasing portal.
