Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure

A Next Big Idea Club Top 25 Non-Fiction Book of 2024​!

" Maggie Jackson’s incisive and timely book is a provocative exploration of the surprising benefits of not knowing. . . and shows how this state of mind can jolt us from intellectual complacency and foster creativity, resilience, and mutual understanding . Uncertain is a triumphant ode to the wisdom of being unsure .” – Daniel H. Pink , #1 New York Times -bestselling author of The Power of Regret , Drive , and When

"With cutting-edge science and insights both surprising and practical, Uncertain shows how cultivating an open and unsettled mindset can help us to spark curiosity, compassion, and creativity. " – Gretchen Rubin, New York Times -bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Life in Five Senses

"…remarkable and persuasive…" —Library Journal

“A Can't Miss, Must-Read." —Next Big Idea Club

A revolutionary guide to flourishing in times of flux and angst by harnessing the overlooked power of our uncertainty.

In an era of terrifying unpredictability, we race to address complex crises with quick, sure algorithms, bullet points, and tweets. How could we find the clarity and vision so urgently needed today by being unsure? Uncertain is about the triumph of doing just that. A scientific adventure tale set on the front lines of a volatile era, this epiphany of a book by award-winning author Maggie Jackson shows us how to skillfully confront the unexpected and the unknown, and how to harness not-knowing in the service of wisdom, invention, mutual understanding, and resilience.

Long neglected as a topic of study and widely treated as a shameful flaw, uncertainty is revealed to be a crucial gadfly of the mind, jolting us from the routine and the assumed into a space for exploring unseen meaning. Far from luring us into inertia, uncertainty is the mindset most needed in times of flux and a remarkable antidote to the narrow-mindedness of our day.

In laboratories, political campaigns, and on the frontiers of artificial intelligence, Jackson meets the pioneers decoding the surprising gifts of being unsure. Each chapter examines a mode of uncertainty-in-action, from creative reverie to the dissent that spurs team success. Step by step, the art and science of uncertainty reveal being unsure as a skill set for incisive thinking and day-to-day flourishing.