Then will jump right in. Scott here no interest in giving a speech before mr. Asking questions. What you start asking questions. There we go. Just in time for thanksgiving. A book to help you deal with people with whom you disagree. Everyone, get out and get your copy. Gavel, intro, questions. Please send yours up. They dont have to be related to just the book. Here weit go. My name is melissa caen. Welcome to the Commonwealth Club hosting of the scott adams. In his new book loserthink scott dison did epidemic of mental shortcuts that he believes is making as prone to believing in bad ideas. Racist,g that gun control is equal to full compensation and most importantly avoiding self reflection join personal relationships and period were very excited to have him here with us tonight to discuss his new book. Loser thing. And whatever else you guys would like to ask him. He has told me that that thing is loft offlimits for so they go. Please welcome scott adams. [applause] loser say is the word i invented. I noticed join i was im twitter mostly the debating with various trolls and real people is it too, and every once in a while somebody would make a really good comment. And i say, i dont quite agree with that but that is really well put. So i would check in the profile, so the lawyer or economist, scientist. Then i would see, those just been shipped. Im not supposed to see that probably but i look at it and i would say, losing that. And i would click im the profile. And it would be a musician. Or a journalist, and im thinking to myself, is that a coincidence or is there something about from your experience in different fields, and teaches you how to say. In reflecting im my own experience. I have a degree in economics and an mba. And literally they teach you how to say. It is also much, the learning specifics and economics, they teach you how to compare things, teach you how to so cost, the teacher about the value of her name. And usually these are the some of the techniques that the teacher how to say productively about your world. So it scientist have their own way of looking at things and some historians and psychologist. And for some weird reason, ive had an experience in all of the skills. Im a trained hypnotist. Please dont pray [laughter] and ive worked in Corporate America for 16 years and held a variety of jobs from strategies and jobs in technology and just by chance, ive experienced a lot of domains. And then you pick up, how did they say in those domains. A lot of people just havent been exposed to them. So i thought it would write the book and fill in those gaps if you have any. For journalist, and if you are, and for people who are more disciplinary. Is it just the non humanities. [laughter] its not even learning the depth of those fields. So i can teach you how and economist thanks, will a good example. This how easy it is. If you never entered the concept of soak cost. Raise your hand. Maybe less than half. [laughter] so cost refers to the idea that if you already its been your her name im something, see youve invested it, thank you shouldnt look to that to make your next decision. Another words you should see that her name is gone. I cant get a bat, there is nothing i can do in the future that will change the fact that it is gone. It is sunk. If you make a decision based im the her name of our respect, which we will do, and they see, ive already put x dollars into this, i dont want to waste it. So i better double down the keep investing. Now that feels like common sense. The first time you hear that you cant change the path, see oh yeah, that sucks. Its fun. I was just a white decision as if i were starting today and ive never even heard of the other stuff. So thats how easy you can learn it. I dont need to be an economist you just have to see some of these things once and it becomes part of your thinking. How a loser thing because you really want to stay away from calling people domains. Actually run long, calling people stupid will not make them smart. [laughter] pending intro. But you said loser say, because you want to address the behavior and not demonize the person. See talk about these labels. And help that is one method of loser say. News one of the things that i learned is that mockery is incredibly powerful. Anyway see to me, i cant tell you how many people have said this. Lots of people. They would write me an email see we were going to do this certain policy at work, but we saw of years mocking it. So we decided not to. [laughter] because nobody wants to do the things already been pre mocked. The second rain have to wait. I mock you in advance. You dont even have to wait. No waiting. [laughter] in fact, even elon musk, when he is writing about what to his employees and how he wanted them to behave or the culture should be like, what are the steps was to not do anything. Policy wise that would make it into a comic. [laughter] now the power of that is that he didnt have to explain with event. Is Everybody Knows dilbert and the comic. You know them we do see them. Thats a dilbert situation there. I use that same technique by coming up with a word loser say, people can use and see hey thats a loser thing. Heres a photo that it took in the patient book that explains it better than i can. So i get permission to the book to tweet out a page. Two people who have a gap in their thinking. And he can be filled in. Noah of course having the word like loser say makes it easier to muck people. Nobody wants to hear, hey thats loser say. I was checking my twitter feed before he came in here. A lot of people are the book. Accusing other people look loser say. [laughter] i say it is already working. [laughter] sewing using mockery and to a much better way. Intent more productive thinking. To think people really need this book are going to buy it or do you think just like a holiday sale. Or for people buy it for them or their friends. [laughter] we do name a book loser think, you pretty much guaranteeing that theyre going to give it to somebody for the holidays. The real good news is it feels like a gift. But you are not really sure. [laughter] hey uncle bob, i get to this book. Loser think. You learn about other people. [laughter] so one of the chapters you write talks about a mindreading. Pun intended, you are in my mind with it. Because it is one of the most frustrating things that i see im the internet. People who are sort of trying to assert that they know whats in their soul or your mind are in somebody elses heart. Is another example like i try to name that. There mindreading the courses already were but applying it in a way gives them a little extra power. If you look that is, you see the funds jabbering one side of the other. Quite often, your jabbering is it about an assumption about what a stranger is thinking. What were their real motives. What is the real reason you are doing this. Now sometimes they are right, sometimes it is obvious stuff. Political stuff is usually pretty obvious many times you couldnt possibly know the stranger is thinking. Man is evidence that you are not good at mindreading, give you every relationship youve ever been in. Because there is probably 70 sitting right next to you in the last 24 hours, assumed you were mad we do werent or assumed they were hungry we were to assume that you are happy we do are. My husbands the front row be careful sir. [laughter] so mindreading is something that i call out and bite giving me the work of putting the goat was her think, it allows people to see oh yeah, that is a bad think. And weirdly enough, it was so pervasive, i dont know if i ever heard a Single Person ever call an elf. No, you imagining you could read some of his mind but in moments is called l, become sort of part of the conversation. And then you are going to start spotting it. Way to tell you what you see what happens in the coming weeks for you going to start seeing mindreading all over the place and you see, i guess its out before but it crystallized because somebody talked about it as a word. And i was a think. There are a lot of Great Concepts in the book. There is something here where i really feel like i read. In one part coming talk about the difference between coincidences and things that are actually you know, anything you should take seriously. His writing about this day, and is talking about all of these things are happening appears to be magical. I quote, a few days ago i arranged my collections of flashlights are in is like, you have a collection of flashlights. [laughter] this book should be called i have a collection of flashlights. How do you have, how many do you have, is our community. I need to know. I really like flashlights. I confess that readily. I built a shrine to my flashlights and women cave in my garage. Literally, i put them up the board and make sure they all had fresh batteries and everything. I never done that before. I always loved flashlights. Id always buy a new one. Site if my collection other than the raw fresh batteries, im so happy with it. In the First Time Ever ive been leaving in my house, somebody ran into a powerful suv, and plunged my neighborhood into darkness. In the same time that i built a shrine to flashlights. [laughter] is ours and myself, no problem, look my flashlights was good. So, do you have. Well i recycle and throws them have a good solid 25. The core collection. Are there antiques, they heard appointments. Is like a community where you like, oh thats that version. Thats amazing. Its been a thats a good idea. [laughter] now theyre mostly classic and and just like other look. I was like flashlights. Its hard to explain. Now we know. Thank you. So you are not a fan of the press. As a member of the press, i was really going, well, but i think is fair. Sue mckay didnt name you. At this time. [laughter] but i didnt feel like it was unfair. You are attacking the structure of the press. Even something that i think a lot of journalists wouldnt even disagree with you about. Sometimes a little bit about that how that that feeds into the way people think. Selected put it into a context of a small technological change. Nobody noticed what happened. Which is the ability to measure with precision what people are clicking im and even why in some cases. And once that was the case, once everybody could measure, these people click im this and these people click im that. It would become obvious as it did. The things they want to click im are the crazy stuff. The things that make your hair catch im fire, i want to hear about the budget. I would hear about an impeachment. I want to hear about a plot or the government. Some really good stuff. So we are all elevated in our opinions because the news model is forcing us towards more provocative stuff. So are before they wouldve just said, here is the news snore. Now it is replaced the entertainment to a large extent. Off of some of you would relate to this pre hemi of you watch the news like entertainment. Its also much for the news anymore but for the last. Seventy liars in here. Everybodys hand should be up. So that is the big problem. Once you can measure stuff, there is no way the Public Companies with their open stockholders could do anything but do things that can get the most attention. Until we bifurcated their news consumption. Conservatives are little more likely i think statistically to alisa sample scene and once in a while because its more pervasive. But people on the left typically are not even aware of the argument on the right or they might know one of them but not the good one. For example, not mine. [laughing] so thats part of the problem. You to get some tips for how to get out of your bubble. How to recognize if youre in one and then how to communicate, how to i recommend pharmaceuticals. [laughing] not in the way you think. Not in the way you think. If youou watch the news, as i do quite a bit, there are pharmaceutical commercials that come on. If you make the mistake of listening to one you are going to hear more problems than you knew that a human could have healthwise. [laughing] they will come on essay you can take this pill and it will solve one problem, but you will have diarrhea and you will have your heart will explode and your lungs will be congested. Forget aboutl sex against all good drugs take that off the table. Thats the first thing they do. L commercial first of all get it l off because i dont want to hear about the problems because i dont have those problems. Because then you think i do have a rash as a matter of fact. So to change the channel as quickly as possible to the opposite cnn or fox news and in that way a lot of the ugly commercials i expose myself to you have to do it the way i do if you not sampling both sides you really dont know whats going on but you mightng think u do and thats the most dangerous situation. You telll a story about your dog snickers that a think its a great anecdote. Youre right i think my dog snickers believes im an idiot because i dont take her outside to play which is clearly communicating to me it is time to do so. Snickers knows shes sending me the lets go outside signal so she knows i am physically able to go outside so if i dont stop when doing and take her out, does she think im stupid . You go on to say sometimes your snickers, sometimes you are you in the scenario in a way requires empathy and imagination to really think about where the other person is coming from. Heres an example where being an artist or a creative person gives you may be a little better vision on the world and perhaps the engineer or the scientist. Before when i sync different professions have different styles of thinking it wasnt to insult one because theres genius of the goes across every kind of domain. But in this example an artist or something somebody who creates for a living might have a little more densityn to imagine there are for theplanations facts. Industry i use is my car is perpetually dirty. If you saw my dirty car you would say to yourself its kind of an expensive car. He could y probably afford to gt a wash. Hes got a flexible schedule. He could get it washed so if you can afford it he has the time and is never washed, he probably is saving water or he cares about something or hes blind. Whats the reason . The real reason is the one you would never imagine. In fact, you are all try to think of it, whats the real reason . Is he going to tell us . Im going to chile. The real reason is i have an irrational fear of public instructions. I dont know if any of you have this, but i dont want to be in public or anybodyat can cindy ad have to figure out the instructions while people are watching. The problem is i am too literal. Because it will be very clear but, for example, i use example of i go to the of the assigned this is wait here and and in te cashier will say next, for a moment i will be stunned because i be like, it says wait here but you were saying go up. I dont know if you have that authority. [laughing]g] did you make the sign . Is this your sign . Or is this your bosses sign . If it is your bosses sign that what here i dont let it get in this car wash, get halfway in, turn sideways, there did dismantle the carwash euphony and headlines are idiot cartoonist destroys carwash. Thats why my car is pretty. Did you guess that . Did anybody have that one . No. The point is you have to make assumptions to live. You cant live and operate in the world thatt continues in making assumptions including assumptions about what people are thinking matter how poorly we do it. You have to do it to survive but just be aware that just because you cant think of the other reason these things could happen especially if youre watching the news, that doesnt mean the one reason given is the reason. In fact, that talk about the 48 hour rule. You should just wait 48 hours when you see something in the newsn that makes your blood bol and you think how could that happen . How could that happen . Then two days later the news is that didnt actually happen. It seems we got that wrong. Just wait a couple days until the fog of war dissipates before you get too worked up about anything. Excellent. We have a number of questions from the audience so we wont go back and forth between the book and questions. Why does dogbert tail always wag when he does evil . The dilbert characters are mostly versions of me. You know how you have lots of different personalities sort of all inside you . Dogbert is a a part of my personality assessment does the things that i couldnt be because i would be beaten up or put in jail. But the thoughts, i think of those things, i just dont get it because its not polite or legal or whatever. Dogbert can do that and i like to show his delight by his tail because the artwork has never eyeballs or a mouth. So theres not much i have years and a tail to work with, thats about it. Hes enjoying it. So this question is, when do you find yourself in loserthink . Are their traps you have to be conscious of . All the tighter the when i into overtime is usingwhen i analogies for more than they should be used for. Its just so easy because its a natural way to talk to make analogies. Analogies are great for explaining a new concept for the first time. If youre trying to tell someong what receiver is and theyve never seen a a zebra but they kw what horse is, its like a horse but it has stripes. Its a good shortcut. What you dont want to do is use the analogy to predict. If you turn on the news youll see all kinds of people doing exactly that and it makes no sense. If you see your cat has a Little Market under his nose, and looks like a hitlerik mustache, that doesnt mean your cat is going to invade poland. It doesnt work that way. Likewise, if you see the president criticizing the press, yeah, dictator did that but that doesnt mean hes going to invade poland either. It could mean the press has crossed the line and he productive or politically productive to criticize him but dont take the analogy of predictive. Analogies are really bad ways to predict. And also so was the slippery slope. You talk about a number things people do to future trip as some people would say about sort of how this guy is going to fall and a bad things are going to be based on history repeating itself. Hi history repeats is one of the biggest loser things that youre all familiar with. Youve heard it a million times, you see it in your own life, historyt repeats. History doesnt repeat. It cant because youre in a different situation with different variables and often you are familiar with the real history but that does not to do it this time. It seems like history repeats come first of all we are just reminded of other things. Thats the analogy problem but we dont notice all the times history doesnt repeat. If you could send a see a chart, heres your chart, your pie chart. Heres all the times history didnt repeat because it couldnt have this little sliver, looks like something that happened before but its not predicted because you dont know which sliver is a one that will repeat coincidentally and what to be the one you never noticed didnt repeat. You talk about your political views and about how sort of common some ways they are very little. And although alone i do a lot of i will say defense but you do a lot of sort of at least on the twitter, engaging people about allegations about the president. Can you talk about how that cam