Adam Mastroianni

One of the most enjoyable books I have ever read. Brimming over with new ideas and thoughts, also funny, also just joyful. The sense of a very brilliant person having a whale of a time introducing you to their very best ideas.

Naomi Alderman, bestselling author of The Power

This book is a marvel. It feels like getting a beer with a comedian who also happens to be one of the smartest people in the world. Funny, profound, packed with scientific history, psychology, philosophy, and potty humor, Adam Mastroianni’s first book is a truly original work about the mystery of where original ideas come from.

Derek Thompson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Abundance

Brilliant, original, provocative, and—of all things—funny, The Strangest Idea in the World is a deeply important book that will be discussed and debated, celebrated and hated, lauded, applauded, and thrown across the room.

Daniel Gilbert, Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and New York Times bestselling author of Stumbling on Happinness

Through discovery and innovation we achieve miracles. But people show remarkably little curiosity about this aspect of human history: what are discovery and innovation, why do they happen to us and not to rabbits or rocks and why don't they happen more often? Adam Mastroianni's ingenious and delightful book explores how we have to fight our own natures to change the world for the better.

Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation Works

Adam Mastroianni has accomplished the extraordinary: he's reinvented the act of reading with this joyous and genius book. I laughed, cried, ripped out pages, and cringed at my own ignorance. I felt like a kid devouring my first interactive adventure book, except this time I walked away with a deep reverence for humanity's (often stupid) pursuit of truth. This book might just save the world.

Susannah Cahalan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire

A gonzo exploration of science, progress, and creativity brimming with insights and epiphanies. I don’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun reading a serious book.

Steven Pinker, Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and New York Times bestselling author of Enlightenment Now and Rationality

His breezy style is clever and wry. His examples of historically durable misconceptions abound. His descriptions of humankind’s ability to repeat mistakes are fascinating. Near the conclusion of his Strangest Idea, Adam Mastroianni reminds us. “The first barrier between us and more knowledge is the mistaken belief that there’s no more knowledge to get.” Is that a puzzling premise? If so, this book is for you.

Adam Mastroianni

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