Superstition is a natural and common phenomenon. Consider the athlete that doesn’t change underwear on a winning streak; the gambler who blows on a set of dice at the craps table; the sports fan who ...

Below, Montell shares five key insights from her new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality. Listen to the audio version—read by Montell herself—in the Next Big Idea App.

In my recent post, "Understanding Magical Thinking OCD," I explained how this form of OCD works, develops, and intensifies over time. I described a cycle involving the following: An inflated sense of ...