Past Events
Keynote: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure in an Age of Flux
October 30th, 2024
Luncheon Keynote
Pickle Packers International Annual Meeting Palmer House Hilton (Invite-only)
Chicago, IL
In this keynote to the annual conference of the trade association Pickle Packers International, Maggie will reveal how business innovators can deftly wield the space of possibilities that is human uncertainty and come out ahead in a time of rapid change. Far from miring us in inertia, not-knowing is the overlooked pathway to superior insight, innovation, and collaboration from the boardroom to the factory floor. Maggie will reveal findings from the new science of uncertainty, a host of practical strategies, a few of her reporting adventures, and the secrets to flourishing amid flux and angst. In an era of rising unknowns and heightened volatility, an "uncertainty mindset" is the new must-have skill set.
Learn more here.
The Writing Life: The Provocation of Uncertainty
September 17th, 2024
3:30 - 5:00 pm
New York Society Library
53 East 79th Street
New York, NY
Do you fear the blank page and curse the unsureness that is an inescapable part of writing? Contrary to popular assumption, uncertainty is actually a proven ally to good thinking, a boon to creativity, and an antidote to the angst that holds us back from soaring creativity. Part of the venerable New York Society Library's "Writing Life" series, this free interactive talk by the acclaimed author of Uncertain will explore how to harness the "good stress" of not-knowing - and bring more curiosity, wonder, and discernment to your writing! Open to NYSL members only.
Learn more about how to join here!
Uncertain in Ann Arbor
September 11th, 2024
6:30 - 7:30 pm
Ann Arbor District Library - Downtown
343 S. Fifth Street
Ann Arbor, MI
Why does a restful pause seed deep insight and learning? How can unsureness help us stand up for what's right while also begin to heal the divisions of our day? How does ambivalence make leaders more resourceful? Join Maggie Jackson at the beautiful downtown Ann Arbor District Library for a deep dive into the neural workings of uncertainty and the new scientific discoveries revealing the wisdom of this long-misunderstood state of mind.There will be an interactive book talk as well as signings for both Uncertain and Distracted.
Summer Speaker Series - Acoaxet Club
July 30th, 2024
4:30 - 6:00 pm
152 Howland Rd,
Westport, MA
In this event open to all, Maggie brings Uncertain to the summer Speaker Series of the venerable Acoaxet Club on the Atlantic shore. She will discuss the critical role that our uncertainty plays in curiosity, resilience, creativity, and adaptability – the cognitive skills we need most in an era of rising unknowns. Maggie will share cutting-edge science, practical strategies, a few of her reporting adventures, and secrets to flourishing in a time of flux. Come prepared to learn, question, and ponder the gifts of being unsure! Refreshments available for purchase, and books will be sold courtesy of Partner’s General Store.
Open to all and no reservations required. For more information, contact the Club.
Book Love Presents: A Talk and Reading with the Author of Uncertain
July 18th, 2024
6:00 - 7:30 pm
7 Village Green South
Plymouth, MA
Join Maggie for a summertime dive into Uncertain at Book Love, a store with heart and spunk by the Massachusetts shore. In a year fraught with precarity in geopolitics, climate and health, Maggie's timely and popular scientific adventure tale explains why we should paradoxically seek not-knowing and unsureness in times of flux. Book Love started life in a shipping container and is now a spacious, light-filled treasure trove of books and more, set in The Pinehills community of Plymouth, just a few miles from Cape Cod Bay.
The Fluidity of Perception: A Gallery Talk
July 11th, 2024
5:00 - 6:30 pm
The Deedee Shattuck Gallery
Westport, MA
Join Maggie for a dialogue with renowned artists Chris Gustin and Nancy Train Smith on the occasion of their new dual show, The Fluidity of Perception. The three will discuss the critical role that not-knowing plays in the creative process, particularly during seismic moments of transition and unpredictability, and in their own highly collaborative work. Maggie featured Gustin’s deep knowledge of the wisdom of not-knowing in Uncertain. Maggie's books will be available.
More information here on the talk and the show.
Yale Club of D.C. Virtual Book Talk
July 10th, 2024
6:30 - 7:45 pm
Virtual
How can unsureness help us stand up for what's right while also begin to heal the divisions of our day? How does ambivalence make leaders more resourceful? Why is the uncertainty we fear actually essential for curiosity, creativity, and resilience? Join Maggie for an interactive talk on her acclaimed new book Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure. Drawing on cutting-edge reporting from Paris to Los Angeles and in-depth multi-disciplinary research, Jackson upends our outdated notions of uncertainty as inertia and weakness. Instead, productive not-knowing is a proven path to mental well-being, a promising strategy for making AI safe for humanity and the mindset we most need in this time of flux and angst. Hosted by the Yale Club of DC.
Information available at the Club's website. Open to Alumni and Yale Club DC Members. Register here.
The Wisdom of Uncertainty: Launching a Non-Fiction Reading Series
May 29th, 2024
7:00 - 8:00 pm
Serendipity Books
108 E. Middle Street
Chelsea, MI
How can we skillfully contend with the unknown and the unsureness it sparks?
How can we cultivate the wisdom of uncertainty - and not appear weak? Why is not-knowing an unsung antidote to polarization? On the next leg of the popular "Uncertain Tour," Maggie will be the inaugural author in a new series of non-fiction talks at Serendipity Books in beautiful book-loving Chelsea, Michigan.
Free, with books available for purchase and signing.
Conversation Around Uncertain at the Arlington Central Library
May 22nd, 2024
6:30 - 8:00 pm
Arlington Reads
1015 N. Quincy Street
Arlington, VA
In this signature speaker series of the Arlington Library system, Maggie will discuss why our current reliance on certainty-seeking imperils our lives, our societies, and our species’ survival. She will explain why epistemic uncertainty long was neglected as a topic of study in medicine, business, and even psychology and share the new scientific discoveries that reveal uncertainty’s critical role in curiosity, adaptability, and even resilience – the cognitive skills we urgently need to cultivate in today’s era of flux. Come prepared to learn, to question, and to come away more productively unsure!
Maggie will appear in conversation with library director Diane Kresh. Arlington Reads brings authors and readers together to discuss the most important topics of our time. Past speakers include Barbara Kingsolver, George Saunders, Viet Thanh Nguyen and Nikole Hannah-Jones.
Video recording available here.
World 50 Presents: Uncertainty as a Critical Human Resource, A Talk for Chief HR Officers
May 15th, 2024
3:30 - 4:30 pm ET
Enterprise 50 Summit (Invite-only)
New York City
Global Human Resource Leaders operate at the epicenter of workplace change, from tensions over where and how to work and frictions arising from difference to the strains of doing business in a shifting climate. Drawing on cutting-edge research and case studies, Maggie offers a deep dive into the workings of psychological uncertainty to reveal why not-knowing fuels exceptional performance in a volatile age. She takes us inside the Mars Rover mission to highlight how productive uncertainty drives accuracy, engagement, and creativity in groups. She brings us into the world of the top surgeon to show how superior experts strategically “inhabit the question” in order to find the better answer in a crisis. The lessons of uncertainty are clear: what seems to set us back in thought in reality winds up moving us forward.