Q

Name: Q
Price: 65 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781847927842

The Hidden Power of Questions in a World That Wants Answers

Lani Watson

$65

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

The Bodley Head Ltd
27 August 2026

Social & political philosophy; Popular philosophy; Social, group or collective psychology; Neurosciences

A mind-expanding book about the hidden power of questions in an answer-oriented world, and how we can harness their power for good and work together to build a fairer and richer question-oriented future.

Questions are powerful. They direct our attention and reveal our concerns, shape our conversations and our relationships.

But throughout our lives we are judged and rewarded for the answers we give, not the questions we ask. As a result, this essential human skill is overlooked and underdeveloped. Q reveals how we can understand the power of questions, share it more evenly, and learn to use it personally, socially and professionally.

Lani Watson takes us on a journey from the death of Socrates to the dawn of AI, drawing on research in psychology, philosophy and neuroscience to show how questions play a vital role in each of our individual lives and in our shared human story. We see how infants begin questioning before they can speak, how questions activate the brain's reward systems and prime us to learn, and how we are the only species that truly asks questions of one another.

At school, though, we learn to stop asking questions. The cost can be seen all around us, as the ability to ask questions determines our experiences and our interactions everywhere from courtrooms to offices, therapy rooms to hospital wards, and in our closest relationships.

In a world rushing towards answers, Q shows us how deeply questions matter, how we can develop a questioning mindset and what we stand to gain. It is revelatory and life-enhancing - an invitation to recognise our most underappreciated human capacity and harness its hidden power.

By: Lani Watson
Imprint: The Bodley Head Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 40mm
Weight: 750g
ISBN: 9781847927842
ISBN 10: 184792784X
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 27 August 2026
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Dr Lani Watson is a philosopher and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Previously, she was a research fellow at the University of Oxford, a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, a visiting fellow at the University of Connecticut and a research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing at the University of Oklahoma. She is fascinated by questions - what they are, how we use them, why we ask them and how we can harness their power for good. Her research focuses on the practice of questioning in everyday life, and she is passionate about applying her expertise to help everyone make the most of asking great questions.

Reviews for Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World That Wants Answers

Will you find this book fascinating, thoughtful, enlightening? No question. Q is one of those rare books that alters how you interact with the world – an excellent read -- David Edmonds, author of Death in a Shallow Pool By teaching us to value inquiry over certainty, Lani Watson shows us how we can use the radical, transformative potential of questioning. An essential guide for anyone committed to the collective quest for a more just and curious future -- Kate Pickett, author of The Good Society Answers are only as good as the questions you ask. In fast-moving workplaces fixated on answers and output, Lani Watson helps us harness the power of asking the right questions -- Elaine Lin Hering, author of Unlearning Silence