Maria Konnikova
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Maria Konnikova
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Born | 1984 (age 36–37) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
Occupation | Author (non-fiction) |
Nationality | American |
Genre |
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Notable works | The Biggest Bluff Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes The Confidence Game[1] |
Website | |
www |
Maria Konnikova is a Russian-American writer , with a Ph.D in psychology from Columbia University. Konnikova has worked as a television producer, written for several magazines and online publications, and written two New York Times best-selling books. She primarily writes about psychology and its application to real life situations.
Early life[]
Maria Konnikova was born in Moscow, Russia in 1984 to Jewish parents.[2] She was four years old when her family immigrated to the United States and settled in Massachusetts, outside Boston.[3]
Education[]
Konnikova attended Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Massachusetts.[4][better source needed] After graduating from high school, Konnikova attended Harvard University, where she graduated with a B.A. in psychology and creative writing. While studying at Harvard, Konnikova was mentored by psychologist and popular author Steven Pinker.[5]
She earned her Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University in 2013.[3][6] under Walter Mischel.[3]
Career[]
Writing[]
Following her B.A., she worked as a producer for the Charlie Rose Show, where she helped set up the segment "Brain Series".[3][7] While working there, she also wrote the "Literally Psyched" column for Scientific American[8] and the psychology blog "Artful Choice" for Big Think,[9] both of which she is no longer involved with.[10] In April 2013 she had an article published in The New Yorker for the first time;[11] she continues to contribute regularly with articles about psychology and science ,[12][13] but took a leave of absence to work on her third book.[14]
Konnikova's first book, Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, was published in January 2013 by Viking Press/Penguin Group, became a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into 17 languages .[15][12] She explained that she was first introduced to the character of Sherlock Holmes at a young age, when her father read Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories to her.[16]
Her second book, The Confidence Game, also published by Viking Press/Penguin Group, made the New York Times best-seller list for February 2016 in the crime and punishment category,[17] and the Canadian Best-Sellers List for non-fiction for the weeks ending 26 January[18] and 2 February[19]
Her third book, The Biggest Bluff, was published on June 23, 2020, by Penguin Press; she had signed the book deal in March 2017[14] and submitted the manuscript in October 2019.[20] The book follows her immersion into the world of poker and explores the role of chance in our everyday lives.[21][22]
Konnikova makes regular appearances on The Gist podcast in her own segment called "Is that bullshit?"; and in early 2017, released her own 10-part podcast about con-artists and the lives they ruin, called The Grift.[23]
Poker[]
Konnikova has said that she became interested in poker after reading John von Neumann’s work on game theory. She described it as a way to examine the mind’s responses to conditions that involve both skill and chance. Konnikova told The New York Times that "When I started this, I didn’t know how many cards were in a deck. I hate casinos. I have zero interest in gambling."[24]
In the late summer of 2016, she made contact with Erik Seidel, who agreed to become her coach for her goal of spending a year as a competitive poker player.[25]
Her first major tournament, in April 2017, was the PokerStars tournament 2017 in Monte Carlo.[26] In January 2018, she won the PCA National event at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure No-Limit Hold'em Championship, winning $84,600.[27] The win also came with a Platinum Pass worth $30,000 to the PokerStars Players Championship in January 2019.[14] Her total earnings prior to the event were about $30,000.[27]
After that 2018 win, Konnikova decided to delay work on her book, The Biggest Bluff, to compete in more tournaments with higher stakes[25] She took up professional poker playing full-time. Beginning in the summer of 2018, she became affiliated with PokerStars, an online gaming site; in June 2018, she became a PokerStars "Ambassador",[28] with PokerStars sponsoring her in professional tournaments.[24]
In November 2019, Konnikova and PokerStars “parted ways”.[20]
Awards[]
- Konnikova's book The Confidence Game was awarded the 2016 Robert P. Balles Prize by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[1]
- The Best American Science and Nature Writing[29] for her article Altered Tastes, about Heston Blumenthal[30]
Bibliography[]
- Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, Viking, 3 January 2013, ISBN 978-0670026579
- The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It . . . Every Time, Viking, 12 January 2016, ISBN 978-0525427414
- The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win, Penguin Press, 23 June 2020, ISBN 978-0525522621
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Maria Konnikova Wins Critical Thinking Prize from CSI for "The Confidence Game"". CSICOP.ORG. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ^ Konnikova, Maria (9 August 2014). Maria Konnikova:TEDxColumbiaCollege. youtube.com. TEDx. Event occurs at 0:00 to 1:30. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Joss Fong (10 January 2013). "It's Elementary". The Scientist. LabX Media Group. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ Maria Konnikova (7 January 2014). "The Open-Office Trap". The New Yorker. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
- ^ Thompson, Nicholas (21 April 2014). "The New Yorker Out Loud(Podcast): Maria Konnikova on her approach to writing and the psychology of yawns". soundcloud.com (Podcast). The New Yorker. Event occurs at 11:40 to 14:40. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
- ^ Konnikova, Maria (2013). "The Limits of Self-Control: Self-Control, Illusory Control, and Risky Financial Decision Making". columbia.edu. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Konnikova - Charlie Rose (video and transcript). charlierose.com. 24 February 2016. Event occurs at 0:00 to 3:00. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Stories by Maria Konnikova". scientificamerican.com. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Maria Konnikova". bigthink.com. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ "Book Brahmin: Maria Konnikova". Shelf Awareness. Shelf Awareness. 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ "Why we need answers". newyorker.com. The New Yorker. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Harvardwood Heads To... SXSW: The Confidence Game - The Power (and Price) of Stories with Maria Konnikova AB '05". harvardwood.org. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ "Contributors, Maria Konnikova". Retrieved 4 June 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Ho, Karen K. (12 July 2018). "New Yorker writer Maria Konnikova keeps winning at poker". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ Christian DuChateau (11 January 2013). "Become a 'Mastermind' with Sherlock Holmes' help". CNN. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ Chitra Ramaswamy (12 January 2013). "Interview: Psychologist Maria Konnikova on how we can all learn to think like Sherlock Holmes". The Scotsman. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ "Best Sellers, Crime and Punishment". nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ Bethune, Brian. "The MacLean's Best Seller list :week of Jan 26th". macleans.ca. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- ^ Bethune, Brian. "The MacLean's Best Seller list :week of Feb 2nd". macleans.ca. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Newell, Jennifer (26 November 2019). "Maria Konnikova Finishes Poker Book and Leaves PokerStars". www.legaluspokersites.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "The Biggest Bluff |". www.mariakonnikova.com. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ Hill, Kashmir (1 September 2020). "To Play Poker in a Pandemic, Americans Flee the U.S." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ "The Grift". panoply.fm. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Dreifus, Claudia (10 August 2018). "Maria Konnikova Shows Her Cards". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Nuwwarah, Mo. "Konnikova Changes Plans, Delays Book After Incredible Poker Success". PokerNews.com. PokerNews. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- ^ "Konnikova's High Stakes Adventure Ends". www.pokernews.com. 30 April 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Lamers, Adam (9 January 2018). "Friend of PokerStars Maria Konnikova Wins PCA Nat'l Championship". www.pokernews.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ Newell, Jennifer (25 June 2018). "Maria Konnikova Signs on as PokerStars Ambassador". www.legaluspokersites.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ Jahren, Hope (3 October 2017). The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2017. Mariner Books. ISBN 978-1-328-71551-7.
- ^ "The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2017". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maria Konnikova. |
- 1984 births
- Living people
- American women writers
- Harvard University alumni
- Teachers College, Columbia University alumni
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- American women journalists
- American poker players
- Female poker players
- Jewish American writers