Good Books: Thinking Fast & Slow
Posted by Gail | Filed under Gail Pleasures
I’m mad about books. I’m mad about brains. So this book on brains got me. It’s a long’un folks, I will not lie. And there are some spots I was less than fully engrossed. But the premise of the book and all the research experiments used to illustrate the points – frickin’ fascinating.
Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow divides thought processes between System 1 and System 2. System 1 is automatic – the default processor – using intuition, association, metaphors and impressions to make decisions. You can’t turn it off. And as Kahneman says, it is the “secret author of many of the choices and judgments you make.” System 2 is deliberate and requires huge amounts of effort. And it’s slow. No back-ground decision-making here; system 2 requires attention. Kahneman says it is “the conscious being you call ‘I’.” But he also says it isn’t YOU, since you are ore profoundly affected by System 1, which you may not even notice is pulling your strings.
Kahneman and his partner in crime, Amos Tversky (who died in 1996 and to whom the book is dedicated) conducted thousands of experiments, which demonstrated that while we think we know what’s going on and that we are in charge, we’re not. Randomness rules. And we are pathetic at statistical analysis but always willing to see brilliance where none exists.
We think we’re smart. Even Kahneman admits his own inability to counter some of System 1’s effects. But we’re hopelessly subject to the “focusing illusion”, “duration neglect” and the “peak-end rule”. We can be “anchored” by our environment and we are blind to what we do not expect to see. (Look here if you want more on this: http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html)
We’re susceptible to being puppetted by features of our surroundings in ways would never imagine. In one (pre-cellphone) experiment, each time a person came out of a phone booth after having made a call, an accident was staged. A person dropped all her papers in the collision. For some callers, a dime had been left in the booth, giving them a free call; for others, no dime. If there was no dime in the phone booth, only 4% of the exiting callers helped to pick up the papers. If there was a dime, at least 88% stopped to help. Callers felt the need to pay forward the “free dime” they’d been gifted in the phone booth. Wow!
This book is one of the best I have read, one of the broadest and deepest in terms of the knowledge it imparts. I’ve always believed that knowledge of how we think will help us to better understand ourselves and deepen our personal wisdom. I’ve been in love with brains for years, reading everything I can get my hands on. This book is like a gold mine: nuggets everywhere.
August 15, 2012 at 7:12 am
This book is fascinating – I’m still making my way through it. If we are recommending books, I’d like to recommend Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes. The book is dense, full of references, and challenges the dictates of the food pyramid. It’s shocking and I’ve completely changed the way I eat because of it, even though it’s not a diet book (lost 25 lbs, husband’s lost 40). If it’s too dense for you, he’s written a more digestible version called Why We Get Fat. It seems that are more and more fascinating books to read out there…
August 15, 2012 at 7:48 am
I am looking for some good books to read, so a book on brains sounds fascinating? I’ll have to pick it up.
August 15, 2012 at 8:02 am
What other book are you reading?
August 15, 2012 at 8:59 am
I just read a book about the brain called “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” by John Ratey. It’s amazing. It talks about how exercise is the best medicine.. for anything! It’s perfect as an anti-depressant, good to help people focus if they have ADHD, etc. There are lots of examples of schools who have adopted a “spark” program (reducing class time and adding in physical activity that really gets their heart rates up.) The results are incredible. The children’s grades improve, how they behave in class, and in one example children were able to go off medication. If reading isn’t your thing, at least check out the video on his website called “Brain Gains.” Incredible stuff!
August 15, 2012 at 9:45 am
This book sounds great. I too am interested in hearing about some other reads of yours.
August 15, 2012 at 11:54 am
This is so strange! I just saw a speaker last night that talked about the same things. His main point was about how you can’t really control your actions because they are a survival mechanism that hasn’t evolved away yet. And that everything we do is based on avoiding pain and seeking comfort. You have to create a greater source of pain to overcome obstacles.
For example, you want to ask someone a question, but are afraid to because of rejection/humiliation. You tell some people, maybe 10, that you will give them each $100 if you don’t ask that person the question. If losing $1000 is more painful than the rejection you will be successful. You just have to make sure the consequence you create is more painful and that you are being held accountable by someone other than yourself.
Fascinating!
August 15, 2012 at 12:13 pm
I read ‘Thinking Fast & Slow’ earlier this year on the advice of a co-worker. It is definitely a very interesting read and fun to see how the mind works — sometimes illogically!!
August 15, 2012 at 1:25 pm
A few years old now, and on brain function rather than the “mind”, but Norman Doidge’s “The Brain That Changes Itself” is fascinating and even inspirational.
August 15, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Right in line with this topic is the book:
Predictably irrational : the hidden forces that shape our decisions by Dan Ariely
Quite a good read, and broken into good chapters, each of which deals with a different example, facet, or study. Recommended!
August 15, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Just read Jaycee Duggard’s book “A Stolen Life” – She’s a survivor and has a charity
August 16, 2012 at 1:33 am
This blog is such a coincidence!! My hubby wanted a Kindle (for his bday next week) but wanted it THIS week so he could read a book he was interested in now. After dinner he says to me “want to see how the Kindle works?” He had downloaded his book, and low and behold it was THE INVISIBLE GORRILA!! I couldn’t believe it:D I told him about Gail’s link and without spoiling it – what a hoot! It was also nice to be able to have a conversation and be “up” with what is current
Interesting to see how ppl “see” things…
@Tiffany – I’d take the rejection and keep my money!:p