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Adina (way behind on reviews, no notifications) 's Reviews > Thinking, Fast and Slow
Thinking, Fast and Slow
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by
As the blurb summarises very well, in “Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a ground-breaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behaviour.”
Kahneman has won the Nobel Prize for economy so expect a lot of technical stuff and experiments in this one. Exactly how I like my non-fiction to be. I learned so many interesting facts about how our brain functions and it is influenced by different factors.
Some aspects mentioned in this volume:
- People do not understand statistics well. I am a fan of the subject and base many decisions on statistics. Apparently, most people don’t. I guess, I now understand why people ignore statistics about the pandemic.
- Luck plays a major role in success
- Our brain tends to be lazy, system 2 does not rush to help
- Intuition vs formulas- science usually win
- Investment bankers are useless
- We overestimate our ability to predict the future
- Stereotypes matter more than statistics
- We tend to be more risk prone when we have something to lose than when we have something to gain.
- What you see is all there is. We tend to form opinions based on only what we know and tend to ignore that there might be other relevant information we might miss.
- Priming can be used to influence people. For example pictures of eyes can make people feel watched
- And many more
The last part was a bit too technical and a bit boring but I still think the book deserves 5*.
Kahneman has won the Nobel Prize for economy so expect a lot of technical stuff and experiments in this one. Exactly how I like my non-fiction to be. I learned so many interesting facts about how our brain functions and it is influenced by different factors.
Some aspects mentioned in this volume:
- People do not understand statistics well. I am a fan of the subject and base many decisions on statistics. Apparently, most people don’t. I guess, I now understand why people ignore statistics about the pandemic.
- Luck plays a major role in success
- Our brain tends to be lazy, system 2 does not rush to help
- Intuition vs formulas- science usually win
- Investment bankers are useless
- We overestimate our ability to predict the future
- Stereotypes matter more than statistics
- We tend to be more risk prone when we have something to lose than when we have something to gain.
- What you see is all there is. We tend to form opinions based on only what we know and tend to ignore that there might be other relevant information we might miss.
- Priming can be used to influence people. For example pictures of eyes can make people feel watched
- And many more
The last part was a bit too technical and a bit boring but I still think the book deserves 5*.
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Reading Progress
August 23, 2014
– Shelved
August 23, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
October 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
non-fiction
February 10, 2021
– Shelved as:
considering
September 13, 2021
– Shelved as:
to-read
October 25, 2021
–
Started Reading
November 2, 2021
–
7.0%
November 15, 2021
–
7.0%
November 15, 2021
–
25.0%
November 24, 2021
–
32.0%
December 12, 2021
–
60.0%
January 1, 2022
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-26 of 26 (26 new)
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Steve wrote: "Hi, Adina:Definitely read this book. I read it at the end of my teaching career and I wish I'd read it earlier (not sure when it was available, though). We don't know that much about the brain, b..." I will, sometimes soon I hope.
Hi Adina, This booked seemed important and persuasive to me. But also, after a while, tedious! My failing, but I have had it half way read for over a year now. I would love a summarised version, a quarter of the length... Or maybe I should just wait for your review!
Dan wrote: "Hi Adina, This booked seemed important and persuasive to me. But also, after a while, tedious! My failing, but I have had it half way read for over a year now. I would love a summarised version, a ..." Yes, there is a lot of information and it becomes a bit tedious at times.
Nice summary, Adina. I recommend this book to my students.
This is sitting idle in my shelf for a longtime now. Thanks to your review, I will pick this up next. :-)
Paul wrote: "Nice summary, Adina. I recommend this book to my students." It is a good one to recommend.
Ashok wrote: "This is sitting idle in my shelf for a longtime now. Thanks to your review, I will pick this up next. :-)" i hope you will like it and find it informative.
Another excellent concept I learned from the first time I read the book was "confirmation bias" It's a big part of our human psychology that impacts what we are willing to accept as true.
Michael wrote: "Another excellent concept I learned from the first time I read the book was "confirmation bias" It's a big part of our human psychology that impacts what we are willing to accept as true." Yes, that too. I already knew about the concept from a Sociology course on Coursera. Very interesting.
Such an informative and interesting review Adina, thank you! It wasn't such a big surprise to see the shocking inability to grasp statistics by some during the Pandemic!
Baba wrote: "Such an informative and interesting review Adina, thank you! It wasn't such a big surprise to see the shocking inability to grasp statistics by some during the Pandemic!" :))
Great review Adina - this book was listed as "readers may enjoy" while I was adding the book "Quiet" by Susan Cain. I'll be adding this as well.
Ian wrote: "Great review Adina - this book was listed as "readers may enjoy" while I was adding the book "Quiet" by Susan Cain. I'll be adding this as well." i hope you will enjoy it. I think it was excellent, as you can see.
Guys please help😭..how do I open the page for this book and read it
Nice review of one of my favorite books. Appreciate the summary details. You could have added the main thing, people don't like to think, but I know some of your other details are related.S_ _ P (fill in the blank)
A bat and a ball cost $1.10
The bat costs one dollar more than the ball.
How much does the ball cost?
Stephen wrote: "Nice review of one of my favorite books. Appreciate the summary details. You could have added the main thing, people don't like to think, but I know some of your other details are related.S_ _ P ..."This should be covered by: Our brain tends to be lazy. :))
yah, but is it soup or soap? :-)
Stephen wrote: "yah, but is it soup or soap? :-)" i was thinking of step.
STEP works.. but of course I was referring to how that was used in the book and how we are influenced.
Stephen wrote: "STEP works.. but of course I was referring to how that was used in the book and how we are influenced." I know but I forgot details from the book. My brain is lazy and usually does not remember much of what it read.
You may also consider reading Michael Lewis’ book, The Undoing Project, which goes in depth in the relationship between Kahneman and Amos Tversky who collaborated on their theories on decision making among other things.
Just heard Daniel Kahneman passed away.
Steve wrote: "You may also consider reading Michael Lewis’ book, The Undoing Project, which goes in depth in the relationship between Kahneman and Amos Tversky who collaborated on their theories on decision maki..." Thank you for the recommendation and for letting me know of his passing away. He had a full life.
Definitely read this book. I read it at the end of my teaching career and I wish I'd read it earlier (not sure when it was available, though). We don't know that much about the brain, but we do know would have totally changed how I taught. It still helps me as a writer to think about how people digest my writing.