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Title: How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life
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Manufacturer: Free Press
List Price: $18.95
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| How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Free Press It should intrigue you, and scare you. | Out of the thousands I've read, from Amazon and elsewhere, I rarely rate books. This was one I HAD to rate. I first bought and read this books seven years ago and, as far as 'psychology' books go, this is in my top 3 of all time. Human reasoning is indeed fallible, in fact so much so that it should scare you. I mean it. And none of us are immune. This book will clearly show you the factual evidence of this and WHY human reason is so fallible and what that means to you in everyday life. And as one begins to grasp the full ramifications of this, it is sometimes a wonder that we can function and communicate as a society at all.
In the context of everything from dealing with people at work, dealing with your family at home, all the way to that guy or girl that "got away" and seemed to have tragic misperceptions of you that just weren't true, this book goes deep into the mechanisms of how those false perceptions were probably formed to begin with.
Chapter Four: "PEOPLE SEE WHAT THEY EXPECT TO SEE." Somewhere in the beginning, upon meeting someone, you set up an expectation in that person (perhaps inadvertently) as to how they should see you. And from that time forward, regardless of what you do, they will see everything you say and do through the often distorted coloring of that mental filter. Ringing a bell here? Ever had that happen? The book WILL also force the reader to examine his or her own beliefs and actions. In fact I would go so far as to give this book something of a "READER BEWARE" label. It can sometimes be unsettling to come to terms with and reanalyze things you may have believed your entire life. The book may very well leave you thinking, "Why on earth have I been thinking about this issue/situation/person the way that I have for so long!"
Thank you for reading my review. I'm off to read the book yet again. | | How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Free Press Highly recommended for anyone who cares about sound reasoning and critical thinking | This book excels in showing how and why people adopt questionable beliefs, and how/why people cling tenaciously to demonstrably erroneous beliefs, even when confronted to contrary evidence. The reasons are not simple narrow mindedness or gullibility, but several cognitive biases and circumstances that make us process information in certain ways. Processing our everyday experience without certain healthy habits of mind and sound reasoning can only too easily lead to the formation of those beliefs.
The first two thirds of the book survey some of the cognitive issues involved in the formation of questionable beliefs, while at the same time describing associated psychological literature and research. Numerous references are included pointing to studies supporting all the findings and facts presented.
The last third of the book goes over some typical questionable beliefs: the belief in ineffective "alterative" health practices, in ESP, and in the effectiveness of questionable interpersonal strategies.
At some points the book might feel in fact a bit too "academic." Thomas Gilovich, the author, is a social psychologist and researcher from Cornell University after all. Yet, this academic slant or style, in my opinion, just gives more precision and strength to all the information so well presented and explained in the book.
Gilovich closes the book stating that the healthy habits of mind required to avoid the formation of dubious beliefs actually are not as common as we might think; not even among people trained in the hard sciences! Apparently, the "soft" sciences have an advantage in more effectively teaching the kind of methodological skills most suitable for the sound evaluation of our own everyday experiences.
In summary, this book encourages us readers to question our assumptions; it challenges what we think we know, and also gives us some recommendations for building the right habits of mind to better learn how not to deceive ourselves and stay clear of dubious beliefs.
| | How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Free Press Not the Full Monty. | My main interest in this subject lies in a search for answers to the question of why perfectly sane and intelligent people put faith in God above reasoning. Why do so many choose to believe so strongly with so little evidence? Unfortunately Thomas Gilovich absolutely refuses to cast light on religious delusions, but mainly states that theists and atheist "both need to develop the habit of thinking more broadly." Not helpful at all and sort of a faux pas to include this lame comment in the book.
Never the less, the book is a good and thorough introduction to the subject of our penchant for faulty reasoning, but also somewhat dry and repetitive. I wasn't exactly rolling on the floor with laughter, which might be too much to ask; but the many examples and anecdotes could be presented with greater vigour without harming the seriousness and validity of the study.
May I recommend: "Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking" by Thomas E. Kida, which is very similar in content and reference a lot of the same sources, but is also more playful and entertaining. | | How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Free Press Vulcans Should Read This Book | Hello, my name is Mr. Spock. You may know me from the TV series StarTrek. For years I've been tormented by the illogic of humans. Let's face it, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy are not the sharpest phasers in the intergalactic utility belt!
Then I read Gilovich's book. It helped me realize that humans are most illogical in times of uncertainty when there is no clear trend and not enough information upon which to make a good decision. In such cases, especially when a decision must be made, logic is not going to be of much help. As a result, people develop simple, but often inaccurate, theories to help them through painful states of indecision. The decision may be good or not, but at least a decision has been made, and that alone provides comfort.
Unfortunately, humans also have a strong desire to justify their theories, and this is where they get into trouble. Data that proves the theory is retained and emphasized, and data that doesn't is heavily discounted. So the theory takes on a life of its own despite the facts, which admittedly may themselves be ambiguous at times.
The bottom line is that this book gave me a greater understanding of humans. As a result, I feel more comfortable communicating with them, and just being around them in general. If you're part Vulcan like I am, or even a logical human, I strongly suggest you read this excellent book about human thinking and decision making. You won't be sorry. Live long and prosper!
Mr. Scot, I have completed my Amazon review, and have obtained the Chinese food and pornography magazines the Captain has requested. Please beam me up now.
| | How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Free Press Question your assumptions and challenge what you think you know | This book provides a well-organized survey of issues that limit our reasoning abilities:
- Our misperception of random events, as in the "clustering illusions" that lead us to believe in the hot hand, for example.
- Our misunderstanding of statistical regression, which, for instance, affects our perception of the roles of reward and punishment in education.
- Our tendency to seek confirmatory information, as in the justification of our choices.
- Our inability to see what could have happened under different circumstances, as in self-fulfilling prophecies (e.g. a negative first impression or the presumed insolvency of a financial institution).
- Our own biases that make us expose inconsistent information to more critical scrutiny than consistent information.
- Asymmetries that distort what we recall and, thus, what we take into account to evaluate the validity of beliefs (as in multiple endpoints situations or one-sided events).
- Our tendency to believe what we want to believe (specially about ourselves), as if beliefs were possessions.
- The distortions present in secondhand information (a.k.a. sharpening and leveling).
- The influence of what we think others believe (and also of the inadequate feedback we often receive about that).
These limitations make us draw incorrect conclusions and bolster erroneous beliefs. Being aware of them helps us in distinguishing what we know well from what we only think is true. Just this is of utmost importance for thinking clearly. Could there be a better reason for reading this book? |
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