An entertaining illumination of the stupid beliefs that make us feel wise. You believe you are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is, but journalist David McRaney is here to tell you that you’re as deluded as the rest of us. But that’s OK- delusions keep us sane. You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self-delusion. It’s like a psychology class, with all the boring … class, with all the boring parts taken out, and with no homework.
Based on the popular blog of the same name, You Are Not So Smart collects more than 46 of the lies we tell ourselves everyday, including:
- Dunbar’s Number – Humans evolved to live in bands of roughly 150 individuals, the brain cannot handle more than that number. If you have more than 150 Facebook friends, they are surely not all real friends.
- Hindsight bias – When we learn something new, we reassure ourselves that we knew it all along.
- Confirmation bias – Our brains resist new ideas, instead paying attention only to findings that reinforce our preconceived notions.
- Brand loyalty – We reach for the same brand not because we trust its quality but because we want to reassure ourselves that we made a smart choice the last time we bought it.
Packed with interesting sidebars and quick guides on cognition and common fallacies, You Are Not So Smart is a fascinating synthesis of cutting-edge psychology research to turn our minds inside out.
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I often read Pop Psyche books when I’m trying to pin down a character I’m writing. I almost never read them TWICE. Not only did this slightly snarky, very entertaining book open my eyes to “priming” (so great for a manipulative characterization!) but revealed things about myself I’d never caught on to before! This is a great book for writers and non-writers, and for anyone who is interested in figuring out how they tick.
I’m fascinated by how illogical we humans are. Mental biases are at the heart of all those dumb choices we make. This book does a fantastic job of cataloguing these biases and how each one affects us. The only reason why I don’t give it the full 5 stars is that it includes a few “biases” I don’t think should be considered as such.
Very interesting book about how our minds fool ourselves and how to prevent it happening.
No one’s memory is without flaws – even your own. Learn to be flexible!
It definitely changes life perspective. 100% recommend.
If you want tp read a book that puts us humans in our place in the biological world, this is it. It’s a really fascinating look at how our brain is really wired to respond to situations. It turns out that we are a lot less logical, rational and clear thinking than we think. I found it fascinating.
This book contains a huge selection of mental biases that people are plagued with.
I thought that I was familiar with these mental biases that interfere with clear thinking, but found out I was only aware of a small fraction of them.
This book is also written in a witty and enjoyable way. It is an extremely interesting and enjoyable read.
This is the author’s take on how we are deluding ourselves in several aspects of our lives. The old saying “To err is human” comes to play as he explains how every thought and action we have comes from a story we tell ourselves to explain them. Bottom line – we are easily fooled and we don’t think we are.
I really liked this book. It was humorous, and I could definitely see how I delude myself in believing I am better in some ways when actually I am not. It was a great big dose of humble pie to know we are not the great thinkers we think we are – on the whole – but more just a collection of biases. It takes a lot to admit that most of the things we think we know, or remember, are tainted by our own delusions. It shows that in reality, it is better to shrug and assume you remember it differently, and calm the waters of an argument than to insist you are right.
I definitely say try this book. You will enjoy taking a better look at yourself.
I don’t know if you can prove the premise, but the approach to human behavior is very intriguing, with multiple studies apparently supporting the premise. Just finished reading and went back to re-read to be sure I followed.
A very basic overview of the illogical processes that keep us on auto-pilot through day-to-day decision-making. Being a well-read psychologist, I was aware of everything in the book, which was disappointing. The author essentially just regurgitates the research studies on these processes, describing them in laymans terms. That’s it, nothing more clever than that.
Fascinating take on how your brain really works
So you think you know yourself and why you (and others) do what you do? This book calls all that into question and shows that what you think you know, you don’t…and proves it.
Not unique.