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karenleagermain's review against another edition
5.0
Several years ago, I used to listen to hours of podcasts every week while sitting in an office creating employee schedules for Universal Studios. I especially loved podcasts involving books, authors and science. Although I have no idea which podcast I was listen to when I heard author Jonah Lehrer interviewed for his book, How We Decide, I remember hearing it made me immediately order his book from Amazon. I bought it and it has sat on my to-be-read shelf until I plucked it out last week when I was in the mood for non-fiction.
Lehrer's How We Decide is a look at how the brain functions in the decision making process. He delves into which part of the brain takes over during certain types of decisions, particularly decisions that involve a flood of information.
The book is part an analytical look at the science of decision making and part user manual. Lehrer provides concrete examples and sound reasoning as to which situations we should tune out or seek excess information. Lehrer explains how our brains can only hold a certain amount of information and sometimes an excess of options can hinder our ability to make the right choice. Sometime the right choice is going with your emotional or gut feeling, even if you can't readily explain why you feel that it's the right choice.
Some of the case studies in the book are completely fascinating. In particular, Lehrer discusses patients with Parkinson's Disease who when on a specific medication, thirteen percent will develop a compulsive gambling disorder. I'm not going to give away anymore, as the case study begs to be read!
Another study that was less shocking, but I feel very pertinent involved fifth graders who were given a test. After the test, half the kids were praised for "being smart" and the other half were praised for "working hard". The kids were then given an option between taking two additional tests. One would be much harder, at an advanced level and the other would be at their grade level. Most of the kids praised for working hard, decided to try the more challenging test and those praised for their intelligence, picked the easier one.
The chapter featuring the fifth graders goes on to discuss a lack of self confidence and the problem with perception in our society. People want to be viewed an innately intelligent or talented, rather than someone who has to work hard. However, our brains are wired to learn from mistakes. Making mistakes is part of the learning process and when we grow from them, it's a good thing. Growing from mistakes actually creates intuition and makes us become experts on subjects. It gives us the powerful ability to make snap decisions.
The abundance of information can sideline anyone, including doctors. Lehrer writes about the influence of MRI technology in creating a surge of back surgeries. Doctors were given MRI results from patients that revealed terrible spine and disc problems. However, many of these patients were not complaining of back problems or pain. The surgeries were being recommended from the MRI results, rather than listening to the patient. The New England Medical Journal recommended that doctors skip ordering MRI's for back problems, unless the patient is complaining.
The MRI results reveal too much information, show disc problems that are likely common and age related, rather than something needing a surgery. My aunt has had several back surgeries in the last few years and although I know that she is in a lot of pain, this chapter made me reflect on the necessity of all of the invasive surgeries, especially as her problems still exist.
Lehrer's book reminds me of that supplemental book that you would have in a college course. The "fun" read assigned alongside the primary text book. It's engaging and entertaining, but also densely packed with information. It's a book about thinking that will make you think, not a light summer read. It has so much information, that it begs to be read more than once and has many good take-away lessons.
I definitely benefitted from How We Decide and I will take a pause the next time I'm confronted with a big decision. Lehrer's book taught me that the most important component of a big decision is knowing the best way to approach it.
Please check out my blog for more reviews and musings.
Lehrer's How We Decide is a look at how the brain functions in the decision making process. He delves into which part of the brain takes over during certain types of decisions, particularly decisions that involve a flood of information.
The book is part an analytical look at the science of decision making and part user manual. Lehrer provides concrete examples and sound reasoning as to which situations we should tune out or seek excess information. Lehrer explains how our brains can only hold a certain amount of information and sometimes an excess of options can hinder our ability to make the right choice. Sometime the right choice is going with your emotional or gut feeling, even if you can't readily explain why you feel that it's the right choice.
Some of the case studies in the book are completely fascinating. In particular, Lehrer discusses patients with Parkinson's Disease who when on a specific medication, thirteen percent will develop a compulsive gambling disorder. I'm not going to give away anymore, as the case study begs to be read!
Another study that was less shocking, but I feel very pertinent involved fifth graders who were given a test. After the test, half the kids were praised for "being smart" and the other half were praised for "working hard". The kids were then given an option between taking two additional tests. One would be much harder, at an advanced level and the other would be at their grade level. Most of the kids praised for working hard, decided to try the more challenging test and those praised for their intelligence, picked the easier one.
The chapter featuring the fifth graders goes on to discuss a lack of self confidence and the problem with perception in our society. People want to be viewed an innately intelligent or talented, rather than someone who has to work hard. However, our brains are wired to learn from mistakes. Making mistakes is part of the learning process and when we grow from them, it's a good thing. Growing from mistakes actually creates intuition and makes us become experts on subjects. It gives us the powerful ability to make snap decisions.
The abundance of information can sideline anyone, including doctors. Lehrer writes about the influence of MRI technology in creating a surge of back surgeries. Doctors were given MRI results from patients that revealed terrible spine and disc problems. However, many of these patients were not complaining of back problems or pain. The surgeries were being recommended from the MRI results, rather than listening to the patient. The New England Medical Journal recommended that doctors skip ordering MRI's for back problems, unless the patient is complaining.
The MRI results reveal too much information, show disc problems that are likely common and age related, rather than something needing a surgery. My aunt has had several back surgeries in the last few years and although I know that she is in a lot of pain, this chapter made me reflect on the necessity of all of the invasive surgeries, especially as her problems still exist.
Lehrer's book reminds me of that supplemental book that you would have in a college course. The "fun" read assigned alongside the primary text book. It's engaging and entertaining, but also densely packed with information. It's a book about thinking that will make you think, not a light summer read. It has so much information, that it begs to be read more than once and has many good take-away lessons.
I definitely benefitted from How We Decide and I will take a pause the next time I'm confronted with a big decision. Lehrer's book taught me that the most important component of a big decision is knowing the best way to approach it.
Please check out my blog for more reviews and musings.
jsisco's review against another edition
5.0
I cannot think of a book that has truly made me think more about the way I think than this tome. A phenomenal work, Lehrer presents an accessible and fascinating work on how the brain works. I devoured it in under a week, all the more impressive considering how much work I have for grad school now.
It's one of those books I find myself referencing in casual conversation and giving away as presents. I highly recommend it to basically anyone, as everyone I know could take away at least one essential piece of information.
It's one of those books I find myself referencing in casual conversation and giving away as presents. I highly recommend it to basically anyone, as everyone I know could take away at least one essential piece of information.
jwillis81's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting subject matter, but it doesn't really cover anything that hasn't been talked about in any of a number of other books on the subject of how we think and make decisions. This version included a few too many examples for my tastes; it felt like the author was just hammering the points over and over again with "and here's yet another example" filler. The subject of how we make our decisions is one that I find interesting, but the "quick snap judgements vs. complex analytical thinking" dynamic isn't new or revelatory.
deeparcher's review against another edition
5.0
This book is more interesting if you've also read Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational.
erikars's review against another edition
4.0
Not surprisingly, How We Decide has a fair amount of overlap with other popular books about the mind including some that I have read ([b:Blink|2142|Blink|Ted Dekker|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1160527104s/2142.jpg|54935], [b:The Time Paradox|2179276|The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl, #6)|Eoin Colfer|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348831630s/2179276.jpg|2184954], and [b:The Paradox of Choice|10639|The Paradox of Choice Why More Is Less|Barry Schwartz|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348386990s/10639.jpg|1157840]). However, despite an overlap in subject matter and in the studies cited, I feel like this book is among the better of these types of books.
In addition to presenting conclusions based on psychological studies, Lehrer uses information we have gained from studying the brain to build a description of how decision making works. The main tension when making decisions is between the emotional brain and the rational brain. Actually, that is a simplification. Both systems consist of multiple systems which may, in turn, disagree with each other. On the other side of the coin, both the emotional brain are really part of the same system and influence each other. But as a mental model, this two part view of the brain is instructive.
The details are interesting, but in the hopes of keeping things concise, I will cut to the chase. The emotional brain is good at taking in a lot of information and matching it against past experience. It's good for deciding personal preferences or making decisions in areas where you have a lot of experience. The rational brain is good at dealing with new experiences but can only take in a small amount of information. It's good at creating new solutions or making decisions when there are only a small number of factors to consider (perhaps as little as a dozen total across the possibilities).
When they work well, these two systems help each other, with the emotional brain internalizing when decisions in certain contexts lead to good and bad outcomes and the rational brain deciding when something new needs to be tried. When either of these systems fails completely (as happens with some types of brain trauma), people become unable to function independently Those who lose rational brain functionality become unable to make considered decisions. Those who lose emotional brain functionality become unable to make decisions at all.
Lehrer states in his conclusion that the most important thing you should take from this book is that you should think about thinking. This allows you to avoid stupid errors that arise from predictable brain errors (errors such as loss aversion). It also allows you to improve the working of your brain over time.
Another key thing to take from How We Decide is the idea that certainty is self defeating if you want to use your brain effectively. Certainty quiets the internal dissent that your various brain parts generate and leads to bad decisions. As Lehrer says:
So spend some time thinking about thinking.
In addition to presenting conclusions based on psychological studies, Lehrer uses information we have gained from studying the brain to build a description of how decision making works. The main tension when making decisions is between the emotional brain and the rational brain. Actually, that is a simplification. Both systems consist of multiple systems which may, in turn, disagree with each other. On the other side of the coin, both the emotional brain are really part of the same system and influence each other. But as a mental model, this two part view of the brain is instructive.
The details are interesting, but in the hopes of keeping things concise, I will cut to the chase. The emotional brain is good at taking in a lot of information and matching it against past experience. It's good for deciding personal preferences or making decisions in areas where you have a lot of experience. The rational brain is good at dealing with new experiences but can only take in a small amount of information. It's good at creating new solutions or making decisions when there are only a small number of factors to consider (perhaps as little as a dozen total across the possibilities).
When they work well, these two systems help each other, with the emotional brain internalizing when decisions in certain contexts lead to good and bad outcomes and the rational brain deciding when something new needs to be tried. When either of these systems fails completely (as happens with some types of brain trauma), people become unable to function independently Those who lose rational brain functionality become unable to make considered decisions. Those who lose emotional brain functionality become unable to make decisions at all.
Lehrer states in his conclusion that the most important thing you should take from this book is that you should think about thinking. This allows you to avoid stupid errors that arise from predictable brain errors (errors such as loss aversion). It also allows you to improve the working of your brain over time.
Another key thing to take from How We Decide is the idea that certainty is self defeating if you want to use your brain effectively. Certainty quiets the internal dissent that your various brain parts generate and leads to bad decisions. As Lehrer says:
The only way to counteract the bias for certainty is to encourage some inner dissonance. We must force ourselves to think about the information we don't want to think about, to pay attention to the data that disturbs our entrenched beliefs. We we start censoring our minds, turning of those brain areas that contradict our assumptions, we end up ignoring relevant evidence. ...
But the certainty trap is not inevitable. We can take steps to prevent ourselves from shutting down our minds' argument too soon. We can consciously correct for this innate tendency. And if those steps fail, we can create decision-making environments that help us better entertain competing hypotheses. ...
when making decisions, actively resist the urge to suppress the argument. Instead, take time to listen to what all the different brain areas have to say. Good decisions rarely emerge from a false consensus.
So spend some time thinking about thinking.
2catmom's review against another edition
1.0
***UPDATE**
Found out his work is fabricated and book withdrawn from market. Sooo disappointing. Changed review to 1 star because who wants to read a bunch of made up crap. Will NOT be reading his other books. Forbes writes a great article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/06/07/jonah-lehrers-sick-cynical-quest-for-forgiveness/ and wikipedia says: " He has published three books, two of which, Imagine and How We Decide, were withdrawn from the market by publishers after it became known that Lehrer had fabricated quotations. That led to his resignation from his staff position at The New Yorker following disclosures that he had recycled earlier work of his own for the magazine; later investigation at Wired.com, where he had previously worked, found instances of recycled content and plagiarism. He was fired from that position as a result."
____________________________
Really like it. reminded me of outliers- like how they think if go deeper. Esp having to study and learn from mistakes. have to find summary since heard on audio. But pretty much, brain can process ~7 things at a time, but our 'feels' reflect subconscious that can process more. So once you 'master' a subject, you should go with feeling or you'll choke. But if you only go with feelings, it will fail you. around and around~ balance is the best- use both, never discount something because it's not likely, and you can make better decisions.
-Simple problems require reason. (like an old calculator vs emotions for fancy computer)
-Novel problems require reason- How does your past experience help solve this problem?Are these feelings rooted in experience or are they a haphazard impulse? If problem unprecedented, then emotions CANNOT help you. however people in good moods are significantly better at solving hard problems that require insight than those who are cranky and depressed.
-Embrace Uncertainty- Otherwise so confident you disregard evidence that contradicts conclusions. Always entertain competing hypotheses. remind yourself what you don't know. Models and theories can be undone by unpredictable events. (tell me what you know, what you don't know then what you think. keep them separate)
-You know more than you know. emotional brain especially useful at helping us make hard decisions. Tuen mistakes into educational events. Benefit from experience even when not aware of benefits.Becoming an expert takes time and practice. but once you dev expertise in a particular area, it's important to trust your emotions when making decisions in that domain.
***-Think about thinking-whenever you make a decision, be aware of the kind of decision you are making and the kind of thought process it requires. study brain at work, listen to the arguments inside your head. (steer clear of stupid errors- can't avoid loss aversion unless you know that the mid treats losses diff than gains. the brain can always improve itself. tomorrow.
Found out his work is fabricated and book withdrawn from market. Sooo disappointing. Changed review to 1 star because who wants to read a bunch of made up crap. Will NOT be reading his other books. Forbes writes a great article at http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/06/07/jonah-lehrers-sick-cynical-quest-for-forgiveness/ and wikipedia says: " He has published three books, two of which, Imagine and How We Decide, were withdrawn from the market by publishers after it became known that Lehrer had fabricated quotations. That led to his resignation from his staff position at The New Yorker following disclosures that he had recycled earlier work of his own for the magazine; later investigation at Wired.com, where he had previously worked, found instances of recycled content and plagiarism. He was fired from that position as a result."
____________________________
Really like it. reminded me of outliers- like how they think if go deeper. Esp having to study and learn from mistakes. have to find summary since heard on audio. But pretty much, brain can process ~7 things at a time, but our 'feels' reflect subconscious that can process more. So once you 'master' a subject, you should go with feeling or you'll choke. But if you only go with feelings, it will fail you. around and around~ balance is the best- use both, never discount something because it's not likely, and you can make better decisions.
-Simple problems require reason. (like an old calculator vs emotions for fancy computer)
-Novel problems require reason- How does your past experience help solve this problem?Are these feelings rooted in experience or are they a haphazard impulse? If problem unprecedented, then emotions CANNOT help you. however people in good moods are significantly better at solving hard problems that require insight than those who are cranky and depressed.
-Embrace Uncertainty- Otherwise so confident you disregard evidence that contradicts conclusions. Always entertain competing hypotheses. remind yourself what you don't know. Models and theories can be undone by unpredictable events. (tell me what you know, what you don't know then what you think. keep them separate)
-You know more than you know. emotional brain especially useful at helping us make hard decisions. Tuen mistakes into educational events. Benefit from experience even when not aware of benefits.Becoming an expert takes time and practice. but once you dev expertise in a particular area, it's important to trust your emotions when making decisions in that domain.
***-Think about thinking-whenever you make a decision, be aware of the kind of decision you are making and the kind of thought process it requires. study brain at work, listen to the arguments inside your head. (steer clear of stupid errors- can't avoid loss aversion unless you know that the mid treats losses diff than gains. the brain can always improve itself. tomorrow.
michael5000's review against another edition
3.0
A popular book about brain function that touches on many of the usual studies and findings addressed in popular books about brain function, with an overlay of numerous more or less relevant decision-making scenarios from popular culture. Not a bad introduction to a modern understanding of how the mind functions.
zisi's review against another edition
5.0
Jonah Lehrer writes beautifully and clearly on how the brain's structure determines volition and choice.
danchibnall's review against another edition
4.0
I was a little concerned early on that this book would be too much like a Malcolm Gladwell book. Gladwell's books are often fun and easy to read, but lack scientific merit to support certain claims or assertions.
Jonah Lehrer did a much better job with this book. Even though he does fall into a Gladwellian trap from time to time, the information about the structure of the brain, the workings of the brain, and how that affects our day-to-day lives was fascinating. This gave me food for thought so I can go out and find some more books on neuroscience that have more empirical data as well.
Jonah Lehrer did a much better job with this book. Even though he does fall into a Gladwellian trap from time to time, the information about the structure of the brain, the workings of the brain, and how that affects our day-to-day lives was fascinating. This gave me food for thought so I can go out and find some more books on neuroscience that have more empirical data as well.