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amb3rlina's review against another edition
4.0
This book didn't impress me much at first - I felt like the author was just spouting out interesting facts without a coherent theme or message. But the anecdotes kept me involved and I'm glad I stuck with it. He tied it up much better at the end and it proved to be a highly interesting and informative book. Think about thinking was my main take away and that is something I indulge in plenty. I appreciate the credence he gave to "emotional" decisions and it reinforced much of what I've always felt to be true. Fascinating stuff.
niniane's review against another edition
4.0
The book seemed contradictory for the first 90%, but wrapped it up in the end in a semi-organized theory. It repeats a lot of material from "Happiness Hypothesis", so if you've read that, a lot of this will seem redundant.
Main points:
- For decisions that can be mathematically expressed (e.g. which of these banks gives me a better savings plan, which way will this airplane turn if I rotate the wheel), rely on reason instead of intuition/emotion.
- For complex decisions that you have experience with (e.g. which jam do I like eating, which apartment should I live in, which car should I drive), rely on intuition / emotion.
- Be open to contradicting evidence instead of shutting it out.
Main points:
- For decisions that can be mathematically expressed (e.g. which of these banks gives me a better savings plan, which way will this airplane turn if I rotate the wheel), rely on reason instead of intuition/emotion.
- For complex decisions that you have experience with (e.g. which jam do I like eating, which apartment should I live in, which car should I drive), rely on intuition / emotion.
- Be open to contradicting evidence instead of shutting it out.
robynryle's review against another edition
3.0
This was an intersting book in trying to use emerging neuroscience to explain how we make decisions. Sometimes I feel that a lot of the "startling" conclusions that neuroscientists come to were fairly obvious to those of us in the social sciences. We don't make decisions rationally. Are decisions are usually actually based on emotions and then post-hoc, we come up with a rational explanation for our decision. No kidding. Still, interesting to see the "real" scientists back up some of the conclusions of those of us who deal with humans, rather than brains. Nice mix of philosophy, too, but very little consideration of the importance of social factors in thinking about how people think.
jameshaus's review against another edition
5.0
Really good book on how brain works and how decision making works. Basically it teaches you the differences between decisions based on reason, and decisions based on emotion and asserts that people discount emotional decision making way too much. Sometimes your emotions are distilling the sum of your experience very rapidly and should be listened too, sometimes they lead you astray. Of course, reason sometimes leads you astray as well. The utility of this book is giving you some guideposts to figure out when you should listen to your instincts and when you should let your analytical mind take over. Very good, highly recommended.
On a side note, there's an interesting tie-in to comfortable with uncertainty which is a book on Buddhism. Both this, that book and even the power of now advise you to think about how you think all the time. Interesting to hear it from the spiritual side then read about this guy coming at it from a completely scientific, neurobiological perspective.
On a side note, there's an interesting tie-in to comfortable with uncertainty which is a book on Buddhism. Both this, that book and even the power of now advise you to think about how you think all the time. Interesting to hear it from the spiritual side then read about this guy coming at it from a completely scientific, neurobiological perspective.
afox98's review against another edition
2.0
I got bored with this pretty quick. It wasn't written particularly well, and seemed to jump all over the place. And maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention b/c I was bored, but I don't know where he got his information. I didn't finish it.
waitenathan's review against another edition
5.0
This is the book Malcolm Gladwell tries to write. Informative, engaging writing that you can't help but learn from.
lakecake's review against another edition
4.0
Really interesting, but relatively simple, look at the science of deciding and at the brain. Ends with practical advice about how to make decisions, which is cool (if I remember any of it).
sfletcher26's review against another edition
2.0
An entertaining read with one or two interesting take away facts. A little too superficial though. Anyone interested in neurology and neurobiology would be better off reading Sachs or Ramachandran.
luluwoohoo's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
☀️☀️☀️☀️
▪️An insightful, thought-provoking (ha) book that breaks down our brain's decision making processes
▪️Lehrer walks a skillful tightrope between entertaining side stories and the scientific research that defines their relevance, choosing a variety of topics that best exhibit the intricate nature of our very complex brain
▪️The details of our warring rational and emotional sides was given via balanced observations, showing the strengths and weaknesses of relying too heavily on one side. The takeaway from this research is obvious: we must use both effectively in conjunction with each other
▪️The recommendations on handling different scales or levels of choice, from buying jam to a brand new car, goes against all instinct but is, according to the research, backed up by science
▪️I found this to be a quick, fulfilling and intelligent read that has made me think about thinking more than I think I have before!
☀️☀️☀️☀️
▪️An insightful, thought-provoking (ha) book that breaks down our brain's decision making processes
▪️Lehrer walks a skillful tightrope between entertaining side stories and the scientific research that defines their relevance, choosing a variety of topics that best exhibit the intricate nature of our very complex brain
▪️The details of our warring rational and emotional sides was given via balanced observations, showing the strengths and weaknesses of relying too heavily on one side. The takeaway from this research is obvious: we must use both effectively in conjunction with each other
▪️The recommendations on handling different scales or levels of choice, from buying jam to a brand new car, goes against all instinct but is, according to the research, backed up by science
▪️I found this to be a quick, fulfilling and intelligent read that has made me think about thinking more than I think I have before!
"When evolution was building the brain, it didn't bother to replace all of those emotional processes with new operations under explicit, conscious control. If something isn't broken, then natural selection isn't going to fix it. The mind is made out of used parts, engineered by a blind watchmaker. The result is that the uniquely human areas of the mind depend on the primitive mind underneath."
"From the perspective of the brain, new ideas are merely several old thoughts that occur at the exact same time."
laughellacci's review against another edition
4.0
A light read exploring the intricacies of decision making from choosing jam to surviving a plane crash. An interesting interplay between emotion and logic and how only combining the two gives us good decision making.