A review by leenah24
How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer

5.0

This book was SPLENDID! I admit that it took me a considerably long time to finish reading this book, but that was not due to boredom. This book is one of the very limited non-fiction books I've read and the first ever scientific one, so I felt the need to go slow and digest everything.

How We Decide was not too scientific and complicated, or simple to the degree of childishness. The scientific information is made easier to understand by the striking examples Jonah Lehrer uses, which vary from strawberry jam to war tactics to flying a plane. The examples are so diverse - there are ones from sports, simple surveys, experiments, TV shows, hobbies, politics, and even criminals' actions!- and right to the point that you find yourself absolutely intrigued. Not only are the writing style and examples used in this book flawless, but the book also addresses a very important and interesting issue. From it's name, How We Decide explains the decision process in details, answering these fundamental questions: Do emotions interfere with decisions? In a beneficial or a devastating way? When do we use our emotions when we decide and when do we block them out? Can we actually over-think a decision? How do we avoid over-thinking without deciding haphazardly and irrationally? And finally, after it piles up all the information together, the book answers the most important question of all : How can we make better decisions?

This book will prove to be a very interesting and useful read, and it will certainly satisfy your need for bragging that you are so smart you read, and understand, scientific books ;)