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A review by dinahfay
Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious by Gerd Gigerenzer
3.0
So, if you want to save yourself the time and expense of taking a Cognitive Science 101 course, this book is a pretty good solution. Gigerenzer offers up some theories on how human decision-making actually works (hint: it's not by drawing up a big list of pro's and con's and doing a weighted analysis), why we evolved to make decisions this way (VOMIT. instant -1 star.), and presents evidence that these innate methods of decison-making are often "better" than advanced statistical models.
The first third of the book was basically a primer in how corporations exploit the recognition heuristic to promote sales and brand loyalty, by plastering their logo on every imaginable surface because humans are more likely to "like" or "buy" something they recognize over an unknown. Only Gigerenzer didn't explain it like that, he was actually talking about the processes that inform intuitive, morally-neutral decision making... I just can't read a book morally-neutrally.
Listen, this book is fine. I'm sure the science behind it is solid and I think Malcolm Gladwell used it as a jumping-off point more than once. Reading it just made me uneasy because once the more we understand about the way people make gut decisions, the more that understanding will be exploited. Which could be a good thing! Gigerenzer even gives some examples of how it could be a good thing, like how it could increase the percentage of organ donors or help doctors better prioritize the symptoms and care of patients! But I am forever cynical, and read this whole book thinking about how it gets easier every day for those with power to subtly control those without power.
In conclusion, this book made me sad in ways a book of statistically-driven, non-narrative nonfiction should not. But the processes of intuition described in this book are probably things we should know about ourselves, and things we should call out corporations/the government/etc for exploiting.
[Today's review brought to you by the word "exploit" and the number "paranoia.":]
The first third of the book was basically a primer in how corporations exploit the recognition heuristic to promote sales and brand loyalty, by plastering their logo on every imaginable surface because humans are more likely to "like" or "buy" something they recognize over an unknown. Only Gigerenzer didn't explain it like that, he was actually talking about the processes that inform intuitive, morally-neutral decision making... I just can't read a book morally-neutrally.
Listen, this book is fine. I'm sure the science behind it is solid and I think Malcolm Gladwell used it as a jumping-off point more than once. Reading it just made me uneasy because once the more we understand about the way people make gut decisions, the more that understanding will be exploited. Which could be a good thing! Gigerenzer even gives some examples of how it could be a good thing, like how it could increase the percentage of organ donors or help doctors better prioritize the symptoms and care of patients! But I am forever cynical, and read this whole book thinking about how it gets easier every day for those with power to subtly control those without power.
In conclusion, this book made me sad in ways a book of statistically-driven, non-narrative nonfiction should not. But the processes of intuition described in this book are probably things we should know about ourselves, and things we should call out corporations/the government/etc for exploiting.
[Today's review brought to you by the word "exploit" and the number "paranoia.":]