Review of '[CD] Thinking, Fast and Slow By Kahneman, Daniel' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Managed to meet my high expectations. Will recommend to others.
hardcover
English language
Published Aug. 1, 2011 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Thinking, fast and slow
4 stars
(143 reviews)
Kahneman introduces two modes of thought - system 1, fast and intuitive, and system 2, slow and reasoned - and explores how these modes effect behavior, particularly judgement and decision making.
Mark Anderson reviewed Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
Review of 'Thinking, fast and slow' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I was fortunate to be given this book, as I've unknowningly been really interested in many of the ideas and principles that turn out to have been indebted to Kahneman's work. This is a long read, but I found it consistently interesting, though at times I felt like there were some missed opportunities to more clearly outline and draw out principles from each chapter. I've bookmarked a number of passages and intend to reread some again to better internalize some of the lessons. Kahneman's skepticism and caution about human rationality is healthy and much needed, especially in the educator sector in which I work.
loppear reviewed Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
Review of 'Thinking, fast and slow' on Goodreads
4 stars
Thorough, readable overview of cognitive biases and prospect theory. Consistent short chapters covering one idea, often a review of psychology experiments that demonstrate the bias or result. Memorable shorthands for the different ways of thinking: the title mostly refers to our mind's intensity-driven jump-to-conclusion machine and our lazy calculating rational machine, neither free of bias.
markm reviewed Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
Review of 'Thinking, fast and slow' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
The old line that true wisdom comes when you realize how little you know is brought to mind by this book which shows us that we often respond to the world using a pre-wired quick-acting, but deeply flawed system of mental function. The author, a Nobel prize laureate, describes his theory of fast and slow methods of thought, which, at first, seems to be an analytical version of the id and ego dressed up and without attribution, but as the stories are told and the experimental results accumulate, we see an extraordinary far-reaching concept that has consequences for all human activity. Included are: explanations of how con men and salesman trick us so easily, the difficulty of comprehending simple statistical concepts, one of the best explanations of regression to the mean that I have ever read, more support for efficient market theory and debunking of those who predict the future, …
The old line that true wisdom comes when you realize how little you know is brought to mind by this book which shows us that we often respond to the world using a pre-wired quick-acting, but deeply flawed system of mental function. The author, a Nobel prize laureate, describes his theory of fast and slow methods of thought, which, at first, seems to be an analytical version of the id and ego dressed up and without attribution, but as the stories are told and the experimental results accumulate, we see an extraordinary far-reaching concept that has consequences for all human activity. Included are: explanations of how con men and salesman trick us so easily, the difficulty of comprehending simple statistical concepts, one of the best explanations of regression to the mean that I have ever read, more support for efficient market theory and debunking of those who predict the future, the reason why tourists need to take pictures and a discussion of the remembering self that gave me insight into Proust, tips on hiring, the basis of intuition and much more.
Ikwezi reviewed Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
Review of 'Thinking, fast and slow' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Would have given it five stars if it hadn't been so impenetrably boring at various points
Eduardo Santiago reviewed Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
Review of 'Thinking, fast and slow' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Advertisers and politicians know this stuff. We should know it too.
Kahneman documents the almost paradoxical differences between our "automatic" thinking (à la Gladwell's "Blink") and our "rational" (prefrontal cortex) selves. How the automatic systems frequently trick us, and sometimes in dangerous ways.
Psychology, economics, and statistics all in one brilliantly accessible package.
Moorlock reviewed Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
Review of 'Thinking, fast and slow' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Just as human minds are vulnerable to optical and auditory illusions, we also have regular, predictable, remarkable flaws in the ways we predict events, handle statistical data and uncertainty, remember our own lives, anticipate what will make us happy, assess information, and so forth. These cognitive illusions are only recently undergoing rigorous exploration, and [a:Daniel Kahneman|72401|Daniel Kahneman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1615917414p2/72401.jpg] is one of the top names in the field.
In [b:Thinking Fast and Slow|11468377|Thinking, Fast and Slow|Daniel Kahneman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317793965l/11468377.SX50.jpg|16402639], Kahneman introduces his model for understanding these illusions. Roughly: people have two cognitive systems for evaluating information and making decisions -- System 1 and System 2. System 1 is fast, intuitive, subconscious, and automatic, but is prone to some easily-exploitable biases and illusions. System 2 is slow, must be deliberately invoked, is conscious, and is sapping of mental energy; while it can fill in some of the gaps where System 1 fails, it …
Just as human minds are vulnerable to optical and auditory illusions, we also have regular, predictable, remarkable flaws in the ways we predict events, handle statistical data and uncertainty, remember our own lives, anticipate what will make us happy, assess information, and so forth. These cognitive illusions are only recently undergoing rigorous exploration, and [a:Daniel Kahneman|72401|Daniel Kahneman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1615917414p2/72401.jpg] is one of the top names in the field.
In [b:Thinking Fast and Slow|11468377|Thinking, Fast and Slow|Daniel Kahneman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1317793965l/11468377.SX50.jpg|16402639], Kahneman introduces his model for understanding these illusions. Roughly: people have two cognitive systems for evaluating information and making decisions -- System 1 and System 2. System 1 is fast, intuitive, subconscious, and automatic, but is prone to some easily-exploitable biases and illusions. System 2 is slow, must be deliberately invoked, is conscious, and is sapping of mental energy; while it can fill in some of the gaps where System 1 fails, it has some blind spots of its own, and can be over-reliant on the snap judgments of System 1 as the basis for its own decisions.
The marketing and propaganda industries are of course eagerly studying this new research into the various ways in which they can trick us into parting with more of our resources or doing more of their bidding while receiving less in return. We, the intended victims, are much slower to educate ourselves. Perhaps books like this will help.
Added caveat (June 2016): jasoncollins.org/2016/06/29/re-reading-kahnemans-thinking-fast-and-slow/
Added caveat (May 2021): replicationindex.com/2020/12/30/a-meta-scientific-perspective-on-thinking-fast-and-slow/
Subjects
- Intuition
- Thought and thinking
- Reasoning
- Decision making