A surprisingly poignant, intellectually rigorous study of how our thought processes shape our lives.
A thoroughly researched, pop-culture–laden exploration of how people make choices.
Gates posits that the human mind can essentially be divided into two “systems,” the subconscious (System 1) and the conscious (System 2). Although the commonly accepted thinking is that our conscious, rational minds make better, more informed decisions, Gates argues that the spontaneous, often emotional reactions of the subconscious influence us far more than we’d like to admit. People who deny this reality and rely purely on System 2, the author says, won’t benefit as much as those who recognize and make use of their System 1 impulses. This intriguing book drives home the notion that “the Truth” isn’t a solidly defined fact but rather a perpetually shifting, ambiguous process. It’s led people to search for meaning and patterns that often aren’t there, Gates says; they fool themselves into thinking that they “know” what the best choice is, when in fact, they have no solid idea. The author notes German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer’s notion that “[t]he art...is to ignore the right kind of information.” To further illustrate its concepts, the book uses a variety of examples, examining the art of storytelling, statistics games, and quotes from leaders who engaged in ill-fated wars and political endeavors. It also makes artful use of pop-cultural references (such as a Dilbert cartoon) to elegantly encapsulate its complex subject matter. Gates opens the book with an anecdote about the various mistakes in judgment that led to the 1986 Challenger space-shuttle explosion, which serves as a visceral framing device to examine choices that NASA made that were based on faulty thinking. In this example, the author reveals that sometimes people make decisions based on the fact that an event has not transpired, and they therefore irrationally believe that it will never occur. As Gates states numerous times, this absence of evidence is not an evidence of absence, and yet people still perceive information based largely on what they wish it to mean.
A surprisingly poignant, intellectually rigorous study of how our thought processes shape our lives.Pub Date: April 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499004106
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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