The Vulcan bible and the big decision-maker's best friend
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We all act on impulse and make quick decisions every day. That may be irrational but if we had to think long and hard about every decision we made then our lives would never get anywhere.
Fortunately, most of our decisions have very limited consequences if they turn out to be wrong, but sometimes a bad decision can cost a lot of money, even human lives. Then it is best to be sure that the decision was the best possible based on all the facts. Even when buying a new home or a new car, one could well save oneself some grief and perhaps a lot of money if the deal was approached in a rational manner.
As this book points out, many lives and lots of money have been lost and many projects have failed because of bad decisions due to pride, prejudice, by misinterpreting facts in ones own favor, by fear of non-conformity and many other irrational reasons.
This book is an excellent tour through a lot of topics, all of which are aspects of irrational behavior. Through many (painfully :-/ ) clear examples the author illustrates the various types of irrational behavior and how they can lead to bad or wrong decisions. For example, the "availability error" where too much emphasis is put on whatever comes first to mind, or the "halo effect" where too much emphasis is put on first impressions. These traps catch us every day and are among the advertisers' best weapons.
If you want to improve you own decision making - in you personal life as well as you professional life - or you just want to know why other people often make such bad decisions this book can give you a lot of insight into how easily people can make flawed decisions and thus what to be wary of the next time you face an important decision.
English is not my first language but I use English a lot. With this background I found the book fairly easy to read, although it is my impression that you do need to be quite proficient in the English language to get the full benefit of the book.
For those seeking more information about the topics and examples presented by the author, the book has a comprehensive list of the background material, with reference to the page where it is used, as well as a list of supplemental literature for the curious reader.
I warmly recommend this book to any Vulcan wannabe as well as to any person with the responsibility to make decisions that can affect other people's lives, jobs, careers, health etc.
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A Quirky, Fun and Idiosyncratic Book
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The actuarial method has proved successful in predicting happiness in marriage, if you subtract the average number of times a couple makes love a week from the number of rows they have a week. This is just one of dozens of quirky insights from Stuart Sutherland, who will turn lots of your thinking on its head.
This is not a systematic book, it's just a stroll through some fascinating subjects, with the odd valuable lesson thrown in. Sutherland is not afraid to be prejudiced. He writes off psychoanalysis in a few paragraphs, he demolishes any pride you might have in your intuition, or any secret belief you may have in the paranormal.
I have a business, and I remember when I started applying for loans. The bank manager told me they did it all by computer now. I was horrified. Sutherland explains why they do it. It put me off applying for one - but actually, in retrospect, if they examined my credit record, it was immaculate. I just assumed a computer would be bureaucratic. Which might not be the case at all.
Also, I have had many very disappointing experiences in interviews. Sutherland describes exactly why interviews often don't result in the best candidate being selected.
I've often felt marginalised and disdained for not being a malleable member of committees and groups, so Sutherland's work is really comforting. I'd like to use some of his stories and examples in the speeches I write for CEOs, though I fear they may be just a bit too subversive.
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Irrationality- A virus to be treated
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Stuart Sutherland has prepared a psychology book that's accessible to anybody, from the professor to the layman. He cites so many examples of irrationality through research and experiments conducted in the past few decades. The book is packed full of references to experiments and situations where humans behave in foolish ways sub-consciously. The only criticism I have is, like most books, he tends to digress too much towards irrationality in medicine which can become rather dull during the middle of the book. The text explains very well to the reader how the use of rewards, incentives and punishments are dangerous in many instances, and leads you to think about how our education system can be fully improved by eradicating the incentives we have for children today. He also proves how those with strong beliefs are acting irrationally, as they only search for evidence that fully confirms their belief, therefore encouraging extremism. The rational thing to do if one is so confident in a belief, he adds, is to seek evidence contradicting those beliefs. Sutherland also provides guidance to avoid irrationality after each chapter.
Overall, the book is incredibly thought provoking, yet his tendency to digress on many subjects leads to self-indulgence which can become tiresome towards the middle. All in all, I would recommend it to anyone.
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Really Thought Provoking
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This is my first and I hope many more reviews to come, as I find them very useful in choosing whether to buy a book or not.
Anyway, I have had this book for 3 months now and found it completely enthralling. The book is about why we all at times make irrational choices such as when we are in groups, committees and depending on our emotional state. It all seems to "click" and when you see real life examples at work you feel as if you know why! For me it does make me aware of how I am making my decision.
I recommend this for anyone interested in how the human mind comes to decisions, why politicians make awful policies and cannot go back and why military generals should not believe in their own abilities.
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Essential reading - Changes your way of thinking
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On reading this book you are a presented with everyday problems and the simply irrational way we make decisions- from leaving the cinema to international travel. This non-technical tale provokes thinking in a way that does not confuse the reader, but keeps them enthralled throughout- always wanting to read the next section.
To give you an idea- here is one of the simple irrationalities presented to us- You've paid to go and see a film, but don't like it- do you leave early? Whilst most people would say no, this book tempts us to say yes and shows us that this the logical way to do things. Essentially do we waste our time and money (and stay in the cinema) or just our money? Surely we should cut our losses and leave, but irrationality shows that in fact we don't we stick around in a way that shows our poor decision making.
Overall, irrationality presents solid arguments in a way thats easy to understand. A fantastic book.
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