Title How We Decide
Author Jonah Lehrer
Year Published 2010
Kind of Book Science/Journalism/Rationality
How strongly I recommend it 5/10
My Impressions Simple thesis: For simple decisions, trust your head. For complex decisions, trust you gut. The book covers much of the same terrain as "Thinking, Fast and Slow", but the latter does it much better in my opinion. The big take away is that different kind of decisions call for different kinds of decision making.
Date Read Feb 2020
Practical Takeaways
Know when to rely on your slow/rational process and when to rely on your fast/emotional processes when making decisions-William James
Learn how to practice-Bill Robertie
Focus on your mistakes (to get better)-Bill Robertie
Praise children for their effort not their intelligence/grades/results (students praised for theirs efforts raised their average score by 30%) -Carol Dweck
Use your intuitions to make decisions in areas you have put several hours of deliberate practice to become expert in
Give the ball to the best shooter, not the "hot" shooter
Don’t sell stocks that have increased in value
Sell stocks that are depreciating
(For spending less) Cut up your credit card-Herman Palmer
When looking at advertisements . Read only the fine print. (the bigger the print the less it matters)-Herman Palmer
(during performance) Don't focus on mechanical details of your performance (eg. Focusing on the position of your wrist during your stroke) instead focus on a holistic cue word ie a descriptive adjective (eg. Smooth or balanced)
Consider your commute time when deciding where to live
Don't store a lot of things in your working memory
Forget your MRI when assessing your back pain (What its showing you in probably not important)-Dr. Sean Mackey
Force yourself to pay attention to data that disturbs your entrenched beliefs
When making decisions; resist the urge to suppress the argument. Instead, take the time to listen to what all the different brain areas have to say
When buying easy consumer products, take a few moments to reflect on the purchase
Listen to your emotional/intuitive brain when furniture shopping
for simple decisions (decisions with 4 or less variables which won't overwhelm the pfc) use reason and your rational mind
For complex decisions (decisions with more than 4 variables) first gather all the relevant information, then distract yourself for a time being while your unconscious chews on the information, then select the choice associated with the most positive emotion
Steps for making a complex decisions-Ap Dijksterhuis
Use your conscious mind to acquire all the information you need to make the decision, but don't analyze the information with your conscious mind
Go on a "holiday" while your unconscious mind digests it
Do whatever your intuition tells you ie select the choice associated with the most positive emotion
Ask yourself if the decision can be accurately summarized in numerical terms
Buy the cheapest wine or cola (cheaper wines often taste better than more expensive ones in blind taste tests)
Think less about those decisions you care most about. Don't be afraid to let your emotions choose
Ask yourself whether or not your intuitions are rooted in experience or are just haphazard impulses
When having people advise you ask them to tell you what they know AND what they don't know-Colin Powell
Whenever you make a decision, be aware of the kind of decision you are making and the kind of thought process it requires
Big Ideas
Intuition forms through many hours of deliberate practice
People who are more rational don't perceive emotion less, they just regulate it better-Benedetto de Martino
Sometimes, more information and analysis can actually constrict thinking, making people understand less about what's really going on.
Surprising Facts
(when a person has to travel an hour or more in each direction they must make 40% more money in order to have the same amount of life satisfaction)
A mind forced to store a lot of items in working memory has less control over impulses and is more likely to act impulsively (eg. Eating a cookie)
Unknown Terms
Perceptual Narrowing: Purposefully reducing ones awareness to the most essential facts and basic instincts during critical and chaotic moments
Metacognition: contemplating one's own mind or emotion