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seclement's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this book on a whim when I was browsing in the psychology section, mainly because this was the only book (besides Kahneman's most recent) in that section that was not a ridiculous self-help book. I'm not sure what's happening to the psychology section of book stores, but I do know that this was an excellent impulse buy. I really liked the way this book was organised. Each chapter built on the previous one, taking the reader through a really compelling narrative about how we decide - exactly as advertised. He does an excellent job of weaving personal narratives with the research, which really made the information about the way the brain works easier to understand and absolutely fascinating. One of the things I enjoyed most about the book was that he has restored some of my faith in my brain! This may sound a bit odd, but after reading books like Mistakes Were Made and Invisible Gorilla, you start to get a bit flustered with just how wrong you can be. This book was a good counterbalance to the effect of reading those. Although he does discuss the weaknesses of the way our brain regions interact when making a decision, he also discusses many of the strengths and provides really clear, tangible ways that we can protect ourselves from errors and play on those strengths. It's not an academic work, so the referencing is not very good (just a Bibliography and no in-text citations or footnotes). It didn't bother me that much, but because I read books like this for the curiosity factor, it does make it difficult to follow up on particular passages that piqued my interest. I imagine that if you were in this field of research, the lack of referencing would annoy you, but I'd say this book isn't directed at you, rather it's for the curious layman who wants to know more about what's happening inside his/her head when making decisions.
tigerknitting's review against another edition
3.0
Nonfiction books often make for fascinating reading. You can read someone's life story, learn about different cultures, or learn more about how things work.
In the learn about how things work category is the book How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer. This is a book about how the brain works, in particular, how we make decisions. Lehrer makes the current research on the brain accessible to lay readers.
For many years philosophers and scientists thought that we either decided through logical processes or by using feelings. Now, scientists are beginning to understand that the process is not that simple. It is a balancing act between gut feelings and thought out decisions. They are also finding that both types of decision making have their place. Learning when to make thought out decisions and when to trust your gut is the trick to making the best decisions.
Some key take-aways (at least in my opinion) are: its ok to make mistakes...that is how our brains learn to make better decisions, sometimes complicated decisions are best made with our emotional brains (too much information can overwhelm the logical brain), our dopamine receptors like to be happy, the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed in teenagers so they are going to make mistakes (it helps their brains learn, after all!), sleeping on it can actually work, and learn to think outside the box.
This book is written for non-scientists, so don't be afraid to read a "science" book. It is entertaining and enlightening.
In the learn about how things work category is the book How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer. This is a book about how the brain works, in particular, how we make decisions. Lehrer makes the current research on the brain accessible to lay readers.
For many years philosophers and scientists thought that we either decided through logical processes or by using feelings. Now, scientists are beginning to understand that the process is not that simple. It is a balancing act between gut feelings and thought out decisions. They are also finding that both types of decision making have their place. Learning when to make thought out decisions and when to trust your gut is the trick to making the best decisions.
Some key take-aways (at least in my opinion) are: its ok to make mistakes...that is how our brains learn to make better decisions, sometimes complicated decisions are best made with our emotional brains (too much information can overwhelm the logical brain), our dopamine receptors like to be happy, the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed in teenagers so they are going to make mistakes (it helps their brains learn, after all!), sleeping on it can actually work, and learn to think outside the box.
This book is written for non-scientists, so don't be afraid to read a "science" book. It is entertaining and enlightening.
leenah24's review against another edition
5.0
This book was SPLENDID! I admit that it took me a considerably long time to finish reading this book, but that was not due to boredom. This book is one of the very limited non-fiction books I've read and the first ever scientific one, so I felt the need to go slow and digest everything.
How We Decide was not too scientific and complicated, or simple to the degree of childishness. The scientific information is made easier to understand by the striking examples Jonah Lehrer uses, which vary from strawberry jam to war tactics to flying a plane. The examples are so diverse - there are ones from sports, simple surveys, experiments, TV shows, hobbies, politics, and even criminals' actions!- and right to the point that you find yourself absolutely intrigued. Not only are the writing style and examples used in this book flawless, but the book also addresses a very important and interesting issue. From it's name, How We Decide explains the decision process in details, answering these fundamental questions: Do emotions interfere with decisions? In a beneficial or a devastating way? When do we use our emotions when we decide and when do we block them out? Can we actually over-think a decision? How do we avoid over-thinking without deciding haphazardly and irrationally? And finally, after it piles up all the information together, the book answers the most important question of all : How can we make better decisions?
This book will prove to be a very interesting and useful read, and it will certainly satisfy your need for bragging that you are so smart you read, and understand, scientific books ;)
How We Decide was not too scientific and complicated, or simple to the degree of childishness. The scientific information is made easier to understand by the striking examples Jonah Lehrer uses, which vary from strawberry jam to war tactics to flying a plane. The examples are so diverse - there are ones from sports, simple surveys, experiments, TV shows, hobbies, politics, and even criminals' actions!- and right to the point that you find yourself absolutely intrigued. Not only are the writing style and examples used in this book flawless, but the book also addresses a very important and interesting issue. From it's name, How We Decide explains the decision process in details, answering these fundamental questions: Do emotions interfere with decisions? In a beneficial or a devastating way? When do we use our emotions when we decide and when do we block them out? Can we actually over-think a decision? How do we avoid over-thinking without deciding haphazardly and irrationally? And finally, after it piles up all the information together, the book answers the most important question of all : How can we make better decisions?
This book will prove to be a very interesting and useful read, and it will certainly satisfy your need for bragging that you are so smart you read, and understand, scientific books ;)
literarylover37's review against another edition
3.0
I am still disappointed that I have to question the legitimacy of the facts presented in this book but the topic was interesting and it was well written.
rgmattson's review against another edition
4.0
Jonah Lehrer is no slouch when it comes to providing an engaging narrative through a complicated subject. The only reason I delayed in getting into, and then finishing, this book was due to my own poor decision making -- too many assumptions, too much emotion, not enough rational analysis. But I think I've retrained my brain enough to help make a better decision next time.
themorrigan333's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book! Makes you realize "Aha! so that's why we act like that" or "For real, our brain is responsible for that?!?". For sure needs to be read more than once.
liketheday's review against another edition
3.0
The topic is good. How do people make decisions? What parts of our brains do the heavy lifting? Why do people sometimes make really bad decisions, like buying crappy jam (no, really)? But there are only so many times I can hear the phrase "pre-frontal cortex" or the words "rational" and "emotional" before I start to go a little crazy!
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hopecaldwell's review against another edition
2.0
Somewhat interesting, but seemed like this could have been an article that was stretched into a book.