How We Decide

author: Jonah Lehrer

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.81

book published: 2009

rating: 4

read at: 2013/06/28

date added: 2013/06/28

shelves: non-fiction

review:

A really interesting book about how we make decisions. It delves into the different areas of the brain to discuss their function during the decisions we make. One of the main questions raised asks if we make better decisions by being analytical or by using gut instinct. And the answer is a resounding yes.



Told with many examples, from pilots who saved airplanes, to all the decisions a quarterback has to make, to the best way to pick a strawberry jam, it's insightful, if perhaps not as conclusive as some might like. It turns out that our experience can inform decisions on a subconcious level, so while the situation or crisis we find ourselves in may not be familiar to us, our brain is already skewing our options and opinions. This had good and adverse consequences. Sometimes, our brain gets fooled, and we spend too much money or there are too many variables to choose from, so we pick irrationally.



This book confirms my theory that we won't have truly sentient computers in my lifetime. Sure, we can build a computer to beat humans at chess because the options are all analytical, but building one that could win at poker, where the options are analytical and bluffing, seems nigh impossible. An interesting afterword explains why statistics for airplane crashes are down. Our brains are really amazing and this book is very readable.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/115582013?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss