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Product Description
Review
"Eminently "Gladwellian"...Herbert clearly shows the effects of various daily mental maneuvers and peppers the text with explanations of how the human mind has evolved." —Washington Post
"Brings a twist [to the psychology shelf]...could keep us from making mistakes whose consequences range from dying in an avalanche to failing to follow directions because we don't like the font they're written in." —Sharon Begley, Newsweek
"Think twice before you trust your gut...Herbert uses real-world examples and cutting-edge research to show how heuristics--hardwired mental shortcuts we think of as intuition--can both help and hinder the decisions we make every day." —US News & World Report
“Counters the argument set forth in titles like Malcom Gladwell's Blink… successfully shows readers how ancient shortcuts can impact our modern living and how to use this knowledge to make better decisions.” —Library Journal
“Wray Herbert displays his gifts as a science writer par excellence…On Second Thought goes a long way toward leveling the mental playing field by outing the hidden power of our unconscious mental models.” —Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
"There is one way to be rational, and many ways of being irrational. With stories, anecdotes, and studies, Wray Herbert takes us through a guided tour of our many irrational tendencies, holding our hand, and helping us to see the mistakes we all make every day."—Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational
“A wonderful book that should be read by the public and experts alike…the most complete statement currently available on the foibles manifest in everyday decision-making and surely one of the most interesting books that I have had the pleasure of reading." —Ellen Langer, author of Mindfulness
“Wray Herbert is one of our finest writers of psychological science…here he blends the most fascinating findings from cognitive psychology with his own experiences into a seamless story of the mental biases and quirks that help us navigate through life—and occasionally get us stuck in brambles. On second thought . . . I’d say the same thing.”
—Carol Tavris, coauthor of Mistakes Were Made
“A fascinating and important book that reveals the invisible errors we make time and again… don’t tackle any big adventures or major undertakings until you’ve read On Second Thought. It could save your nest egg, your relationship, and even your life. No kidding!”—Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big Life
“From ‘looming maladaptive style’ to the ‘cooties heuristic,’ Wray Herbert takes us on a journey through the styles of thought we usually take for granted. In clear and lively prose, he describes psych experiments and real-life quandaries that reveal how our cognitive habits get in our way – or, occasionally, save our skins. It all adds up to a fascinating book that is altogether a treat. —Robin Marantz Henig, author of Pandora's Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution
From the Hardcover edition.
"Brings a twist [to the psychology shelf]...could keep us from making mistakes whose consequences range from dying in an avalanche to failing to follow directions because we don't like the font they're written in." —Sharon Begley, Newsweek
"Think twice before you trust your gut...Herbert uses real-world examples and cutting-edge research to show how heuristics--hardwired mental shortcuts we think of as intuition--can both help and hinder the decisions we make every day." —US News & World Report
“Counters the argument set forth in titles like Malcom Gladwell's Blink… successfully shows readers how ancient shortcuts can impact our modern living and how to use this knowledge to make better decisions.” —Library Journal
“Wray Herbert displays his gifts as a science writer par excellence…On Second Thought goes a long way toward leveling the mental playing field by outing the hidden power of our unconscious mental models.” —Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
"There is one way to be rational, and many ways of being irrational. With stories, anecdotes, and studies, Wray Herbert takes us through a guided tour of our many irrational tendencies, holding our hand, and helping us to see the mistakes we all make every day."—Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational
“A wonderful book that should be read by the public and experts alike…the most complete statement currently available on the foibles manifest in everyday decision-making and surely one of the most interesting books that I have had the pleasure of reading." —Ellen Langer, author of Mindfulness
“Wray Herbert is one of our finest writers of psychological science…here he blends the most fascinating findings from cognitive psychology with his own experiences into a seamless story of the mental biases and quirks that help us navigate through life—and occasionally get us stuck in brambles. On second thought . . . I’d say the same thing.”
—Carol Tavris, coauthor of Mistakes Were Made
“A fascinating and important book that reveals the invisible errors we make time and again… don’t tackle any big adventures or major undertakings until you’ve read On Second Thought. It could save your nest egg, your relationship, and even your life. No kidding!”—Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big Life
“From ‘looming maladaptive style’ to the ‘cooties heuristic,’ Wray Herbert takes us on a journey through the styles of thought we usually take for granted. In clear and lively prose, he describes psych experiments and real-life quandaries that reveal how our cognitive habits get in our way – or, occasionally, save our skins. It all adds up to a fascinating book that is altogether a treat. —Robin Marantz Henig, author of Pandora's Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution
From the Hardcover edition.
Book Description
Our lives are composed of millions of choices, ranging from trivial to life-changing and momentous. Luckily, our brains have evolved a number of mental shortcuts, biases, and tricks that allow us to quickly negotiate this endless array of decisions. We don’t want to rationally deliberate every choice we make, and thanks to these cognitive rules of thumb, we don’t need to.
Yet these hard-wired shortcuts, mental wonders though they may be, can also be perilous. They can distort our thinking in ways that are often invisible to us, leading us to make poor decisions, to be easy targets for manipulators…and they can even cost us our lives.
The truth is, despite all the buzz about the power of gut-instinct decision-making in recent years, sometimes it’s better to stop and say, “On second thought . . .”
The trick, of course, lies in knowing when to trust that instant response, and when to question it. In On Second Thought, acclaimed science writer Wray Herbert provides the first guide to achieving that balance. Drawing on real-world examples and cutting-edge research, he takes us on a fascinating, wide-ranging journey through our innate cognitive traps and tools, exposing the hidden dangers lurking in familiarity and consistency; the obstacles that keep us from accurately evaluating risk and value; the delusions that make it hard for us to accurately predict the future; the perils of the human yearning for order and simplicity; the ways our fears can color our very perceptions . . . and much more.
Along the way, Herbert reveals the often-bizarre cross-connections these shortcuts have secretly ingrained in our brains, answering such questions as why jury decisions may be shaped by our ancient need for cleanliness; what the state of your desk has to do with your political preferences; why loneliness can literally make us shiver; how drawing two dots on a piece of paper can desensitize us to violence… and how the very typeface on this page is affecting your decision about whether or not to buy this book.
Ultimately, On Second Thought is both a captivating exploration of the workings of the mind and an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to learn how to make smarter, better judgments every day.
From the Hardcover edition.
Yet these hard-wired shortcuts, mental wonders though they may be, can also be perilous. They can distort our thinking in ways that are often invisible to us, leading us to make poor decisions, to be easy targets for manipulators…and they can even cost us our lives.
The truth is, despite all the buzz about the power of gut-instinct decision-making in recent years, sometimes it’s better to stop and say, “On second thought . . .”
The trick, of course, lies in knowing when to trust that instant response, and when to question it. In On Second Thought, acclaimed science writer Wray Herbert provides the first guide to achieving that balance. Drawing on real-world examples and cutting-edge research, he takes us on a fascinating, wide-ranging journey through our innate cognitive traps and tools, exposing the hidden dangers lurking in familiarity and consistency; the obstacles that keep us from accurately evaluating risk and value; the delusions that make it hard for us to accurately predict the future; the perils of the human yearning for order and simplicity; the ways our fears can color our very perceptions . . . and much more.
Along the way, Herbert reveals the often-bizarre cross-connections these shortcuts have secretly ingrained in our brains, answering such questions as why jury decisions may be shaped by our ancient need for cleanliness; what the state of your desk has to do with your political preferences; why loneliness can literally make us shiver; how drawing two dots on a piece of paper can desensitize us to violence… and how the very typeface on this page is affecting your decision about whether or not to buy this book.
Ultimately, On Second Thought is both a captivating exploration of the workings of the mind and an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to learn how to make smarter, better judgments every day.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Here's My Thought, "On Second Thought",
By Glenn Simon Inc "Writer of Edmonton Real Esta... (Edmonton, Alberta / Tochigi, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)
This review is from: On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind's Hard-Wired Habits (Hardcover)
My review is for the audio book version. I found this book to be engaging as well as interesting. One reviewer had noted the similarities between Malcolm Gladwell books and this one.I do agree that both author's works are captivating and explore brain science and social memes in an entertaining manner; spiced with insight, fun facts and candid stories. I'm not sure how useful this book is, but it is a great read or listen to, in this case. This book tells of our brain's evolution and how we have become hardwired to certain decision making patterns based on psychological heuristics. After reading this book you may not be able to alter your brain's hard wiring but you will be able to (better) identify why you feel a certain way or make a decision. You'll have a better understanding of the route your mind takes to analyze choices, right or wrong. Buy this book if you: a) Want a good, light, non-fiction read about your brain. b) Want to be entertained and learn something about the mechanics behind your decision making process. This book might not be for you if you are expert in the field of cognitive brain science and seek a serious, 'just the facts' style research report.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews) 89 of 94 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Covers famiiliar ground....less well than others,
By N. A. Davis "Perspicacious professor" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind's Hard-Wired Habits (Hardcover)
There are a number of books out that discuss our cognitive blind spots, and the heuristics that we (apparently) use--sometimes at our peril--to make decisions.This one is the least nuanced, most bluntly reductionist, most under-argued, and least successful of the ones I have read. I'd recommend THE ART OF CHOOSING, THE INVISIBLE GORILLA, THE HIDDEN BRAIN, PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL, or MISTAKES WERE MADE (BUT NOT BY ME) as much better explained, more carefully argued, and better written. 34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really interesting read. I just couldn't put it down.,
By Peter N - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind's Hard-Wired Habits (Hardcover)
This is a great book. The author transforms complex psychology studies into some very interesting ideas about decision making and human nature. I'm not the academic type that reads recent psychology studies, and this book does a great job of taking all of the statistics, testing and other tedium out, leaving just the interesting discoveries about the human mind.We're all vaguely familiar with concepts like procrastination, stubbornness, irrationality, hasty decision-making, etc. This book brings a lot of clarity to those thinking patterns and describes their origins and their consequences in a very eloquent way. I came across several thinking patterns that I had been doing unknowingly for years, which was really interesting at a personal level. I found the book interesting, informative and very helpful from a practical, decision-making standpoint. I've got a better grasp on how the human mind (including my own) works. It's a great book; I'd recommend it highly. 21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Breaking New Ground - No, Very Good Book - Yes,
By James East - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind's Hard-Wired Habits (Hardcover)
Though much of the book does not break new ground on our basic cognitive blind spots, it is nevertheless a very good book. The author does provide more than a few unique insights in different ways on the subject then other authors to date that more than makes for the lack of breaking new ground. If you have not been introduced to some of our hardwired tendencies previously, then this book is as good as any place to start and worthy of the purchase. I enjoyed the author's writing style for this genre and it was an enjoyable read.If you are interested in this genre of cognitive psychology, then a few of may other favorites on the subject include: Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition by Michael J. Mauboussin The Little Book of Behavioral Investing: How not to be your own worst enemy by James Montier Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Thomas Gilovich Mean Markets and Lizard Brains: How to Profit from the New Science of Irrationality by Terry Burnham The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making (McGraw-Hill Series in Social Psychology) by Scott Plous |
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