Book review: Why we Make mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan
The more I read about the brain the more I am amazed. This book focuses on the many ways that the brain seeks for meaning, and lead us astray in making decisions. For example, if we are asked our area code (three digits) and then asked when Attila the Hun lived, we will try to answer with a three digit year. Our brains find a baseline and move on from there.
We remember stories, but adapt them to our culture. We remember events, but tweak them to our own benefit or acclaim. Men over-estimate their IQ and women underestimate theirs, and then act with a confidence level based on this estimate. We invest our money in what we want to believe we will do, and not what we actually do (think about un-used gym memberships). We respond in positive ways to attractive people and ads, and act appropriately if there are pictures of eyes watching us.
And that world of marketing is on to us and designs credit card, commercials, lease agreements, casinos, and other ads know how to use this against us.
Interested? Read the book. Very fun and very informative. I recommend it to anyone interested in how thinking and problem solving actually works.
Elisa Robyn, author of Pirate Wisdom.