Thinking, Fast and Slow. Daniel Kahneman

By Daniel Kahneman

Book Overview

One of the most influential books of the 21st century: the ground-breaking psychology classic - over 10 million copies sold - that changed the way we think about thinking

'There have been many good books on human rationality and irrationality, but only one masterpiece. That masterpiece is Thinking, Fast and Slow' Financial Times

'A lifetime's worth of wisdom' Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics

Why do we make the decisions we do? Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman, 'the world's most influential living psychologist' (Steven Pinker) revolutionised our understanding of human behaviour with Thinking, Fast and Slow. Distilling his life's work, Kahneman shows how there are two ways we make choices: fast, intuitive thinking, and slow, rational thinking. He reveals how our minds are tripped up by error, bias and prejudice (even when we think we are being logical) and gives practical techniques that enable us all to improve our decision-making. This profound exploration of the marvels and limitations of the human mind has had a lasting impact on how we see ourselves.
'The godfather of behavioural science ... his steely analysis of the human mind and its many flaws remains perhaps the most useful guide to remaining sane and steady' Sunday Times

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0141033576
• ISBN13: 9780141033570
• Release Date: May 2012
• Publisher: PENGUIN
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Mostly a disappointment

This book came to me highly recommended by a credible scientist. Thus setting up expectations. But, the book is primarily one old man's reminiscing about his academic work in the 1960's-1970's when academic psycho-babble was all the rage. A time when pop-psychologists (many of whom were legitimate psychologists) revealed what they thought were iconoclastic profound insights; but in reality they were insights that any wizened Iowa corn farmer, New York street huckster or Los Angeles advertising executive knew since they were 12 years old. Quickly the book becomes a search; looking for what had made the book so highly recommended. But in the end, each chapter of the book is like rummaging around garage sales in search of that one special find – maybe a stunning Capodimonte from the 1750's going for five bucks, or a 100 carat diamond in a box of pretty rocks going for a quarter each. In the end, one has rummaged around a lot of dusty old books, chipped mugs, outdated video games and a few broken bicycles, and come away with one pretty quartz crystal. I was particularly disappointed that the book had no references and no citations. Until I got to the end when I was astonished to discover there were 418 references – all numbered, but NOT A SINGLE FOOTNOTE in the text so one can align the given footnote at the end of the book to a particular location in the text. I suppose if someone was an early, socially awkward, sophomoric teenager who was really "into" pop-psychology this would be a great introduction on how normal people think. Otherwise, a good editor could easily reduce this 500 page doorstop to a 20 page pamphlet. You should not be surprised if you find my copy in your neighbor's next garage sale.

Easy to Apply

Great book that you can apply to everyday life. Look at your own biases and the biases of others and how it influences your thinking. A little dry but if you apply it appropriately it’s eye opening.