[5M5]∎ PDF Don't Believe Everything You Think The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking Thomas E Kida 9781591024088 Books

Don't Believe Everything You Think The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking Thomas E Kida 9781591024088 Books

Download As PDF : Don't Believe Everything You Think The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking Thomas E Kida 9781591024088 Books

Don't Believe Everything You Think The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking Thomas E Kida 9781591024088 Books

Since there are a number of reviews that cover the actual topics the authors discusses in this book, I'll be fairly brief about those. This is, of course, a book on the topic of critical thinking. I particularly like this one because it strikes a very good and readable balance between a more academic approach and very popular approach. The book is obviously backed by solid research and the author does a good job referring to and referencing the appropriate studies listed in a very complete section of notes at the end. However, this book does not end up being a detailed academic coverage of logical fallacies or the history of critical thinking. It also sprinkles in many good examples culled from topic of interest in the world that surrounds us. In doing so; however, the author does not turn the book into a current-events focused book like some of the books now available by journalists that deal with science or reasoning. This book centers around 6 areas in which we can possibly fall into the trap of making mistakes in our thinking. Each one has a section in the book that is further divided into subsection and at the end of the book the author reviews and summarizes all 6 again. The other way the author achieves balance is by keeping the book from becoming too partisan or supportive of any particular political or religious stance. In other words, the author does not come across as being overtly liberal or conservative, religious or atheistic or anything else other than dedicated to the process of rational thought. One might read between the lines and find ammunition for different points of view but it is obviously not the author's intent to promote these.

The six mistakes we can make in thinking are:
1) We prefer stories to statistics.
2) We seek to confirm.
3) We rarely appreciate the role of chance and coincidence in life.
4) We can misperceive the world.
5) We oversimplify.
6) We have faulty memories.

If any or all of these suggestions seem interesting to you, pick up a copy of this book. It is written in a very readable style and is easy to get through but it will certainly give you a better perspective on the pitfalls of thinking about things.


Tags : Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking [Thomas E. Kida] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Do you believe that you can consistently beat the stock market if you put in the effort?--that some people have extrasensory perception?--that crime and drug abuse in America are on the rise? Many people hold one or more of these beliefs although research shows that they are not true. This enlightening book discusses how to recognize faulty thinking and develop the necessary skills to become a more effective decision maker. Author Thomas Kida identifies a "six-pack of problems" that leads many of us to accept false ideas. The book vividly illustrates these tendencies with numerous eye-opening examples that demonstrate how easily we can be fooled into believing something that isn't true.,Thomas E. Kida,Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking,Prometheus Books,1591024080,Cognitive Psychology & Cognition,Error,Error.,Thought and thinking,Thought and thinking.,COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY,Cognition & cognitive psychology,GENERAL,General Adult,Non-Fiction,PHILOSOPHY Logic,PSYCHOLOGY Cognitive Psychology & Cognition,PSYCHOLOGY Personality,Psychology,SELF-HELP General,United States,psychology; critical thinking; logic; psychology books; neuroscience; philosophy; cognitive science; brain; social psychology; self help; personality; ethics; education; self improvement; human behavior; cognition; personal development; business; behavior; sociology; social science; consciousness; biology; behavioral economics; philosophy books; psych; perception; reference; spirituality; mental health; memory; health; intuition; culture; spiritual; popular science; work; medicine; leadership; survival; cognitive psychology,psychology;philosophy;consciousness;personality;mental health;cognitive psychology;psychology books;personality types;philosophy books;personality psychology;psychology book;mental health books;human nature;personality books;critical thinking;brain;neuroscience;logic;self help;memory;cognitive science;cognition;spirituality;psych;business;social psychology;biology;self improvement;sociology;mind control;popular science;perception;human behavior;spiritual;education;ethics;reincarnation;health,General,PHILOSOPHY Logic,PSYCHOLOGY Cognitive Psychology & Cognition,PSYCHOLOGY Personality,SELF-HELP General,Cognitive Psychology,Psychology,Cognition & cognitive psychology

Don't Believe Everything You Think The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking Thomas E Kida 9781591024088 Books Reviews

I liked the basic premise, and many of the examples given were interesting, so the book as a whole was entertaining, and I learned things from the examples given. From a value standpoint, the edition is quite inexpensive, which was a factor in my rating it as high as I did.

On the negative side, he made a number of opinionated statements which, ironically, contradicted some of the points he was making, sometimes as he was making the points. For example, he warned against making assertions without providing evidence, and spoke the the principle of Occam's razor (the simplest explanation is often the best), and then made statements violating what he had just said. Also he could be rather long-winded and a bit imprecise on the explanations.

However, back to the positive side, for the money it's OK, especially for the well-chosen examples.
If you have read Think Twice Harnessing the Power of Counter intuition, then I advise you to save time by just reading the epilogue. The two books are very much similar in content. In some cases, the quoted examples are the same.

If you are new to the world of psychology then this is a wonderful book! You could not help but grinned and laughed at the hilarious mistakes pointed out by Mr. Thomas Kida.

In summary, the common mistakes committed by the general public could be grouped into 6 areas.

1.We prefer to believe and rely on anecdotal stories when statistics showed otherwise.

2. We believe in coincidence rather than the role of chance. When you flipped a coin ten times and it landed 10 times with a head, we tend to become superstitious.

3. We misconceive our world. No two person sees the world the same way. We can see and hear things that don't really exist. This could happen to a group of individuals at the same time!

4. We tend to oversimplify matters using heuristics and ignore relevant information of base rates, sample size and regression to mean. We rely on what comes easily to mind and overestimate the likelihood of sensational events. When the price of a stock rises, we believe in seeing trend and applying technical analysis to explain it.

5. We have faculty memories. Shockingly it has been proven time and again that current beliefs, expectation , and even suggestive questioning can affect our memories. In effect, we reconstruct our memories, and with each reconstruction, our memories get further and further away from the truth.

6. We seek to confirm rather than question our thoughts and beliefs. We emphasises information that confirms our beliefs and in a way that supports what we expect or want to believe.

I found one area lacking in this book. It is easy to be a skeptic and point out weaknesses and mistakes committed by others, however it is challenging to guide people on the right way of thoughts and actions!
Thomas Kidas might want to consider adding sessions on the right way to train ourselves to avoid these pitfalls or even capitalise on them in his future editions.
Since there are a number of reviews that cover the actual topics the authors discusses in this book, I'll be fairly brief about those. This is, of course, a book on the topic of critical thinking. I particularly like this one because it strikes a very good and readable balance between a more academic approach and very popular approach. The book is obviously backed by solid research and the author does a good job referring to and referencing the appropriate studies listed in a very complete section of notes at the end. However, this book does not end up being a detailed academic coverage of logical fallacies or the history of critical thinking. It also sprinkles in many good examples culled from topic of interest in the world that surrounds us. In doing so; however, the author does not turn the book into a current-events focused book like some of the books now available by journalists that deal with science or reasoning. This book centers around 6 areas in which we can possibly fall into the trap of making mistakes in our thinking. Each one has a section in the book that is further divided into subsection and at the end of the book the author reviews and summarizes all 6 again. The other way the author achieves balance is by keeping the book from becoming too partisan or supportive of any particular political or religious stance. In other words, the author does not come across as being overtly liberal or conservative, religious or atheistic or anything else other than dedicated to the process of rational thought. One might read between the lines and find ammunition for different points of view but it is obviously not the author's intent to promote these.

The six mistakes we can make in thinking are
1) We prefer stories to statistics.
2) We seek to confirm.
3) We rarely appreciate the role of chance and coincidence in life.
4) We can misperceive the world.
5) We oversimplify.
6) We have faulty memories.

If any or all of these suggestions seem interesting to you, pick up a copy of this book. It is written in a very readable style and is easy to get through but it will certainly give you a better perspective on the pitfalls of thinking about things.