Madly Jane's Reviews > Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
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I wanted to start 2023 right so I began rereading this book in the middle of December. I am a better person, a better thinker because of this book. But I needed to remind myself of the details. This is one of the most important books anyone can read who wants to make better decisions in life and also to create less stress. It's a beloved book. A favorite. I intend to reread it about every 3 or 4 years until I can no longer read. Rational thinkers doubt. And they learn to take their time. Judgments should not come too quickly. We are all biased. I made some wonderful mistakes last years. But I won't be repeating them. Smiling. READ THIS BOOK.


REREAD. I had such a difficult February that I decided to REREAD this book. Took me two months to read it again. But I found it resonated even more than the first time I read it. My review is below. If I had to recommend one book to people to help them live a better life, it would probably be this one. This and Montaigne.

I've always suspected, for years and years, that perception rules our lives, for how else can we explain irrational decisions made by brilliant people. We are all biased. We all make assumptions, and even the smartest of us, on guard against irrational behavior, is subject to biased thinking as in the Halo Effect, which is explained in this book.

This is not a feel good book. It's too brainy and too dense and complex, to come out feeling all sunshine like, thinking you can make better decisions in life. I think I read it because I needed help in some big decisions and I wanted a life of "more quality moments." Sometimes, while reading it, I would mark the pages with the word, "ARGH!" knowing that I was at fault in some of the worst moments of my life. But then again, so are we all, and the author explains that. We all make mistakes. We will constantly make mistakes.

But how do we change, if we are so dependent on System 1, if it's rooted in our DNA and evolutionary behavior? How do ordinary people learn to choose better, to worry less, to understand happiness and satisfaction? These issues have no easy answers. Also we are surrounded by several units of influences, our family, our work, and our society, and these all have factors in our decision making.

What bothers me is that those in poverty and those suffering from mental illness, such as depression, have such low chances of making good decisions. It's frightening how much emotional and mental energy is necessary to change those two environs. It probably happens little.

And I am older and set in my ways. The amount of energy it will take to make the changes I desire is a bit overwhelming to me after reading this. But we all have our goals and when we make certain goals, our happiness and satisfaction depend on reaching those goals, even if they are more psychological than those with other values, say, fame or money, which do not interest me at all.

I did learn a lot about making judgments. How we all make judgments, how we depend on assumptions and gossip because it is easy and fulfilling to a degree.

And I suppose, a part of me, a tiny one, is already changed after reading and studying this book. I happen to agree with the author, and I did challenge him on occasion (I failed to rationalize those challenges). But right now, everything I know or thought I knew is a shaken to a degree. I'll need a few weeks to process the reading and my notes and get on with my life.

Oh, well. It's good to know there are people in the world like Daniel Kahneman.
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Quotes Madly Jane Liked

Daniel Kahneman
“A reliable way of making people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth.”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman
“We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events.”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman
“Familiarity breeds liking.”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman
“The easiest way to increase happiness is to control your use of time. Can you find more time to do the things you enjoy doing?”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman
“Because we tend to be nice to other people when they please us and nasty when they do not, we are statistically punished for being nice and rewarded for being nasty.”
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow


Reading Progress

June 6, 2016 – Started Reading
June 6, 2016 – Shelved
June 7, 2016 –
page 59
11.82% "I have a lazy System 2 working against me and I need some priming. LOL. What a great book! I love this kind of reading. making list of things I need to do to promote change in habits."
June 13, 2016 –
page 99
19.84% "OMG! I need help. A wonderful book. I've read the first 100 pages twice already jus to absorb it all. Now the next 100! I need more books on logic and how we think. I wish I had read this book years ago. Would have saved myself a lot of heartache."
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: 10-stars-really
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: 2016-favorite-reads
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: 2016-read
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: big-influence-on-me
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: defense-mechanisms
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: human-condition
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: loved
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: social-history-and-science
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: behavior-psychology
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: how-we-think-and-make-decisions
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: the-new-cognitive
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: system-1-and-system-2
June 17, 2016 – Shelved as: rational-thinking-is-slow-thinking
June 17, 2016 – Finished Reading
February 13, 2019 – Started Reading
April 12, 2019 – Shelved as: 2019-read
April 12, 2019 – Shelved as: 2019-read-favorites
April 12, 2019 – Shelved as: beloved-and-favorites-books
April 12, 2019 – Finished Reading
December 17, 2022 – Started Reading
January 8, 2023 – Shelved as: 2023-read-and-reviewed
January 8, 2023 – Shelved as: 2023-favorite-reads
January 8, 2023 – Finished Reading

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