Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average
Joseph T. Hallinan
Language: English
Pages: 196
ISBN: 2:00134280
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
We forget our passwords. We pay too much to go to the gym. We think we’d be happier if we lived in California (we wouldn’t), and we think we should stick with our first answer on tests (we shouldn’t). Why do we make mistakes? And could we do a little better?
We human beings have design flaws. Our eyes play tricks on us, our stories change in the retelling, and most of us are fairly sure we’re way above average. In Why We Make Mistakes, journalist Joseph T. Hallinan sets out to explore the captivating science of human error—how we think, see, remember, and forget, and how this sets us up for wholly irresistible mistakes.
In his quest to understand our imperfections, Hallinan delves into psychology, neuroscience, and economics, with forays into aviation, consumer behavior, geography, football, stock picking, and more. He discovers that some of the same qualities that make us efficient also make us error prone. We learn to move rapidly through the world, quickly recognizing patterns—but overlooking details. Which is why thirteen-year-old boys discover errors that NASA scientists miss—and why you can’t find the beer in your refrigerator.
Why We Make Mistakes is enlivened by real-life stories—of weathermen whose predictions are uncannily accurate and a witness who sent an innocent man to jail—and offers valuable advice, such as how to remember where you’ve hidden something important. You’ll learn why multitasking is a bad idea, why men make errors women don’t, and why most people think San Diego is west of Reno (it’s not).
Why We Make Mistakes will open your eyes to the reasons behind your mistakes—and have you vowing to do better the next time.
the appropriate mechanisms should be self-explanatory, and we need not dwell on it here. At first, the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then one never can tell. What's it all about, Albie? The answer: washing clothes. Ah, it makes sense now, right? This is what the researchers John Bransford and Marcia Johnson discovered. They gave
percent) are women. On average, they are forty-four years old and weigh 210 pounds. Most start out wanting to lose 60 pounds, but end up losing only about 20. Typically, after ten or eleven weeks, they give up and drop out of the program. Why, then, if its customers fail has the company succeeded? The answer is that NutriSystem, like a great many corporations, has learned to capitalize on our overconfidence. It banks not on what people will do but on what people believe they will do. In
now. Instant feedback. In situations where overconfidence is high, feedback is often low. In situations where overconfidence is high, feedback is often low, either in quantity or in quality—or both. Remember our example about people paying not to go to the gym? After he looked at how much money most gym members were wasting, one question kept lingering in DellaVigna's head: “Why would adults make this mistake?” After all, he reasoned, they've had a lifetime to learn about their self-control.
below provide an answer within a range that you are 90 percent sure is correct. For instance, if you are 90 percent sure that the correct answer to a question is somewhere between 1 million and 2 million, write down “1 million–2 million.” The answers are at the bottom of the page. Average number of miles driven by an American in 2005? Number of marriages in United States, 2003? Average number of times adults report having sex each year, worldwide? Number of U.S. states where more than
seventh grade, his art teacher offered a deal to the class: anyone who followed his instructions would get a grade of at least a B, regardless of artistic talent. The teacher, a 220-pound former marine, drove this point home at least once a week, reminding his students of the proposal. Nonetheless, Steve was amazed at how many of his classmates didn't follow the teacher's instructions—and didn't get at least a B. Judging by the quality of their work, he said, it didn't appear that their failure