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You Are Not So Smart
You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, an d 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself | David McRaney
An entertaining illumination of the stupid beliefs that make us feel wise. You believe you are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is, but journalist David McRaney is here to tell you that you're as deluded as the rest of us. But that's OK- delusions keep us sane. You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self-delusion. It's like a psychology class, with all the boring parts taken out, and with no homework. Based on the popular blog of the same name, You Are Not So Smart collects more than 46 of the lies we tell ourselves everyday, including: Dunbar's Number - Humans evolved to live in bands of roughly 150 individuals, the brain cannot handle more than that number. If you have more than 150 Facebook friends, they are surely not all real friends. Hindsight bias - When we learn something new, we reassure ourselves that we knew it all along. Confirmation bias - Our brains resist new ideas, instead paying attention only to findings that reinforce our preconceived notions. Brand loyalty - We reach for the same brand not because we trust its quality but because we want to reassure ourselves that we made a smart choice the last time we bought it. Packed with interesting sidebars and quick guides on cognition and common fallacies, You Are Not So Smart is a fascinating synthesis of cutting-edge psychology research to turn our minds inside out.
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rwmg
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THE MISCONCEPTION: You are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is.

THE TRUTH: You are as deluded as the rest of us, but that‘s OK, it keeps you sane.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

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Sharpeipup
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Reading at the doctor‘s office. I must be the only person to bring a book because they all commented on it.

29 likes2 stack adds
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Tkgbjenn1
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Pickpick

Suppose that you imagine yourself to be a self-aware, intelligent, and reasonable person. Well you‘re not. This book details all the cognitive biases that mislead our thoughts and feelings. We naively delude ourselves everyday with imperfect and inaccurate interpretations of ourselves and other people. And we all do it regardless education or politics. We are in fact wrong most of the time. It‘s a bitter pill to swallow, but a fun book to read.

30 likes3 stack adds
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Centique
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#abbainaugust #knowingmeknowingyou

I love psychology/neurology books! The brain is so fascinating and it‘s a way I can improve at #knowingmeknowingyou. I bought this one (not read yet) because I listen to Dave McRaneys “You Are Not So Smart” podcast every fortnight. He talks to leading experts in brain science about flaws in our perception and reasoning. It can go from “sleep deprivation and bias” to “how politics became our identity” ⬇️

Centique It‘s always super interesting and the people he interviews are scientists with pretty solid research. Looking forward to getting to this book! Picture is from his website as my Kindle book cover isn‘t very exciting to photograph 😂 (edited) 6y
Cinfhen I don‘t know...I think YOU ARE pretty smart if you‘re listening to these podcasts for pleasure 😂😘 6y
Centique @Cinfhen awww 😘 You know I am a colossal nerd though, right Cindy?!! 😂😂 6y
See All 10 Comments
Cinfhen YUP, JO!! That‘s why I ❤️U SO MUCH 😘😘😘 6y
Centique @Cinfhen right back at ya lovely! 😘😘 6y
eeclayton Thanks for the podcast recommendation! I've added it to my feed reader 😄 6y
Centique @eeclayton yay! I hope you like it as much as I do. 😊 6y
Mdargusch Interesting theory! 🤔 6y
emilyhaldi Lol, I agree with Cindy, you're a lot smarter than many of us 😆 I might have to check out this podcast! 6y
Reviewsbylola She looks so restful. I want to sleep like that. 😂 6y
68 likes1 stack add10 comments
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janeycanuck
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Pickpick

Mostly good, there was at least one study he quotes that was never able to be replicated so that makes it hard to blindly believe everything he says, though much is stuff I‘ve heard before so... Also, didn‘t love the narrator.

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taning
Pickpick

Very humbling

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JessReads
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After a loooonnnngggg slog through Moneyball, it's finally time to start a new audiobook! This one is all about logical fallacies, and I'm enjoying it this morning. I had to turn the narration to 1.25 though, because the narrator has an extremely leisurely speaking voice.

8little_paws 1.25 is the absolute minimum I'll listen to audio 7y
JessReads @8little_paws Sometimes I think it makes the narrators sound like they've had too much coffee, and it's harder for me to follow along! This guy sounds like he could use a cup of coffee though! 😂 7y
25 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Poindextrix

Just started listening to this on audio. I'm looking forward to it. Let's see what I learn...

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Soubhiville

Just starting this new audiobook through Hoopla ap. Does anyone else use Hoopla? Free borrowing through the library, I mostly use it to check out new music, but occasionally for audiobooks.

Lindy I use Hoopla exclusively for audiobooks. Sometimes have offline playback problems, but it's pretty good. 8y
Coleen Love Hoopla! I use it quite a bit for audiobooks, & occasionally for music. 8y
27 likes1 stack add3 comments