Why We Make Mistakes

Fülszöveg

SH.OO/PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY (CANADA: $17.99)

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 that we should stick with our first answer on tests (we shouldn't). Why do we make mistakes? And could we do a little better? In exploring the reasons behind humán error-our eyes play tricks on us and our stories change in the retelling-journalist Joseph T. Hallinan uses real-life stories to illuminate íindings from such diverse fields as neuroscience, economics, and football. He finds that we are all biased in the way we perceive not only ourselves, but the world around us. And it is these biases that make us prone to commit certain kinds of errors. We learn to move rapidly through the world, quickly recognizing pattems-but overlooking details (which is why thirteen-year-old boys discover errors that NASA sciéntists miss). This book not only offers valuable advice, such as how to remember where you've... Tovább

Fülszöveg

SH.OO/PSYCHOLOGY & PSYCHIATRY (CANADA: $17.99)

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 that we should stick with our first answer on tests (we shouldn't). Why do we make mistakes? And could we do a little better? In exploring the reasons behind humán error-our eyes play tricks on us and our stories change in the retelling-journalist Joseph T. Hallinan uses real-life stories to illuminate íindings from such diverse fields as neuroscience, economics, and football. He finds that we are all biased in the way we perceive not only ourselves, but the world around us. And it is these biases that make us prone to commit certain kinds of errors. We learn to move rapidly through the world, quickly recognizing pattems-but overlooking details (which is why thirteen-year-old boys discover errors that NASA sciéntists miss). This book not only offers valuable advice, such as how to remember where you've hidden something important for safekeeping, but alsó explains 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. JOSEPH T. HALLINAN, a former writer for the Wall Street Journal, is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He lives with his wife and children in Chicago. Alsó available as an eBook and on audio from Random House Vissza