Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2011)

Why I think this is one of the most important books published during the past decade

Given the number and quality of the reviews of this book that have already appeared, there really is not much (if anything) I can contribute…except to explain what I have learned from Daniel Kahneman and why I think this is one of the most important books published during the past decade.

These are the questions that Daniel Kahneman has answered for me:

o  How to balance intuitive judgment with rational and emotional judgment?

o  What elevates self-esteem? How? What lowers it? How?

o  How to balance my memory-focused self with my experience-focused self?

o  When is a “nudge” (such as Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein describe in their eponymous book) in my best interests? When is it not? What to consider when making that determination?

o  To what is my intuitive judgment most vulnerable? Why? How to protect it from exploitation? And what about rational and emotional judgment?

o  In terms of my personal development (e.g. stimulating and nourishing my mind, increasing the capabilities of my brain), to what extent can “fast” and ”slow” thinking contribute to that process?

o  Which biases are beneficial? Why? Which are not? Why? How best to determine which are which?

o  To what extent do organizations (or at least teams) resemble individuals in terms of “fast” and “slow” thinking insofar as making correct decisions is concerned?

o  Finally, why – more often than not – is making haste slowly well-advised?

Thank you, Daniel Kahneman!

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Gerald Edelman’s Bright Air, Brilliant Fire: On The Matter of The Mind, Guy Claxton’s Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less, and Judgment Calls: Twelve Stories of Big Decisions and the Teams That Got Them Right co-authored by Thomas Davenport and Brooke Manville.