Last night, I finished reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. The book is intended to reveal many of our cognitive shortcomings and show that our intuitions can often be incorrect even when they initially appear correct. Kahneman illustrates this by discussing two systems, System 1 and System 2, that represent different ways of thinking.
System 1 is for “fast thinking” as it does all of the automatic, subconscious thinking that we usually don’t even know is occurring. This is where our intuition and snap decisions originate. In contrast, System 2 is for “slow thinking” and it controls our conscious, deliberate thinking. We use System 2 whenever we pause and focus our mental energy on a specific task. The two systems work together nicely, with System 1 handling everything that would be too draining for us to consciously manage and System 2 giving us the ability to zero in on important tasks that require more attention and brainpower.
Kahneman starts each chapter with some questions for readers to answer. These questions are designed to show that our intuition is not as accurate as we’d like to think since the answers are not as straightforward as they appear to be. I like this feature since showing our cognitive errors in action is much more persuasive than simply stating facts. I’m always amazed when I fall into one of the many traps that Kahneman points out in the book. Even though I’ve read a handful of books that describe how our brains work and spent a lot of time trying to observe my thought processes, I am still often blind to my own cognitive biases and limitations. However, I do think studying this subject has made me more aware of these aspects of myself, which, over time, might help me overcome some of them.
There is a great deal of overlap between Thinking, Fast and Slow and Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind. Both books explore how intuition and the subconscious almost always play a larger role in our decision-making process than reason and our conscious faculties. Although Haidt’s book focuses more on how we develop our thoughts about morality, religion, and politics while Kahneman’s book is more focused on our everyday thought processes, I still found value in reading Haidt’s work; it prepared me well for much of what Kahneman covers and, I’m sure, allowed me to absorb more than I otherwise would have. So if you read one, I recommend also reading the other one.
Thinking, Fast and Slow was one of the most interesting and enjoyable books I’ve read. It includes a lot of stuff about psychology, predictions, and economics, all of which are subjects I love. Kahneman did a great job explaining things he’s spent his whole career researching in a simple enough way that I could understand most of it and at least know where he was coming from more often than not. If any of this sounds interesting to you, then I highly recommend thinking about it for a bit and then checking the book out for yourself. It’s a solid read that will teach you a lot about the way your mind works and let you have fun in the process.