Free Downloads You Are Now Less Dumb: How To Conquer Mob Mentality, How To Buy Happiness, And All The Other Ways To Outsmart Yourself
The author of the bestselling You Are Not So Smart gives readers a fighting chance at outsmarting their not-so-smart brains. A mix of popular psychology and trivia, You Are Now Less Dumb is grounded in the idea that we all believe ourselves to be objective observers of reality--except we’re not. But that’s okay, because our delusions keep us sane. Expanding on this premise, McRaney provides eye-opening analyses of seventeen ways we fool ourselves every day, including:Enclothed Cognition (the clothes you wear change your behavior and influence your mental abilities)The Benjamin Franklin Effect (how you grow to like people for whom you do nice things and hate the people you harm).Deindividuation (Despite our best intentions, we practically disappear when subsumed by a mob mentality)The Misattribution of Arousal (Environmental factors have a greater effect on our emotional arousal than the person right in front of us)Sunk Cost Fallacy (We will engage in something we don’t enjoy just to make the time or money already invested “worth it”)McRaney also reveals the true price of happiness, and how to avoid falling for our own lies.
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Avery; Reprint edition (August 5, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1592408796
ISBN-13: 978-1592408795
Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.8 x 7.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #39,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #56 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Self-Help & Psychology #142 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Social Psychology & Interactions #145 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Cognitive
As one who has always been fascinated by psychology, yet not formally educated in it (beyond a few college courses) and not inclined to read dry textbooks on the subject, this book is a treat. It blends the latest research in individual and social psychology with funny anecdotes and insights into why we behave the way we do. Don't be put off by the title if it seems a bit frivolous: this is a serious, thought-provoking book (though quite humorous and entertaining, as well).This is more or less a continuation of the author's previous book, "You Are Not So Smart", but you need not feel compelled to read the former: you don't really need to know the themes and ideas of the first book to read this one. In essence, the book shows us how knowledge and understanding of our self-delusions can be used to help us become, well, 'less dumb'. Using recent discoveries and research into behavior to help us see that we are not the objective observers of our lives we believe ourselves to be, but, rather, delusional lemmings stuck on autopilot, the author gives us 17 examples of how we fool ourselves in life.Each example is brilliantly written and fascinating, incorporating science, funny anecdotes and trivia. But don't get the idea that this is just a whimsical 'pop psychology' book; this is a serious study of our irrational unconscious selves, yet presented in a highly entertaining way (much like how Richard Feynman could make quantum physics accessible and understandable to the average person, as Carl Sagan did with cosmology - complicated science explained in an engaging manner).The author's central theme is that scientific method has saved - and continues to save - mankind from it's delusional dumbness.
In order to help potential readers/buyers of their purchase decision, I am obliged to copy and paste the Misconceptions M and Truths T of all chapters for your consideration.M: You are being of logic and reason.T: You are a being capable of logic and reason who falls short of that ideal in predictable ways.Narrative BiasM: You make sense of life through rational contemplation.T: You make sense of life through narrative.The Common Belief FallacyM: The larger the consensus, the more likely it is correct.T: A belief is not more likely to be accurate just because many people share it.The Benjamin Franklin EffectM: You do nice things for the people you like and bad things to the people you hate.T: You grow to like people for whom you do nice things and hate people you harm.The Post Hoc FallacyM: You notice when effect doesn’t follow cause.T: You find it especially difficult to believe a sequence of events means nothing.The Halo EffectM: You objectively appraise the individual attributes of other people.T: You judge specific qualities of others based on your global evaluation of their character and appearance.Ego DepletionM: Willpower is just a metaphor.T: Willpower is a finite resource.The Misattribution of ArousalM: You always know why you feel the way you feel.T: You can experience emotion states without knowing why, even if you believe you can pinpoint the source.The Illusion of External AgencyM: You always know when you are making the best of things.T: You often incorrectly give credit to outside forces for providing your optimism.
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