Notes on Thinking, Fast and Slow
Intro and part 1
Resemblance as a simplifying heuristic - by relying on heuristics, there is a predictable bias in predictions. People are likely to rely exclusively on resemblance and ignore statistical facts.
Reliance on ease of memory - searching the available heuristics.
We can be blind to the obvious and blind to our blindness.
Intense focus on a task can make people effectively blind. Reference: the book "The Invisible Gorilla" by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons.
Cognitive illusion - System 1 is automatic and cannot be turned off at will; hence, errors of intuitive thought are often difficult to prevent. The best way we can handle it is to compromise, learn to recognize situations in which mistakes are likely, and try harder to avoid significant mistakes where the stakes are high.
In the economy of action, effort is a cost, and the acquisition of skills is driven by the balance of benefits and costs.
Laziness is built deep into our nature. As you become skilled in a task, its energy demand diminishes - the law of least effort.
Flow - a state of effortless concentration so deep that one loses their sense of time, of themselves, of their problems. Optimal experience can be achieved through activities that induce flow eg painting.
Cognitively busy - We are likely to make selfish choices, use sexist language, and make superficial judgments in busy situations.
Ego depletion - When there is a loss of motivation, an effort of will and self-control is tiring. Intuitive errors are normally much more frequent among ego-depleted people.
Priming effect - evoking relation/ association. Eg when we see the word EAT and are asked to complete S-AP, we think of SOUP, and when we see WASH, we think of SOAP. These are associative ideas.
Book rec - Strangers to Ourselves Timothy Wilson. System 1 may be in much control of what we do although we rarely have a glimpse of it.
Cognitive ease - When you feel strained, you are less intuitive and less creative than usual. However, one is suspicious, vigilant, and makes few errors. Cognitive strain mobilizes system 2 that rejects intuitive answers of system 1.
Illusion of remembering - The unconscious use of the past as a tool, rec - Becoming famous overnight experiment by Larry Jacoby.
Persuasive messaging - If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simple language will do. People are also more likely to be influenced by empty persuasive messages such as commercials when they are tired and depleted.
Creativity - Associative memory that works exceptionally well, ease, mood, intuition. A happy mood loosens control of system 2 over performance and people in a good mood are more intuitive, creative, less vigilant, and more prone to logical errors.
Halo effect - Exaggerated emotional coherence. If you like the president’s politics, you probably like his voice and his appearance as well.
Independent judgements and correlated errors - This can be applied in a meeting set up where before an issue is discussed, all the members of the committee should be asked to write a very brief summary of their position.
Heuristic - a simple procedure that helps find adequate through often imperfect answers to difficult questions. The word comes from the same root as eureka.
some thoughts that occur in the process of reading:
On social media algorithms and their influence on us, it’s becoming harder and harder to be in control of what we consume.
The benefits of long-time collaborations.
On the need for accountability and someone helping you see personal biases.
While bias can’t be fully avoided, several measures can be taken eg exposure to various sides of a story.