I wanted to read this book for a long time. The two thinking systems that Kahneman uncovers - the fast and slow thinking, how we use them and what impact it has on our lives, are truly fascinating.
The slow thinking system - System 2
This thinking system is more analytical and deliberate. When we think with system 2, we think slower and engage our brain more actively. While doing that we can solve complex problems, control our emotions and make logical decisions.The negative side of this system is that it can lead to us overthinking too much and missing out on some opportunities.
The fast thinking system - system 1
Both of the thinking systems are very important for us. Thanks to system 1 thinking we can react to danger and make quick, almost automatic assumptions about situations which we are in. This system relies on our instincts and past experiences. The trouble comes when we use a fast thinking system in situations when we don't need to and when instead of saving ourselves or someone we end up doing the opposite. That is when cognitive biases come into play.
Frequent repetition
The more we hear something, the more likely we believe it. This is a technique used when someone wants to convince someone from falsehood. How does it work? When something becomes familiar, it is not easy for us to distinguish it from the truth. Authoritarian institutions for instance use this manipulation. If we don't uncover this bias in our life, our preferences can be based on environmental conditioning. We can deal with this bias by asking ourselves: Is this the best option or just the option I have been frequently exposed to?
Status Quo bias
The average person weighs loss twice as much as gain (Loss aversion). We instinctively overvalue what we own and invest in (Endowment effect). To fight this bias we must notice our preferences. “What opportunities am I losing while maintaining the status quo? Like that we use Loss aversion against itself because we ask to put the possible gains as possible losses and that way we are able to put them both on the same level and weigh what is truly better for us.
Tunnel vision
When using system 1 we can jump into conclusions very fast using only a limited amount of information and that way we will be very likely far from the whole picture of the reality. This one reminds me of the book Factfulness and Instinct of one perspective where we rely only on one perspective we know with limited amounts of information. This bias can be strong because system 1 makes a quick judgment and blocks all other conflicting information. To fight this bias we should be asking: Why might the opposite be true? With that, we can test our assumptions and find unexpected challenges, for instance while working on a project.
Thanks to this book I learnt much more about how our thinking process works, what biases we are subjected to and how to work with them. It ultimately looks like we have to be sure to slowdown sometimes, pause, take a deep breath and ask ourselves the right questions.
