Book Reading #41 - Why We Make Mistakes

Reference:
Why We Make Mistakes
Joseph T. Hallinan
2009 Broadway Books

Chapter 2

Summary:

Our memory is much better at recalling meaningful information over arbitrary data.  This is why you can instantly recognize someone but still be unable to remember their name.  We tend to track important things that describe a person (like occupation, birthplace, etc.) over their label.  If we employ mnemonic devices, or assign meaningful traits to arbitrary data, we are much more likely to remember it.

Discussion:

I have always been terrible with names.  I might be able to tell you everything about someone but not be able to remember their name to save my life.  As this has been my experience in life, I completely agree with and accept this chapter.

Chapter 3

Summary:

Even if we are not aware of it, our brains are always working in the background.  It is able to determine things that we are not aware of on a conscience level and make snap decisions without any analytic thought.  It can also be easily tricked, like when an expensive wine is served from a cheap bottle.  It also causes us to err in favor of inaction rather than action.

Discussion:

I've hard most of this before, but it is good to review every once in awhile.  It is so easy to fall into the trap of first impressions, so I always try to gather as much accurate data about a person/situation before I make any conclusions.