Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman

Created: February 16, 2021

Table of Contents

  • Introduction: [[Thinking, Fast and Slow - Introduction]]N What will be covered in the book, some history, and why it’s important to have a deep understanding of judgements and choices.

  • Part 1: [[Thinking, Fast and Slow - Two Systems]]N This part goes over the model of two systems of thought: System 1 and 2. These two represent the distinction between the instant, unconcious and intuitive form of thinking and the slower, concious more rational form of thinking.

  • Part 2: [[Thinking, Fast and Slow - Heuristics and Biases]]N This part details the shortcomings of our own decision making that are a result of the two different forms of thinking. It covers heuristics, roughly a “rule of thumb”, and biases, systematic errors that come from the reliance on heuristics.

  • Part 3: [[Thinking, Fast and Slow - Overconfidence]]N This part covers how we are unreasonably certain in our own beliefs and forget to factor in things such as chance when making decisions. It also covers how we overestimate our own understanding.

  • Part 4: [[Thinking, Fast and Slow - Choices]]N This part is about applying the two-systems model to ecomonics (the study of how people make choices) and challenging the belief that we consistently make rational decisions. This was a common assumption made around the time the book was published.

  • Part 5: [[Thinking, Fast and Slow - Two Selves]]N This part explores recent research that draws the destinction between two selves, the remembering self and the experiencing self. It looks at how the conflict between these two gives rise to interesting consequences for things such as how we consider our own happiness.

  • Conclusion: [[Thinking, Fast and Slow - Conclusion]]N A summary of the topics covered in the book, in reverse order: the distinction between two selves, the problems and differences between classical and behavioural economics, and finally the interactions between the two systems of thought.

Personal Thoughts

Firstly, it’s nice to actually hold the book in my hand. I tried reading it before on my Kindle but it didn’t feel quite right. This is one of those books where it’s useful to flip back and fourth quickly which is mostly impossible with a Kindle and it’s nice to be able to quickly scribble or underline things without having to go through the whole rigmarole of holding

I thought it was really good; it’s given me a broader view of how the brain makes decisions and judgements which is what I was after. I think at the moment I’m trying to grow my own personal framework for how I make choices and what I do with myself, and seeing some of the ways that goes wrong has been really useful.

The best bits of the book were the examples directed straight at the reader since all of a sudden it goes from being a general mistake people make to something you do.

I hope that in the future I can avoid some of the inevitable pitfalls it talks about and play the game of recognising them in others (but not try to “correct” them, that would just be egotistical).

These were the sections I enjoyed the most:

And these other two:

(though that’s not to say they weren’t good).

I definitely feel like I got bogged down taking notes for it, but am happy that I did – I feel like I connected with a lot more the second time around and, again, I’m pretty sure this is down to having the physical book.

The two selves chapter was a lot better than I expected it to be, I think because it reminded me of some of the stuff I’d read in [[Flow, Csikzentmilhalyi]]N and it feels more applicable than some of the other stuff.

Also reading this made me realise of one of my own personal failure modes: getting all burnt out powering through the last bit of a book rather than just taking it at the same pace as the rest and enjoying it more.

But I’m still super glad I’ve finished it now rather than later. I say this with every book I finish… I can’t wait to read something else. Now to get started on [[Gödel, Escher, Bach]]N!



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