Members with This Book
Most Helpful Reviews
see all reviews
Liked It “This was a fun read. It was informative and a little scary, especially when you realize just how easy and inevitable it is for us to make mistakes. It made me question my "multi-tasking" abilities and change the way I work.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
see all reviews-
“Pulitzer prize winner and former writer for Wall Street Journal, Hallinan, has presented an interesting account of the short-comings of the human mind in Why We Make Mistakes through several real-life examples that run the gamut from mundane to worrisome to horrifying.
rarelythere wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This book falls in the same genre as Blink by Gladwell, where the author shows us how our brain function has evolved to help us abstract well enough to function efficiently in daily life, yet, the same process leaves us blind to some all-important details that can become critical and even life-threatening in special circumstances. He draws from the fields of psychology and neuroscience to help understand the flawed design of human mind when it comes to information processing - how our superb pattern-recognition skills that help us move through this world easily also makes us error-prone simply because we have learnt to overlook details.
I chuckled when I read:
...Men, as a rule, tend to be more overconfident than women are, and this difference explains much about the kinds of mistakes men and women make.
Men tend to overestimate their intelligence - and attractiveness.
However, while the topic is fascinating and the author has extensive research and anecdotes to make this an interesting read, I did not find it exceptionally noteworthy in any way. This is probably not a reflection on the author, but just based on the way the ideas were organized and presented in the book... nothing profound or really eye-opening, but, certainly something to note and be aware of.”“This was a fun read. It was informative and a little scary, especially when you realize just how easy and inevitable it is for us to make mistakes. It made me question my "multi-tasking" abilities and change the way I work. ”
Carina wrote this review Tuesday, December 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Popular science book that taught me I'm nowhere near as good as I thought I was. An epic downer.”
Daniel H wrote this review Wednesday, September 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“What was there, I enjoyed. Way too many footnotes. ”
Judith A wrote this review Friday, June 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A woman hanged herself in a tree on a busy street. Yet, no one reported the suicide for more than 14 hours even though her body was clearly visible. Why? Because the incident occurred on October 31st and passersby mistook the body for a Halloween decoration. This horrifying example demonstrates the way context – as well as traits that are innately human – plays a role in how people make errors. As Joseph T. Hallinan explains, human beings are biased, overconfident, judgmental, downright irrational creatures of habit who are blissfully unaware of their limitations. All these traits will cause people to make errors – some are silly, such as saying “unicorn” when you mean “unicycle,” and some horrendous, such as administering the wrong dose of medicine or flying a plane into the ground. This intriguing book focuses more on why people err than on preventing errors, though it does suggest solid, useful measures. getAbstract recommends it to those who are interested in why they blunder and in how to become more goof-proof. Taking the steps Hallinan outlines could keep you out of a lot of trouble. ”
getAbstract wrote this review Monday, June 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Great read so far! Hallinan points out many obvious things that a person has never thought of before.”
Jeff W wrote this review Saturday, May 16 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Fascinating reading which opens your eyes to how fallible we are. For me it was interesting to see how pilots vs doctors minimize errors. ”
Nadine wrote this review Sunday, May 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Really interesting read. It is fascinating to have explained something you have always understood but never knew exactly how and why. I find myself quoting from this book in conversations where people bring up multitasking or feeling burned out. Great insight on how we often erroneously see ourselves.”
Jamie E wrote this review Sunday, April 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Interesting explanations about everyday mistakes”
Cindy A wrote this review Wednesday, March 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I read this book in two days (I was flying for 14 hours during those two days, so that helped I am sure) but I enjoyed reading this book. It will be re read as I took copious notes about why we, as people, can accept information as factual and yet not alter our behaviors.
Daniel M wrote this review Wednesday, March 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
For example, research has demonstrated that students taking an exam that 2nd guess their original answers are more than 2:1 incorrect and that changing their answer will improve their score. Yet, students with this knowledge, don't change answers on future exams? Why? Great question and important implications as it relates to change management, leadership, and related matters.”
Displaying 1-10 of 10
