Thinking, Fast and Slow Author: Daniel Kahneman Synopsis This book explores the errors that occur when we use cognitive shortcuts to make judgments. The author explores the spectrum of these heuristics and biases, and the research that has defined the subject over the decades. The author applies his extensive personal experience of the field, and… Read More Thinking, Fast and Slow
Impulse: Why We Do What We Do Without Knowing Why We Do It Author: David Lewis Synopsis ‘We all like to regard ourselves as rational human beings…’ but ‘…our actions are mindless far more often than they are mindful…’ (page xv). This book attributes our mindlessness to impulse, the automatic emotions that influence most our actions. The author says this is… Read More Impulse
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery Author: Henry Marsh Synopsis This is perhaps the most brutally honest portrait of medicine one is likely to come across. It is written by a neurosurgeon who is unafraid to speak his mind, and who infuses every chapter with candour and disdain for convention. The… Read More Do No Harm
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking Author: Susan Cain SYNOPSIS This book is an affirmation of the role of introverts in society. It explores the creative contributions of introverts to human advancement, and reviewed the value they add to groups and organisations. The author challenges the myth of ‘the extrovert ideal‘ which dominates modern life,… Read More Quiet
Obliquity: Why Our Goals are Best Achieved Indirectly Author: John Kay SYNOPSIS What is the best approach to problem-solving? Are there more effective ways to attain our goals? Rather than tackle problems head-long, this book advocates the indirect approach. The author argues that direct problem-solving strategies are often impractical and frequently end in failure. This is because most problems have… Read More Obliquity
The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations Author: Dietrich Dorner SYNOPSIS Does failure take a predictable course? Can we learn to avoid mistakes? This book answers ‘yes’ to both questions saying that failure acts ‘according to its own logic’, following a predictable pattern (pages 9 and 10). The author, a psychology… Read More The Logic of Failure
Emergence Author: Steven Johnson BOOK CONTENTS What have ants, brain cells, cities, and computer software have in common, and what can human institutions learn from them? The answer is self-organisation or emergence, a system the author describes as the ‘…movement from low-level rules to higher-level sophistication…’ (page 18). In this organisational set up, problems are… Read More Emergence
