Book Reading #41 - Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 2: We All Search for Meaning
Summary :
This chapter begins by discussing that our memory remembers meaning not details. The examples used are that people remember faces better but not names and that people can't recall all of the details of a penny.

It is also discussed how memorizing something with no meaning, like a string of numbers, can be extremely difficult for anybody but if it is memorized by associating the meaningless with the meaningful, like converting the numbers to time or dates, memorizing can become much easier. This idea can also be associated with hiding places and passwords.

It is also described how shaky the human memory is when it comes to identifying people because a lot of different things can factor what the person remembers at a later time.

Discussion:
This chapter makes a lot of sense and makes me not feel so bad when I forget somebodies name or something I studied. I liked all of the examples for memorizing things and I think I will try that tactic more in the future when I study. I thought the study to see if people could recall the details of a penny was interesting. I don't even want to try and do that myself because I know I would fail miserably.


Chapter 3: We Connect the Dots
Summary:
The way we view something is what the author calls 'connecting the dots' and says its machinery embedded deep inside us. When the machinery can't connect the dots and we try to overide the impulse we make mistakes.

There are many things that are invisible to us but don't go unnoticed. The example used was females during their fertility cycle making more money at their jobs at the gentlemen's club.

Other things that skew our judgement like characteristics of items can have a large impact on what we think of things such as price or color of the item.

Regret is then discussed a little and how it adjusts our memory. It is said that an even that causes much regret is remembered better than ones that did not.

Discussion:
This chapter had useful examples to help elaborate what the author was describing. I liked this chapter because it discussed things that affect the way we act but are very subtle or even completely invicible.