Thinking Fast Thinking Slow Book Report

Thinking fast, thinking slow was for me the first book I ever read that was like this, meaning any book that isn’t a novel. That is why it took me a little bit to get into it. But as soon as I did, I could not put it down.

In this book, Mr. Kahneman is trying to explain topics like psychology, perception, irrationality, decision making, errors of judgment, intuition, statistics, and illogical thinking in a way that everyone will be able to understand. He does this based on the two systems that the entire book is based on. Thinking “fast” is System 1, thinking “slow” is System 2.

System 1 is fast, intuitive, emotionally, involuntary, and effortlessly. This system is used for example, when recalling your age, or reading an angry facial expression.

The book discusses the biases of our intuition. How we assume or accept certain things automatically and unconsciously without really thinking about them. It explains the capabilities, and faults and biases of System 1, and discloses the extensive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior.

System 2 is slower, and is more logical, calculated, it involves reasoning, solving problems, concentrating, considering other data, and very important, not jumping to conclusions too quickly. This system comes into play when trying to solve a math problem, or choosing where to invest your money.

After explaining the two systems in great detail, Mr Kahneman moves on to the section in which he explains that these two systems are often in conflict. System 1 for example, operates on heuristics which may not always be correct. On the other hand, System 2 demands effort to evaluate those heuristics, and is still capable of making errors.

Complicated issues, but even the way we make day to day decisions can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions. Mr. Kahneman teaches how to identify situations in which mistakes are likely to happen, and then also how to avoid significant mistakes when the stakes are

One has to train him or herself to recognize the signs that you are in a what he describes as a “cognitive minefield”, slow down, and ask for reinforcement from System 2.

This book revealed a lot of new information for me about how we think. It taught me where I can and cannot trust my intuition and how to exploit the benefits of System 2.

Mr. Kahneman offered educational and surprisingly practical insights into how we make choices in both our business- as our personal lives. Maybe even more important, he teaches how to use certain techniques to protect yourself against the mental glitches that can often get you into “trouble”.

This book mainly changed the way I think about thinking, and made me more conscious of the decisions I make, or at least the process of making them.

In the final section, Mr. Kahneman analyzes the contrasting “selves” represented in every individual. These are the remembering self and the experiencing self. The remembering self focusses on the aspect in our nature that evaluates events by the lasting memory they leave. This self keeps track of goals and keeps mental accounts. It is the self that answers questions like: how satisfied are you with your