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Gigerenzer's theories about the usefulness of mental shortcuts were a small but crucial element of Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller Blink,and that attention has provided the psychologist, who is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, the opportunity to recast his academic research for a general audience. The key concept-rules of thumb serve us as effectively as complex analytic processes, if not more so-is simple to grasp. Gigerenzer draws on his own research as well as that of other psychologists to show how even experts rely on intuition to shape their judgment, going so far as to ignore available data in order to make snap decisions. Sometimes, the solution to a complex problem can be boiled down to one easily recognized factor, he says, and the author uses case studies to show that the "Take the Best" approach often works. Gladwell has in turn influenced Gigerenzer's approach, including the use of catchy phrases like "the zero-choice dinner" and "the fast and frugal tree," and though this isn't quite as snappy as Blink, well, what is? Closing chapters on moral intuition and social instincts stretch the central argument a bit thin, but like the rest will be easily absorbed by readers. Illus. (July 9)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationThis book is like a friendly textbook, elucidating the reader on some facts and how they can be observed; however, the courtesy is greatly overwhelmed with a foundation of statistics, which are always questionable -especially in excess-, and little to no critical thought or innovative theory. This makes for a very disappointing read, as one might think, reading the title and description, that it would expound on more provocative and abstract subjects. Thus, for the beginner in psychology, this book may prove helpful and interesting; for the more studious and scholastic, it is dull in its lack of sophistication and insight.
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Posted February 23, 2009
I thought this would teach you how to rely on gut feelings...it is chapter after chapter of analogies and tangents he rants on, which don't in any way coach you on reading and using your gut feelings....which you'd expect since its in the "self-help" section, not the "useless but somewhat interesting facts" section.
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Posted August 11, 2009
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Posted May 19, 2009
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Posted July 2, 2010
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Overview
Gerd Gigerenzer is one of the researchers of behavioral intuition responsible for the science behind Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller Blink. Gladwell showed us how snap decisions often yield better results than careful analysis. Now, Gigerenzer explains why our intuition is such a powerful decision-making tool. Drawing on a decade of research at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Gigerenzer demonstrates that our gut feelings are actually the result of unconscious mental processes-processes that apply ...