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Gut Feelings |
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| Book: Hardcover | 5.51 x 8.26in | 288 pages | ISBN 9780670038633 | 05 Jul 2007 | Viking Adult | 18 - AND UP |
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An engaging explanation of the science behind Malcolm Gladwell’s bestselling Blink
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 Plank Institute, Gigerenzer demonstrates that our gut feelings are actually the result of unconscious mental processes—processes that apply rules of thumb that we’ve derived from our environment and prior experiences. The value of these unconscious rules lies precisely in their difference from rational analysis—they take into account only the most useful bits of information rather than attempting to evaluate all possible factors. By examining various decisions we make—how we choose a spouse, a stock, a medical procedure, or the answer to a million-dollar game show question—Gigerenzer shows how gut feelings not only lead to good practical decisions, but also underlie the moral choices that make our society function.
In the tradition of Blink and Freakonomics, Gut Feelings is an exploration of the myriad influences and factors (nature and nurture) that affect how the mind works, grounded in cutting-edge research and conveyed through compelling real-life examples.
"Logic be damned! See how doctors really make tough diagnoses, how police spot drug couriers, and more. Gigerenzer delivers a convincing argument for going with your gut."
—MEN'S HEALTH
"Gladwell drew heavily on Gigerenzer's research. But Gigerenzer goes a step further by explaining just why our gut instincts are so often right. Intuition, it seems, is not some sort of mystical chemical reaction but a neurologically based behavior that evolved to ensure that we humans respond quickly when faced with a dilemma."
—BUSINESS WEEK
"Memorable. Clever. Gerd Gigerenzer, director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, locates specific strategies that the unconscious mind uses to solve problems. These are not impulsive or capricious responses, but evolved methods that lead to superior choices. In short chapters, using vivid examples and ordinary language, Gigerenzer explains how an outfielder catches a fly ball not by complex calculations but by unconsciously adjusting his running speed so that the angle of his gaze at the ball remains constant. In problem-solving, having too much information is often as harmful as having too little; having just enough information works best."
—THE BOSTON GLOBE
"There are lots of good, solid reasons to trust your instincts, says Gerd Gigerenzer, who was among the researchers behind BLINK. The decisions they give rise to are usually sound. Without intuition, he says, we would drown in a sea of data points."
—TIME
"Goes beyond Gladwell's BLINK to reveal the evolutionary basis of intuition"
—SEED
"Winning blend of anecdotal and scientific evidence"
—HARTFORD COURANT
"Converts a specialized topic into a conduit for greater self-awareness among his readers."
—BOOKLIST
"A pleasing, edifying tour of territory that has long been dark and unexplored. Gigerenzer's prose is lively and evocative"
—KIRKUS
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