Book Review #93: Thinking, Fast and Slow By Daniel Kahneman

Title: Thinking, Fast and Slow

Author: Daniel Kahneman

Publishers: Penguin

Genre: Non-Fiction/Decision Management/Cognitive Psychology

Pages: 512 (Paperback)

Source: Personal Copy

How often do we really think we are making the right decision? Or, do we really think that whatever we have assumed or professed as true indeed? What about all those decisions we have made all these years? Does it always make us more contented that we’ve made them or was there any slight doubt that we would’ve thought a moment before we made that decision? Does being regretful is anywhere related to the decision we make or does that not at all related to our thinking minds? There are thousands questions for a questioning mind when you begin to read this book. In first few pages itself all our so called beliefs that we held dear to us all these years will be shattered brick by brick. That doesn’t mean that, this is a book that changes your thinking overnight and you can be more assertive and cognitive in an instant.

A book like “Thinking, Fast and Slow” is not a one time affair to read end to end. It has more to do with the assessing our minds in each page we turn. The decisions we make consciously or unconsciously have a profound impact on the overall journey of our life. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel laureate, has crafted a well analyzed, well researched, well documented book. Each and every experiment or survey that he has conducted throughout his life about decision making, cognitive assessment, character forming, opinions that we have on all and sundry has been articulated exceptionally in this book.

One such example where I liked the most is, when the author and his associates conducted a survey on “was Gandhi older or younger than 144 years when he died?” Obviously, the answer the public gave was less than 144 years. When the same set of people asked a different aspect of this question like “how old they thought when Gandhi died?” and this time people picked up the answers as between 80’s and 90’s. On the next attempt when the people were asked “if Gandhi was older than 44 when he was died?” the expected answer was older. When he asked “how old Gandhi was when he died?” most of the people picked up the answers in late 50’s and 60’s. This particular experiment shows that, people tend to come up with their own set of beliefs in answering a question that had nothing to do with the reality and certainly had no impact on their choices. This is just a tip of the ice berg when it comes to convincing people. The people at marketing department knew the nerve of people and they try every way to manipulate its target customers by feeding information subtly and manipulate them into making decisions in favor of them.

There are sections from the book where the author deals with the concepts of forming an opinion on persons. What do we really think when we decide about a person as so and so? Do we really care about going to the deeper level of research before deciding the character of a person or do we just form an opinion with the vague information that is available before us? One such example that we can read from the book is about a female who is banker and a feminist. So most of the opinions formed on this particular case are, either the woman is a banker or a feminist. The question of she being a feminist banker seems an absurd opinion. But why do we make such assumptions? What runs in our mind when we read bits of information on a person and we have a picture of themselves with all the characters that we assumed that fits into that person? Author expressed his opinion that, most of us will use limited information to make decisions on someone. The questions we ask ourselves most of the time is, “Can we trust them?” “Are they friendly enough?” “Are they going to be a good human being?” “Are they competent enough?” etc…

This brings us to the main argument. Are we really making our decisions emotionally rather than rationally? Author explains in simple two system concept. System 1, in which a person reacts to almost everything instantly. It is devoid of mind body co-ordination. This is explained with a simple 2X2 multiplication. And, there is System 2, which is more rational and laid back. It never responds to events in a jiffy. It consents our mind before blurting out the response. A simpler example to this is, computing the results for 17X34. System 2 always monitors the System 1.

In conclusion, reading this book has shaken me greatly. I am convinced by the vast amount of research work about the psychology of the decision making that most of my choices so far in life have been taken without having a second thought. “What if?” reactions were always ringing in my mind while I was rummaging through the pages. Taking a decision in haste and try to rationalize it later is what we have practiced in all our lives. We try to come to terms with it than to analyze in the beginning.

Author was right on when he convinces his argument that people are incredibly quick to jump to conclusions, make decisions without enough information, and have their decisions greatly influenced by the bits of information they have in their hands. This book will certainly makes you think twice about how you make the decisions. Slowing down the process and thinking right is the one take away from this book while you read and savor it.

My Rating:

5/5 

Book Review #54: I am Malala - The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot By Taliban By Malala Yousafzai

I am quite sure that those of you who have heard or listened to this young girl’s story would be exclaiming in surprise “She is one tough teenager!” I am also one of them after reading her biography or rather her little story of how this assassination attempt by Taliban has brought this young girl to the outside world. Before I started to read this book, I was under the impression or rather you can say it as ignorance that, what this girl of age 15 has done to Pakistan that has garnered so much attention. And, this book has a simple answer to all those people who are waiting or expecting to know something about this girl’s fight for girl’s education.

Well this book speaks about length and breadth of the problems that any common Pakistani will face in a day to day life. Without giving much importance to the country’s rotten politics or army’s bad attitude or the constant terror threats and attacks, a regular Pakistani especially those who hail from this remote valley called Swat. She writes about her family and its background in the initial few chapters. She also goes on explaining about Swat and its people and how they are more connected to Afghanistan than Pakistan. She describes the cultural practices of a regular Pashtun household.

Speaking about her daring challenge to the terrorist outfits like Taliban who banned girl’s education in their valley, she was well prepared by her father Ziauddin Yousafzai. He is really a good father and a great human being I can say. He was the one who started the English type school in Swat valley at the very beginning. With regular threats from the local mullah’s and other influential hardcore Islamic people, he stood for what he is capable of and ran a school and became one of the respectable persons in and around the Swat valley and in Pakistan.

When it comes to Malala Yousafzai, she started her work towards the girls’ education rights at a tender age of 11. Like any teenager she was also enjoying her family time and all those happy moments with her family. She loved her little family that consists of her mother, father and her two little brothers Kushal and Atal. Ziauddin Yousafzai named his school after his elder son Kushal. It is one of the famous schools in Swat valley today. Malala started to get attention from the public because of her numerous speeches and interviews she was giving regularly. She often travelled across the Pakistan to spread the message of girl’s education.  

The turning point in her life came in when BBC Urdu was looking out of someone who can give firsthand information about the Swat region when it was under Taliban control. With a strong persuasion from her uncle, Malala started to write for BBC Urdu under the pen name “GUL MAKAY”. This has got some great attention from across the world and of course it also brought Malala under the radar of Taliban. Malala and her family used to receive threats and threat notes from unknown sources about their activities. They went ahead and threatened to bomb their school if they won’t stop the girl’s school. But she wasn't the type of quitters. She managed to do well in getting the attention of their government and was getting support from them to bring education to everyone especially girls.

She also wrote about many other details about the Taliban rule and how people initially supported the group by donating money to them. She writes about few dreaded people like Fazlullah, the radio mullah and other Taliban members. For sure, this book will give us a load of information regarding the Taliban regime.

One point which I thought was very unnecessary was her rant about India. She wrote on many occasions that, India is the greatest enemy of Pakistan and some rubbish details about India and Pakistan relationship. We can ignore this part and move on to read other stuffs.

The stirring details of how Malala was shot by Taliban guy in her school bus and the after incident of her treatment and she was flown to UK is a well-known phenomenon.  She thanked numerous doctors and caretakers from both the countries are a nice gesture. She was under induced coma for almost a week and her fighting spirits to get back on heels is a tremendous journey. She described her injuries and other details in great details which can be read in book.

There is a photography section in the book where she posted some of her pictures from her childhood and few pictures from the hospital where she was taking treatment. It’s a nice way to put all those things.

Overall a great attempt by Malala to write all these things. We all know that there are certain sections of the people who hate her and who love her. Leaving aside all those things, she stands as an inspiration for many young girls in Pakistan and around the world. Their family is living in UK now with a little or no plan of returning to Pakistan in future. May be, one day she would visit Pakistan as a politician which she aspired to become.

My Rating:

5/5