The older I’ve grown the more I find myself hanging out in the non fiction aisles of (ever dwindling) bookstores (or corners of Amazon). I suspect because more of my professional life centers around ideas, both understanding new ideas, generating my own, and articulating thoughts to colleagues and friends. Books provide intellectual stimulation of more depth than blogs or Twitter feeds (which I also love).
“Thinking, Fast and Slow” aims big. It’s intent is found on page 9:
So this is my aim for watercooler conversation: improve the ability to identify and understand errors of judgement and choice, in others and eventually ourselves, by providing a richer more precise language to discuss them. In at lease some cases an accurate diagnosis may suggest an intervention to limit the damage that bad judgments and choices often cause.
Professionally, I’m having to make a lot more higher level decisions. Personally, at home, I’m having (with my wife) to make daily decisions on parenting three adoptive children. So lately I’ve become VERY interested in knowing why I and the people around me make certain decisions.
Kahnmen approaches this question through cognitive science (not necessarily a philosophical approach).
