Jonah Lehrer is one of the writers who clearly has more intellectual horsepower than me. And since I think of myself as pretty freaking smart, I'm impressed when I read his writing. This book is fascinating. He talks about what current neuroscience tells us about how our brains make decisions. Are our rational minds more sensible than our emotional minds? How do we make decisions under stress? When should we go with our gut instinct, and when should we think a decision through intellectually? He describes really interesting case scenarios: how did the fire jumper who invented the escape fire (in the face of an oncoming firestorm) do so? How do excellent poker players understand who is bluffing and decide when to bluff themselves? How do excellent quarterbacks make decisions about where to throw the ball?I'm going to apply the lessons he describes here, and I'm going to make better decisions as a result.
How We Decide
Jonah Lehrer
2009
Available from Amazon
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