You Can Beat Your Brain: How to Turn your Enemies into Friends, How to Make Better Decisions, and Other Ways to Be Less Dumb

by David McRaney

The author of the bestselling You Are Not So Smart shares more discoveries about self-delusion and irrational thinking, and gives readers a fighting chance at outsmarting their not-so-smart brains

David McRaney’s first book, You Are Not So Smart, evolved from his wildly popular blog of the same name. A mix of popular psychology and trivia, McRaney’s insights have struck a chord with thousands, and his blog--and now podcasts and videos--have become an Internet phenomenon.

Like You Are Not So Smart, You Are Now Less Dumb is grounded in the idea that we all believe ourselves to be objective observers of reality--except we’re not. But that’s okay, because our delusions keep us sane. Expanding on this premise, McRaney provides eye-opening analyses of fifteen more ways we fool ourselves every day, including:

- The Misattribution of Arousal (Environmental factors have a greater affect on our emotional arousal than the person right in front of us)
- Sunk Cost Fallacy (We will engage in something we don’t enjoy just to make the time or money already invested “worth it”)
- Deindividuation (Despite our best intentions, we practically disappear when subsumed by a mob mentality)

McRaney also reveals the true price of happiness, why Benjamin Franklin was such a badass, and how to avoid falling for our own lies. This smart and highly entertaining book will be wowing readers for years to come.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Science, Philosophy, Audiobook, Humor

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 30, 2013

About the author

At his blog You Are Not So Smart—and in the book of the same title—David focuses on why humans are so "unaware of how unaware we are." His newest book, You Are Now Less Dumb, expands on these ideas of self-delusion and offers ways to overcome the brain's natural tendencies.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "dumb" that this book refers to isn't the kind that can be rectified with book learnin'... Oh, the irony! It's really the kind that can only be changed with awareness, conscious thought, and practice. This book is about all the ways that our brain makes us behave differently, without our even knowing it.

Things like confirmation bias, deindividuation (mob mentality), and hitting sometimes real damn close to home, in large ways and in small, the Sunk Cost Fallacy. To name a few.

This book talks about how our brain craves a narrative, how we follow the crowd which doesn't actually exist, but we all just think that it does because that's what our foolish brains tell us is "normal", how we would rather stand in line with 30 other people than be the one to try the door to see if it's unlocked.

This book is fascinating, and though I don't really feel LESS dumb, I do now feel slightly more aware of the ways in which I AM dumb, and can try to change those behaviors.

That's all... I think this book is interesting and that a whole hell of a lot of people (really everyone) could find something in it to benefit from. Not to mention it's surprisingly funny at times. Pretty good stuff!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could realistically make and mean this statement to everyone I know, "Read David McRaney's books, and then let's talk." Facebook is a lab specimen for all the psychology issues he discusses in this book, and in its prequel book You Are Not So Smart. All that energy you spend posting authentic news articles to support a viewpoint in hopes of converting your friends who have an unsupported delusional opposing view? This only makes them cling to their view harder. It's called the Backfire Effect and we all do it to some degree. Regardless of what your religious leaders tell you, humans are animals, and we grew up in societies a lot more primitive than we have now. There are certain psychological defense mechanisms we've acquired as a species to not only survive, but thrive, but we don't usually live in reality. If you think you have a grasp on reality, but other people don't...McRaney addresses that delusion too.

It's helpful to understand the power of Deindividuation, how being in a mob with anonymity leads you to do things you wouldn't ordinarily do. This is why certain corporations and teams thrive with people playing over their head. It's also why riots occur and why people yell "jump!" at suicide scenes.

Clothes make the person. This is called Enclothed Cognition. How about the Common Belief Fallacy, where you're more likely to like something or believe something if enough people believe likewise. Nazi Germany is proof that these things exist.

The book also discusses why our opinions when we hear or read something are largely helped or hindered by our opinion of the person who says them. It tells how you can get an enemy to like you, by getting them to do a favor for you, something that was mentioned by Benjamin Franklin. We do everything to protect our egos, and we make up much of what we think to be the truth, all to escape the fact that life is hard and not always fair.

So, while I don't really mean it, for all of those who think you have some understanding on what you like, what you don't and how the world works...let me say, read David McRaney's books, and then let's talk.

[Just Plain Neddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a bit frustrated with this book. I had high hopes, I liked the first one, and was very keen to get into this. It was disappointing. For one thing, it absolutely doesn't do anything to help you beat your brain or be less dumb. It's largely a rehash of the information from the first book. For another, it's really sloppy on facts, which is particularly offputting in a book that's supposed to champion science and skepticism. It may seem a little picky to come here and point out that Bach didn't write symphonies, there aren't enough people in the world for there to be a million angry nerds for every one fan of The Big Bang Theory, and no, AA don't *ever* consider an alcoholic to be "cured". But these are pretty basic factual errors that have no place in this kind of book. In a few places I had read the primary source material that McRaney was discussing, and he'd twisted its conclusions entirely out of proportion to say something that they didn't. In other places, he was citing secondary sources rather than primary in a way that was just lazy (really? He couldn't get a copy of the original "When Prophecy Fails"?). He pushed the science beyond what it actually says in order to sensationalise the stuff he wanted to say about it - which is pretty ironic in this kind of book. Many of his "gotcha" moments were just bizarre. Almost every page had some kind of "I bet you thought X BUT SEE YOU'RE WRONG!" where X was quite clearly false to anyone of average intelligence. It came across as a slightly lazy first draft.

[Jared Mackinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book by David McRaney that has rocked my world. Though some people might not enjoy being knocked down a few pegs from whatever lofty or humble nest you've grown comfortable in, I found myself giggling like an idiot while confronting my own self delusions. There was a chapter on the 'Backfire Effect' that I had to read twice to really settle in to the implications of such an idea. In chapter 12 you read about 'The Robbers Cave Experiment', a most unsettling but wonderful episode involving 11 and 12 year old boys being left to their devices to create their own tribal society. Awesome stuff. These and other amazing episodes are all presented to help us better understand how we've created our own personal bubbles of delusion in order to maintain the narrative we've grown accustomed to, arguably for the better. At the end of the book I was introduced to the word "doryphore", defined by Google as "a pedantic and annoyingly persistent critic"- That is to say, I believe I may be a doryphore. Great stuff.

[MiMi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is a winning lottery ticket........................

This book is a must-read if you seek to change those years-old lens through which you see the world.
Each chapter i read i spent a while thinking it over and assimilating it to reality and "breaking through mob mentality"
David McRaney is amazingly skillful in spicing boring things up..he turns such a serious subject mater as the " natural flaws of the mind" into fun stories that would stick in your memory for long.

"you are now less dumb" explains the major features that make us "humans" dumb. and by explaining them he gives a suggestion about how to not be so dumb although we can't help it.it is like trying do defy your nature or outsmart the way you are created.
like saying "hey you i know you have a tendency to....because you are a human but come on don't make it too obvious"

my Favorite "natural-human-mind-flaws" are:
the Halo effect
Ego depletion
Enclothed cognition
Deindividuation
The Sunk Cost Fallacy
The Overjustification Effect
The Self-Enhancement Bias
PLURALISTIC ignorance

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is a rehash of the same information found in his first book, "You Are Not So Smart." So read either book, not both. Then you will be less dumb.

[Nando Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each chapter in this book reads like a blunt slap in the face. And it's for your own good, like when you find out that you're living in the Matrix, or that you are actually Tyler Durden. Blunt, no less.
It's very fun and written in an engaging way, which makes up for the pain. And it tells you all about the lies we have to tell ourselves at every second just to survive, and why we tell them (and sometimes, need them).
It's also got some great food for thought on why we develop mob mentality, and how to avoid it.
Very well researched, and always making an effort to quote science (clarifying which studies are still inconclusive), the only off-putting thing about this book was hearing it on Audible - the reader sounds like some TV host from the 60s, which doesn't match the youthful - and often jokey - tone of the book.
Awesome!

[Dan Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where "You are Not so Smart" was a delicious tray of fallacy exploration, "You are Now less Dumb" feels like a meaty entree. In this one David moves slower with more intent, pushing us to read beyond the obvious to better understand why we act the ways we do.

Refusing to ever don the rosy glasses he speaks of in the final chapter, David manages to stay incredibly upbeat despite his objective analysis of our shared reality.

I do suggest reading "You are Not so Smart," first, as I believe that material is a better first step toward continual personal development. I loved "You are Now less Dumb" far more, however.

These books have taught me to think in new ways. I can think of no greater recommendation to give.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite as mind-blowing as the first book, but still a very interesting look at the quirks of humanity. I still think the first one should be required reading for everyone, and now I think this one should be, too.

[Bettie]

Description: The author of the bestselling You Are Not So Smart shares more discoveries about self-delusion and irrational thinking, and gives readers a fighting chance at outsmarting their not-so-smart brains
David McRaney’s first book, You Are Not So Smart, evolved from his wildly popular blog of the same name. A mix of popular psychology and trivia, McRaney’s insights have struck a chord with thousands, and his blog--and now podcasts and videos--have become an Internet phenomenon.



Read more here

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out-dated paradigms are incredibly resilient and even when presented with new and corrected information many people resist updating their incorrect beliefs or way of seeing the world. In fact according to latest research people entrenched in their thinking will become further entrenched in it when you present them with corrected information. Then combine those people into a group and they create a culture and that culture becomes it's own feedback loop further reinforcing a confirmation bias. And culture is one of the hardest and slowest social institutions to change. This only presents a danger and a threat when that culture is Mal-adapted to modern living.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this book was how it introduced me to "Narrative Psychology". I am shocked that up until now I have never heard of it before. Especially since I have for years intuited the centrality of story-telling in being human. This theory posits that Story-Telling may be crucial to memory formation and identity continuity. That our memories aren't recordings, but more like Re-Tellings of a story that we self-narrated with lots of the gaps being filled by our mind while we are consciously oblivious of that going on.

[Alvin C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself- The subtitle says it all, and things are not as they seem. If we want to grow smarter, we must examine our own beliefs, as some of them are very wrong! Author David McRaney

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. Occasionally condescending and kind of wrong-headed, like in denying the validity of identity. Even if you accept the validity of the points he makes against it, you can make a strong case for the functionality of identity. One of McRaney's big influences was a philosophy teacher, and I think that shows. Also, there is a throwaway line in the book about people pursuing justice on Reddit usually working out, and that's the kind of wild statement that could really use some sources.

Getting past that, the book is well-organized, building on existing chapters where possible, and it was pretty interesting. Studies were referenced by key names in the chapters, and then again in thorough notes. I think I will probably seek out more of Daniel Kahneman's work based on what was featured here.

As you might expect from the title, the focus is on bias, and while many of the examples listed are familiar, McRaney also pulls in the less familiar and combines them well.

I want to list some of the more interesting points and how they were valuable to me for a sampling. The important thing to remember overall is that often the cure for the biases is just more thought. Find out how the soda machine works. Observe your surroundings. Ask questions and challenge beliefs.

1. Narrative bias - On how we make sense of things through stories. This gave me a broader insight into dementia. I get many chances to see that at work.

2. The Common Belief Fallacy - Many people believing something makes us more likely to believe it. I recently blogged about how this affected us and our acceptance of a typo as something greater at trivia night. (http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2018/07/...)

3. The Benjamin Franklin effect - Our feelings toward others are based in how we treat them, not vice versa. This can be a way to influence relationships, and I have already observed it in some interpersonal relationships, but looking at it against certain current situations is chilling.

6. Ego depletion - Each chapter starts out with the misconception and the truth, and I am going to write them out here because they are so important.
The Misconception: Willpower is just a metaphor.
The Truth: Willpower is a finite resource.
I have been depleted. I have seen other people depleted. And then the result is guilt, but it needed understanding.

10. Pluralistic Ignorance - On certain issues, the majority of the people believe that the majority of the people in a group believe what, in truth, the minority of the members believe.
This one is important because often what the majority really believes is what is better - less harmful, more productive - so holding that belief would make society appear more hostile and backwards, making me once again regret the proliferation of secret Facebook groups.

(Of course, the Backfire Effect of Chapter 9, where being presented with contradictory information makes you cling harder to your beliefs, does give some explanation for the dynamics where people don't want to deal with those who believe differently.)

13. Enclothed cognition - the clothes you wear change your behavior and your abilities. There were some very interesting studies here. It is more observable with costume situations, but I think it is worth spending more time on the subtleties of how your every day wear is affecting you.

14. Deindividuation - This was about how hive mind can take over, with examples used of people chanting "Jump" at those poised to jump. It is chilling to think of it in conjunction with #3, the Benjamin Franklin effect, but also, I want to know how the people yelling "Jump" feel later, especially when the person did jump and died. It was not clear if there is any data on this.

16. The Overjustification Effect - Getting paid to do what you love may make you love it less. This is important to know because conventional wisdom argues against that. There are ways of making it work out, but telling students to do what they love and they will never work a day in their lives is pretty bad advice.

Worthwhile read. Also, an unexpected bonus is that as someone who volunteered for a fair amount of studies in the psychology lab when I was a college student, it is much clearer now what they were testing, and it was never really what they said they were testing.

[Ian D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Δεύτερο μέρος του εξαιρετικού You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself κι όταν λέω συνέχεια, εννοώ ότι είναι το ίδιο βιβλίο με την προσθήκη μερικών κεφαλαίων. Ας το' βγαζε επίτομο κατευθείαν να τελειώνουμε (οι ψυχολογικές έρευνες στις οποίες βασίζεται είχαν δημοσιευθεί ήδη πριν τη συγγραφή του πρώτου).

Όσον αφορά την κριτική, παραπέμπω εδώ. Αξιολόγηση με ενα αστεράκι λιγότερο για την πρόθεση. Αν για λόγους μάρκετινγκ θεωρήθηκε απαραίτητη η κυκλοφορία sequel, είτε γιατί 650 σελίδες θα ήταν υπερβολικές για το όχι και τόσο έξυπνο μυαλό μας, είτε γιατί ο συγγραφέας παρουσιάζοντάς μας δύο διαφορετικούς τόμους ήλπιζε πως δε θα καταλαβαίναμε τη διαφορά, εμείς δεν πρέπει να το δούμε ως ο,τιδήποτε άλλο από μια απόπειρα εκδοτικής αρπαχτής. Μην παραπονιέσαι κύριε McRaney. Εσύ μου τά 'μαθες.

[Carla Carmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel Dumb! :D

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook version of You Are Now Less Dumb: How To Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself. I loved it so much that I plan to get the Kindle version so that I can reference it. That’s one of the pitfalls of listening to non-fiction, it is hard to remember specific details without having it in writing to go back to. This book will definitely go down as one of my favorite non-fiction books of the year.


The basic premise of the book is that even though you think you are in control of your actions, so much of what you do is based on environmental triggers and basic human tendencies. After reading this book, you will start second guessing things that you thought to be true about yourself. It is not a stuffy book, and the author has a wonderful dry sense of humor, making the book entertaining as well as informative.

Each chapter starts with a basic assumption that you probably believe about yourself and others. The author then tears that assumption apart with scientific evidence and studies. I took little cryptic notes on my phone to help me remember things I wanted to share… one of them read: coffee cups, lab coats and arousal. I have no idea what I wanted to remember about the coffee cups, but I do remember the lab coats and the arousal. The lab coats had to do with the chapter about how what you wear can influence your behavior. One study showed that people who were wearing lab coats that they thought to be doctor’s coats actually performed better on intellectual tasks than those individuals wearing the same coats, but were told they were painter’s coats! As a former middle school teacher, I can verify that the student’s behavior on dress down days was definitely different than on dress code days.

The study on arousal was also very interesting. When you are placed in a scary situation, your heightened emotions are similar to those emotions you experience when feeling aroused by someone. In a study, they had two bridges, one scary and swinging, and one not. In the middle of each bridge, they placed a woman who was to ask the men a series of questions. The exact same woman was on both bridges. The men who were on the scary bridge all rated the woman more attractive than the men who were on the easy bridge!

The book is filled with interesting facts and evidence that shows you really just how little you are actually in control of responses. So much of what we do is triggered by environmental factors and beyond our control!

A fascinating book. The author has another book out called You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself, I will definitely be reading that one too!

[Cindy Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do indeed feel "less dumb" after reading David McRaney's You Are Now Less Dumb. As a psych major, I've always enjoyed learning about behavioral studies and other observations of the human mind. The great thing is that You Are Now Less Dumb is written on a level everyone can enjoy while exploring the fascinating world of psychology.

Probably the most fascinating part for me was actually becoming part of a "mob mentality" moment this past week after I finished reading the book. It is amazing how people on the Internet will use the anonymity it gives to act out in mean-spirited ways against others without fear of reprisal, believing that everyone in the group feels the same way and thus justifying their not-so-nice actions. If people really knew how others were thinking, would they join in the crowds that gather around suicidal people on bridges and start shouting, "Jump! Jump, why don't you?" Perhaps not.

And I've learned my lesson--never try to convince an online friend to switch his/her political viewpoint. Even if you post photos of bare, unadorned facts you are only making your friends' beliefs that much stronger because of the inborn need humans have to defend whatever it is we spend lots of time on. (You don't waste your time on "dumb things", right?) So, I'll no longer try to convince certain folks that allowing the elderly, disabled, and children to starve or go without health care isn't in our country's best interest, because to those who disagree with me on this topic it always will be. (One wonders what would happen to their attitude if their loved ones ever became part of the starving crowd.)

Yes, the world would definitely become a happier place if more read You Are Now Less Dumb and became... well, less dumb!

[Mihai Rosca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following the bestseller You Are Not So Smart, comes the follow up to that book called You Are Now Less Dumb. The humoristic parade on the human fallacies continues, as David McRaney shines a light on our most hidden flaws.

One great realization I got out of the book was the perception that I tend judge others too harshly than they deserve. Each person follows a set of heuristics and is shaped as much by the environment as by their biological nature. This provides enough difference between us to make it look like most others outside my cozy bag of skin can't possibly understand me and, on occasions, are probably way lesser humans because of that. But, as McRaney said, I was probably not so smart to begin with.

Our brain fools us each day, whether it's an optical illusion, the feeling that everything will be better in the future or that no true friend or colleague of ours would resort to betrayal against us. These are all tools in our continuous struggle to reach yet another day unscathed by the difficulties of being alive. However, the byproducts of this wonderful flesh machinery in which we dwell are a large series of biases and logic flaws.

McRaney exposes some of them in his usual satirical and a bit condescending tone in an attempt to make us more patient with ourselves and, maybe, to give us pause next time our intuition whispers a brilliant realization in our mental ears.

[Leana M · Rating 3 out of 5]

(More like 3.5 stars.) Some good information. Although a lot of points discussed are ideas in which I have previously pondered and made attempts to identify, such as, biases in myself, as well as, noting the biases in others. So subject matter was not as new or illuminating for me and perhaps other readers of science, psychology, and the overall human conditions. May be more eye opening and illuminating for yet others, and therefor more gratifying, pending one keeps an open mind and does not tend to get defensive (as a result of ingrained biases!). To be sure, I did gain more perspective and awareness from this book, so I am glad I read it. Just not a grand experience- for me.
Examples were followed up by research studies to make the point as well as reviews on established biological and evolutionary understandings for what we do in our human experience. Relevant in its examples to the social norms of the current times (circa: 2013-2014), concise to the subject matter at hand with (a few long winded areas after the point is well taken but this may be as a result of the narrow scope of the topic discussed). Clearly written and easy to understand psychology that doesn't take itself too seriously. Ends on a high note.

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a book purportedly about overcoming human irrationality and our tendency towards lazy thinking and oversimplification, this book certainly falls into all of those traps with an alarming frequency. There are some decent insights (though honestly you're much better off reading Thinking Fast, Thinking Slow), but shock value seems to be valued above critical thinking here. The author often takes results from a small sample of experiments done with complete strangers and applies them to every permutation of human relationships, to justify conclusions such as "we hate people because we're mean to them" (we never hate them because they do mean things to *us*) or "we assign only good qualities to tall and beautiful people [strangers]" (there's no such thing as jealousy, or double standards for women). Early on the author calls out the human tendency to ignore any evidence that is contrary to our own worldview, and proceeds to do exactly this for the rest of the book. It's not a terrible book if you're looking for details from interesting studies in the fields of psychology and neuroscience, but I would recommend you draw your own conclusions rather than accepting the author's at face value.

[Abbas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh, that was Great.

McRaney & Hagen did it again. Amazing book, amazing writer and an amazing Narrator. Listening to this book was a great experience, both funny and informative in a way I think is crucial for everyone. More people need to know about the ideas discussed in this book for the good of society.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was really good. It's book on social psychological phenomena for the layman. It simplified some things but generally did a very good job exploring the concepts and making them relevant to people's lives. I ordered a copy for our library.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems like it was written by a smug guy who thought he was smart as sh*t, but kept getting busted down and avoided by everyone around him for being an unbearable smug-ass sh*t.

So he wrote an interesting, butt-hurt book about how "well everyone is dumb anyway- you mostly."

[Benjamin Wallace]

We are just a big pile of predictability, aren't we? Now to figure out how to use this information for evil.

[Sunaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because we all delude ourselves. Here's a really great book about cognitive dissonance.

[Nhat Tong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Khá ngược đời là mình lại đọc quyển này trước quyển "Bạn không thông minh lắm đâu", vì nghe nói quyển kia dễ đọc hơn nhiều và cũng cung cấp cho mình bước đệm để đọc cuốn 2 (là cuốn này).

Nhìn chung thì mình thấy sách này khá hay. Nó cung cấp cho mình nhiều thông tin rất bổ ích và cho mình một khoảng thời gian khá trầm lắng để tự nhìn lại chính quá trình suy nghĩ của bản thân, cách bản thân bị cám dỗ và ảnh hưởng bởi những yếu tố khá là tình cờ (đôi phần hơi lố bịch - đọc chương "Sự lẫn lộn tác nhân gây hưng phấn").

Trước giờ, mình đọc sách khoa học thường thức thì sẽ luôn mang tư tưởng nghi ngờ, nhất là nghiên cứu kiểu định tính. Tuy nhiên sách này tham khảo các nghiên cứu mang tính định lượng, mà mình không hiểu lắm (chưa tìm hiểu kỹ), nên đành như con cừu, tin phần lớn thông tin trong sách vậy. Có nhiều chương khác nói về những vấn đề mình khá quan tâm, như chương "Hiệu ứng hào quang" hay "Sự vô tri đa nguyên", thì mình đã thực sự đối chiếu được với thế giới qua con mắt của mình, và mình thấy đúng. Chắc vậy.

Điều có ích nhất và quyển sách đem lại cho mình nằm ở chương "Hiệu ứng thỏa mãn vượt ngưỡng", vì nó soi sáng cho mình các động lực để sự cố gắng được nuôi dưỡng, duy trì và cách đam mê được thỏa mãn trong đầu óc, nhất là đầu óc của con trẻ - bước đệm để chúng lựa chọn hướng đi của bản thân trong thế giới tương lai đầy hỗn độn và nhiều cám dỗ .

Một điều cần lưu ý là sách dường như chỉ dành một phần nhỏ để đưa ra các cách giải quyết để chúng ta "đỡ ngu ngơ", mà tập trung diễn giải cách chúng ta hiểu sai hay cách các tác nhân nội và ngoại ảnh hưởng đến lối suy nghĩ của chúng ta như nào thôi. Thế nên, để "đỡ ngu ngơ" thật sự, cần nhiều hơn sự tìm tòi của chính bản thân.

[Zaki Emad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have found You Are Now Less Dumb to be insightful, well-written and hard to put down. I have also found it to be often witty and funny, which was refreshing.

David McRaney will have you believe that although it’s a great place to start, “I think, therefore I am” is not enough, what’s even better is thinking about what you’re thinking, its “whats”, “hows” and “whys”.

The book explains the erroneous modes of thinking that often go unnoticed while being hugely consequential on the personal and societal level, and it does so by providing a misconception at the top of every chapter, then proceeding to debunk it while providing supportive facts and anecdotes. Writing a book like this is hard, and I think David McRaney has done a great job.

The only reason I give this book four stars and not five is that while reading this book, I found myself wanting more, not more misconceptions royally demolished, but more context, a more systematic way of looking at these topics and ideas that puts them in service of a grander point. The book sort of does that in the introduction and when it incorporates components of earlier chapters in the ones that follow, but a more wholesome view that takes into account everything and shows how overcoming these modes of thinking will bring about change would have made great sense.

Despite my nit-picking, I would say that this is an absolutely fantastic book that everyone should read.

[Joe Silber · Rating 4 out of 5]

David McRaney hosts an excellent podcast called "You Are Not So Smart", and before you read this book, you should go listen to a couple episodes. If you enjoy them, you'll like "You Are Now Less Dumb". McRaney focuses on cognitive biases and other quirks of how the human brain is less logical than you might think it is. This book covers such topics as deindividuation (mob mentality), the halo effect (tendency to assume people with a prominent positive attribute, such as attractiveness, are strong in other positive attributes, such as intelligence or empathy), pluaralistic ignorance (tendency to overestimate how widely held a belief is), and "enclothed cognition" (how what you wear affects how you act and feel). McRaney uses a combination of current research and illustrative (and sometimes humorous) examples from everyday life to explain and explore each bias, misconception, or cognitive illusion. I listened to the audiobook, which is disappointingly is not read by McRaney himself (who has an excellent voice).

[Corina · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you were personally insulted (or at least very aggravated) by McRaney's previous book "You are not so smart", then this book will make you feel a little bit better about your place in the universe as a flesh cage riddled with biases you can't even pronounce. With the same witty humour as other books, this one has a slightly more hopeful tone and presents actual solutions to the various fallacies plaguing our lives. I enjoyed it very much, the audiobook was crisp and clear, and I'm glad I chose this as my first book of 2019.

[Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tập 2 của "Bạn không thông minh lắm đâu" :)

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