| Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average |  | Author: Joseph T. Hallinan
Publisher: Broadway
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $8.29
as of 9/8/2010 01:31 CDT details
New (25) Used (10) from $8.29
Seller: sbd-
Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 34,122
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0767928067
Dewey Decimal Number: 153
EAN: 9780767928069
Publication Date: February 9, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780767928069 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Book Description
We forget our passwords. We pay too much to go to the gym. We think we’d be happier if we lived in California (we wouldn’t), and we think we should stick with our first answer on tests (we shouldn’t). Why do we make mistakes? And could we do a little better?
We human beings have design flaws. Our eyes play tricks on us, our stories change in the retelling, and most of us are fairly sure we’re way above average. In Why We Make Mistakes, journalist Joseph T. Hallinan sets out to explore the captivating science of human error--how we think, see, remember, and forget, and how this sets us up for wholly irresistible mistakes. In his quest to understand our imperfections, Hallinan delves into psychology, neuroscience, and economics, with forays into aviation, consumer behavior, geography, football, stock picking, and more. He discovers that some of the same qualities that make us efficient also make us error prone. We learn to move rapidly through the world, quickly recognizing patterns--but overlooking details. Which is why thirteen-year-old boys discover errors that NASA scientists miss—and why you can’t find the beer in your refrigerator. Why We Make Mistakes is enlivened by real-life stories--of weathermen whose predictions are uncannily accurate and a witness who sent an innocent man to jail--and offers valuable advice, such as how to remember where you’ve hidden something important. You’ll learn why multitasking is a bad idea, why men make errors women don’t, and why most people think San Diego is west of Reno (it’s not). Why We Make Mistakes will open your eyes to the reasons behind your mistakes--and have you vowing to do better the next time.
A Q&A with Author Joseph T. Hallinan: Which Penny is Correct?
(Click on Image to Enlarge)
 | | Can you pick out the real penny? (Answer Below) |
 Question: We’ve seen pennies so many times--why is it so difficult to recognize which of these drawings accurately represents a penny? Joseph T. Hallinan: Partly, it has to do with how our memory works. Our long-term memory, even for things we’ve seen thousands of times, is limited. Most of the time, we recall meaning but not surface details. It’s the same reason we remember faces, but not the names that go with them. Q: Are there other real-world examples of this? JTH: Sure. We just watched as Chief Justice John Roberts and President Barack Obama muffed the words to the Inaugural Oath—even though the oath has only 35 words and even though both men no doubt rehearsed it many times. It’s actually very hard to remember things verbatim. Take the National Anthem, for instance. You’ve sung it hundreds of times. But how many of the Anthem’s 81 words can you remember without singing it? Q: How does this limitation lead to mistakes? JTH: Because we think our memories are much better than they are, and rely on them more than we should. Consider how many times an eyewitness has mistakenly identified a criminal and you begin to see the significance of this type of error. Basically, we look but don’t always see. Q: Alright then, we’ve waited long enough: which of the pennies above is the real McCoy? JTH: That would be penny A. But when researchers conducted this experiment, fewer than half of the people in the study picked the right one. (Photo © Andrew Collings)
Product Description
We forget our passwords. We pay too much to go to the gym. We think we’d be happier if we lived in California (we wouldn’t), and we think we should stick with our first answer on tests (we shouldn’t). Why do we make mistakes? And could we do a little better?
We human beings have design flaws. Our eyes play tricks on us, our stories change in the retelling, and most of us are fairly sure we’re way above average. In Why We Make Mistakes, journalist Joseph T. Hallinan sets out to explore the captivating science of human error—how we think, see, remember, and forget, and how this sets us up for wholly irresistible mistakes.
In his quest to understand our imperfections, Hallinan delves into psychology, neuroscience, and economics, with forays into aviation, consumer behavior, geography, football, stock picking, and more. He discovers that some of the same qualities that make us efficient also make us error prone. We learn to move rapidly through the world, quickly recognizing patterns—but overlooking details. Which is why thirteen-year-old boys discover errors that NASA scientists miss—and why you can’t find the beer in your refrigerator.
Why We Make Mistakes is enlivened by real-life stories—of weathermen whose predictions are uncannily accurate and a witness who sent an innocent man to jail—and offers valuable advice, such as how to remember where you’ve hidden something important. You’ll learn why multitasking is a bad idea, why men make errors women don’t, and why most people think San Diego is west of Reno (it’s not).
Why We Make Mistakes will open your eyes to the reasons behind your mistakes—and have you vowing to do better the next time.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 39
 "To Err Is Human",a book by Joseph T. Hallinan. August 15, 2010
M. Mariba (south africa)
This is an interesting book that should make all of us humble,titled "Why We Make Mistakes : How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things In Seconds And Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average" by Joseph T. Hallinan.The book clearly indicates that we are not as good or clever as we think : (1) we easily forget things in seconds;(2) while we are "efficient" in one area in life, this makes us more vulnerable/prone to make stupid mistakes in other areas of our lifes & (3) that our brains tend to recognize patterns while overlooking details!These findings have real life implications like weatherman accurately predicting the weather & a witness "falsely testifying" leading to an innocent person being convicted!The book also covers well multitasking & gender differences. In conclusion,this is an interesting, yet important & humbling book : we are not as good as we think,we are prone to make mistakes one way or another & hence the correctness of the adage "to err is human",a thought provoking reading by Joseph T. Hallinan. This book (will complement/is complementary to ) a similar book "The Invisible Gorilla : And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us" by Christopher T. Chabris & Daniel Simons!
Great Overview About How Mistaken We Are June 5, 2010
geewhiz
I found this book interesting and easy to read. The topics are concise and convincing, and confirm some suspicions I've had about behavior and attitude. I can't help but wonder how many (possibly tragic) mistakes could be avoided if more people would read it!
 Meandering compilation of examples, no advice, nothing to learn May 31, 2010
Pippick (New York)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
COMPLETELY AGREE! Okay, here's why we make mistakes... got it? Good. Will this help you to CORRECT "the mistakes we make"? No. This is a typical book written by a reporter. He compiled anecdotal evidence, gave examples, told stories. That's it. Seriously. If anyone gave this meandering waste of time (full of info we already knew, i.e. THAT we can't find our keys, THAT we offer differing descriptions of the same event from other witnesses that saw the same thing, ETC. ETC. ETC.) that leads absolutely... NOWHERE. Why was this in the "Self Help" section? It should have been a 5 page magazine article, not a book.
Anecdotes, tidbits and fun facts are very prevalent throughout this book making it a quick and insightful read. May 18, 2010
BennyBoy (Charlotte, NC)
You can't go wrong with a story involving Burt Reynolds and Joseph Hallinan , in his book Why We Make Mistakes , includes a doozy. Anecdotes, tidbits and fun facts are very prevalent throughout this book making it a quick and insightful read. I recommend this book as an entry into the world of why decisions are made. It's easy to turn on the news and think the people in charge of whatever the catastrophe of the moment is are dolts, but that isn't always the case and could just as well be in their shoes.
Let's begin this review with aesthetics. I'm the type of person who likes to see a book shelf full of finished books. It's a trophy case of sorts, so how a book looks among it's peers is important to me. And Hallinan must have considered this because the cover is quite unique. First of all, he takes the theme of mistakes seriously as the sleeve purposefully doesn't symmetrically align with the hardcover. The title and author aren't centered on the spine either. Little images of a delete key and white out blot the blaze orange cover. The font is large, but not childish and there are call outs on the pages to highlight different passages. All in all I like the appearance of the book.
Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above AverageI know what you're thinking, lets get to the Burt Reynolds story. Here is an excerpt taken from the book and originally orated by Mr. Reynolds to Playboy in an October 1979 interview:
A man walks into a bar. The man's name is Burt Reynolds. Yes, that Burt Reynolds. Except this is early in his career, and nobody knows him yet--including a guy at the end of the bar with huge shoulders.
Reynolds sits down two stools away and begins sipping a beer and tomato juice. Suddenly, the man starts yelling obscenities at a couple seated at a table nearby. Reynolds tells him to watch his language. That's when the guy with the huge shoulders turns on Reynolds. And rather than spoil what happens next I'll let you hear it from Reynolds, who recounted the story years ago in an interview with Playboy magazine:
"I remember looking down and planting my right foot on this brass rail for leverage, and then I came around and caught him with a tremendous right to the side of the head. The punch made a ghastly sound and he just flew off the stool and landed on his back in the doorway, about 15 feet away. And it was while he was in mid-air that I saw...that he had no legs."
Only later, as Reynolds left the bar, did he notice the man's wheelchair, which had been folded up and tucked next to the doorway.
This story is about how people see. The human eye has a wide span of range in it's field of view, but we really only can focus on two degrees in front of us. Burt Reynolds, even with several clues in plain sight, didn't see that the man had no legs.
For the rest of this review, it's available via my blog, found in my profile.
Great book, great author May 13, 2010
Kaitou
Good science read on why we make the kinds of mistakes we do, and a good companion to books like The Tipping Point, Freakonomics, and The Drunkard's Walk. It's easy to understand without ever feeling like Hallinan is dumbing down for the audience. I listened to the audiobook version, which was well done...though some of the 'try it yourself at home' quizzes don't translate as well. I looked at the paperback of the book, and I think it would be a better bet.
Some of the data I've heard elsewhere, like Malcolm Gladwell's 'Blink' or even National Geographic specials. But most of it was new, and well presented. Finally I have a theory that neatly explains why I'm so miserable at directions.
I wish there had been more time spent on how to avoid, or mitigate these kinds of mistakes. For instance, my company has jobs with a lot of visual inspection. Now I know more about why visual inspection isn't likely to catch rare errors...but I'm still not sure what I can do to change that. However, when I contacted the author he was incredibly helpful and kind and pointed me in the direction of research that could help. He went way above and beyond the call of duty and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I often write to authors whose work has excited me, but no one has done as much in return. Can't say enough good things.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 39
|
|
Email this page to a Friend
Add to your Favorites or Social Bookmark
|
|
|
|
|
| |
