Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better
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- Create Date：2022-09-16 20:21:38
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Woo-Kyoung Ahn
- ISBN：B09NJSJS2N
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Summary
Psychologist Woo-kyoung Ahn explains why our judgement is so often wrong—and offers strategies to help us respond to the challenges we all face as individuals and in society at large。
What can K-pop dance moves teach us about how we can best learn new skills？ How can a winning soccer goal illustrate the challenge of assigning credit or blame？ Why should we think about the way we shop for holiday gifts before starting a new project？
Professor Woo-kyoung Ahn devised a course at Yale called “Thinking” to help students examine the biases that cause so many problems in their daily lives。 It quickly became one of the college’s most popular courses。 Now， for the first time， she presents key insights from her years of teaching and research in a book for everyone。
Ahn shows how ‘thinking problems’ stand behind a wide-range of challenges from common， self-inflicted daily aggravations to our most pressing societal issues and inequities。 Throughout， Ahn draws on decades of research from other cognitive psychologists， as well as from her own ground-breaking studies。 And she presents it all in a compellingly readable style using fun examples from pop culture， anecdotes from her own life， and illuminating stories from history and the headlines。
Thinking 101 is a book that goes far beyond other books on thinking， showing how we can improve not just our own daily lives through better awareness of our biases， but the lives of everyone around us。 It is， quite simply， required reading for everyone who wants to think—and live—better。
What can K-pop dance moves teach us about how we can best learn new skills？ How can a winning soccer goal illustrate the challenge of assigning credit or blame？ Why should we think about the way we shop for holiday gifts before starting a new project？
Professor Woo-kyoung Ahn devised a course at Yale called “Thinking” to help students examine the biases that cause so many problems in their daily lives。 It quickly became one of the college’s most popular courses。 Now， for the first time， she presents key insights from her years of teaching and research in a book for everyone。
Ahn shows how ‘thinking problems’ stand behind a wide-range of challenges from common， self-inflicted daily aggravations to our most pressing societal issues and inequities。 Throughout， Ahn draws on decades of research from other cognitive psychologists， as well as from her own ground-breaking studies。 And she presents it all in a compellingly readable style using fun examples from pop culture， anecdotes from her own life， and illuminating stories from history and the headlines。
Thinking 101 is a book that goes far beyond other books on thinking， showing how we can improve not just our own daily lives through better awareness of our biases， but the lives of everyone around us。 It is， quite simply， required reading for everyone who wants to think—and live—better。
Reviews
Andrea Wenger
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This book explains how inherent cognitive biases affect our decision making。 It’s informative， engaging， and easy to read。 Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 This is my honest and voluntary review。
Elisa
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I always enjoy learning about fallacies， biases and other traps into which our minds fall。 This book expanded on concepts that were familiar to me， as well as new ones that I wasn’t aware of。 My problem with it is its heavy political content。 The author is very smart， she has a PhD and is a Yale professor， she studies cognitive psychology so， if I don’t agree with her， there’s clearly something wrong with my thinking。 And I didn’t change my mind， even after following her advice and looking at my I always enjoy learning about fallacies， biases and other traps into which our minds fall。 This book expanded on concepts that were familiar to me， as well as new ones that I wasn’t aware of。 My problem with it is its heavy political content。 The author is very smart， she has a PhD and is a Yale professor， she studies cognitive psychology so， if I don’t agree with her， there’s clearly something wrong with my thinking。 And I didn’t change my mind， even after following her advice and looking at my opinions from different viewpoints。 I wish that her examples had been more generic， like when she discusses capital punishment。 I really can’t tell what her position is， because she doesn’t say so， she just discusses experiments conducted on people with different ideas and their results。 I also enjoyed the more benign examples， such as moonwalking， or traffic lights。 I really liked Lessa Lamb’s narration because she sounds friendly and not judgmental， which belied most of the content here。 It just seems like the author is out to prove that whoever doesn’t think exactly like her is， well， wrong。 Readers with progressive ideas will feel vindicated。 Anyone else will feel stupid。 Sorry， this was just not for me。 I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased。 Thank you， #NetGalley/#Macmillan Audio！ 。。。more
Eric
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TL;DRDr。 Woo-Kyoung Ahn’s Thinking 101 teaches us how we make mistakes in our thought process through clear definitions and many pertinent， interesting examples。 By putting into place her strategies for combating biases， maybe we can make ourselves a little better and find a little more grace and patience for others。 Highly recommended。 Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone。 Review: Think TL;DRDr。 Woo-Kyoung Ahn’s Thinking 101 teaches us how we make mistakes in our thought process through clear definitions and many pertinent， interesting examples。 By putting into place her strategies for combating biases， maybe we can make ourselves a little better and find a little more grace and patience for others。 Highly recommended。 Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone。 Review: Thinking 101 by Woo-kyoung AhnPrior to 2016， I believed that learning to argue would be a good way to change people’s minds about politics。 I believed that well-constructed， logical arguments were the way to discuss politics。 2016 and the years since have changed my mind。 A person’s politics are decided by emotion with rational explanations decided after the fact。 It doesn’t matter which way the person leans – left or right – they are still going with their gut emotional reaction and， then， justifying it later。 This has been even more apparent with the rise of Qanon and its smaller Liberal counterpart。 As I watched an acquaintance fall under the spell of Qanon and deny reality， I began to wonder how does that happen。 What thought processes lead a person to believe such disprovable lies？ The only answer I could come up with was biases。 People’s thoughts are biased in certain ways that logic cannot overcome。 So， I sought out to learn more about biases when a book popped up on NetGalley that promised to do just that。 Thinking 101 by psychologist and Yale professor Woo-kyoung Ahn used her extensive research into the human mind to demonstrate how we think and how we can improve our thinking。 Ahn draws from her Yale course and from the thinking lab that she leads。 This course won’t free us from biases， but we can make better decisions if we’re more aware of our biases。Professor and psychologist Woo-kyoung Ahn has written an amazing book about how humans think。 My review copy had eight chapters that cover the following biases: Fluency， Confirmation Bias， Causal Attribution， Examples， Negativity Bias， Biased Interpretation， Perspective-Taking， and Delayed Gratification。 Each chapter gives a definition， some examples， some complications， and strategies for counteracting the effects of the bias。 Each chapter flows into the next， and as this isn’t a long book， readers will tear through it。 I found each chapter to be fascinating， and I could probably write an essay on each chapter and what I learned from it。 Reading about all these biases in a row could be daunting and potentially sad。 But instead， I found myself chuckling and nodding along with Ahn’s writing。 I easily saw myself in the pages of her book。 Instead of seeing how poor my own thinking was， I saw how entirely human I am。 Ahn’s book connected me to people in a way that I wasn’t prepared for。 I had picked this book up to learn why other people think the way they do， but instead， I found my gaze turned upon myself。 And my mental health is all the better for it。As an example of what readers will experience in the book， let’s look at the first chapter: The Fluency Effect。 The Fluency Effect gives us overconfidence。 It makes us think we’ve got skill or knowledge that we don’t have。 Think of the Dunning-Kruger effect。 This happens to all of us。 For me， I watched several YouTube clips of bakers making bread。 It looked easy enough。 So， I tried it。 My first bread was basically a cracker。 It was thin and crunchy instead of puffy and soft。 It was my third bake before I got something that looked right。 It was my fifth one that I was actually proud of。 On that first attempt， I suffered from the fluency effect。 Simply because I watched a video doesn’t mean I had the skills or experience to perform like the video。 This is the fluency effect。 Woo-kyoung Ahn suggests trying things out to determine your skill level， but she also describes pitfalls associated with making attempts。 Ahn discusses the planning fallacy and how it plays into life。 She even tells how it builds into conspiracy theories。Ahn’s chapters give similar detail to the above paragraph。 She even breaks down some biases， like Causal Attribution， into cues that influence the conclusions we draw。 For example， in Causal Attribution， she says the cues of similarity， sufficiency and necessity， recency， and controllability all effect the causes we attribute to certain actions。 But she does more than just classify and define。 She gives numerous examples to make her lessons concrete， and the lessons are interesting。 One thing you learn writing is that the specific detail is more relatable than the universal。 This means that readers are more able to relate to specific details， like saying a blue， porcelain vase instead of simply vase。 Or a man with bushy gray mustache， wrinkled forehead， and gray locks of hair in his face paint a better picture than simply old man。 Ahn uses this well; her examples are specific and targeted to each lesson she’s giving us。 The examples in each chapter are what make this book so useful to me and why I recommend it for anyone。 Her years of experience teaching come through the page， and it’s clear that she’s a very good teacher。 Confirmation BiasOf all the biases she discusses， confirmation bias is the one that I see happen most often。 Whether in politics， medicine， video game or book reviews， personal job performance， etc。， we all fall into the trap of confirmation bias。 This bias is where we seek information that confirm our suspicions rather than disprove them。 Ahn recommends a strategy for confirmation bias。 When forming a hypothesis， seeking confirmation is not enough。 We must also seek what disproves our hypothesis。 If we can disprove the hypothesis， then it must be wrong。 If we can’t， it may be correct。 Her examples of how this hurts us and hurts society are clear and pointed。 I loved them。 They drive home the need for us to note our confirmation biases。In her chapter on confirmation bias， she also discusses maximizers versus satisficers。 Maximizers are people who are always on the lookout for something better。 They want to pull the maximum satisfaction out of life and， even if they’re happy in whatever they’re doing， they’re still looking for something better。 Satisficers are people who end their search when they are satisfied enough instead of continuing to look for the absolute best。 I had never heard these terms before， but based on Ahn’s descriptions， I knew exactly which one I was。 She says this is a maladaptive effect on our lives。 I can confirm。 I love my job; yet， I always am researching other fields， such as law， economics， programming， etc。 I have no idea why other than the fear of missing out on the best job I can have。 It is maladaptive because I never feel good in my position despite the fact that I love my job。 Biases Aid Structural RacismAhn throws in examples of how biases can lead to unhealthy results and also racist results。 I enjoyed her use of Bayes Theorem to show why conflating terrorism with Muslim is not statistically sound。 She describes how the harm of biased interpretations perpetuate prejudice。 But the most damning thing she says is that contradictory evidence doesn’t make us change our minds。 Instead， evidence that contradicts us results in us being even more polarized。 People double down on their belief when presented with evidence that the belief is wrong or misguided。 People will make excuses as to why the contradictory evidence exists but doesn’t apply to them。 This is all over the place in today’s U。S。 political scene。 Despite the fact that there’s no basement in Comet Pizza， Qanon people still believe there’s a child abuse ring underneath that restaurant。This is why educating people about racism will never solve racism。 White people are very good at making excuses for why they’re not racist or how because America freed the slaves or elected Barack Obama， that the U。S。 isn’t racist。 Because of this， the Supreme Court of the United States used this very logic to gut the Voting Rights Act in 2013。 No matter how many times systemic bias is demonstrated; individuals rationalize it away with excuses。 How Does This Help？ This book claims to be able to help improve our daily thinking。 So， did it work？ Has my thought processes improved？ Yes， I think they have。 I wouldn’t say my thought processes have changed， but I’m more aware of my own internal biases and how they’re working。 The book didn’t promise to free me from my biases; it can’t do that。 However， I can be more aware of what affect my decision making process。 I definitely know that I suffer from confirmation bias， but through this book， I learned about planning fallacy。 It’s something I’ve learned the hard way that I suffer from。 I’ve never put a name on it， and it’s only been in the last few years because of work that I’ve begun to consider。 At first， I thought it was rose colored glasses and being optimistic。 Now， I see that it’s an actual cognitive process。The main benefit I’ve gotten from reading this book is a bit of stress relief。 I’m giving myself a little more room to make mistakes because despite my best efforts， there will be biases that I cannot overcome。 Part of Ahn’s book talks about people knowing they have these biases and yet falling prey to them anyways。 Knowing that I have biases slows down my thinking and gives me some grace towards myself。In addition， Ahn includes strategies for overcoming biases， and a lot of them boil down to putting yourself in another person’s place。 Empathy is the strategy to combat biases， and I love this。 Cultivating empathy is something this nation needs。 Can I Use This Book to Win Arguments？ Yes。 This book has a number of strategies that could be used to manipulate others。 But that’s not the book’s intended use， and， in fact， manipulation goes against what Ahn is trying to do with her book。 Yes， you can use this book to win arguments， to play upon people’s biases for your benefit， but that doesn’t help your thinking。 Using it in such a way is the opposite of empathy。Ahn’s project isn’t for us to connect with other people through manipulating their ability to think。 It’s for us to connect with ourselves by cultivating empathy for ourselves and for others。 It’s to de-center ourselves and attempt to view our thoughts from a different perspective。 This allows us to view self-criticism in a new light。 Often we criticize ourselves way more harshly than we would a friend or， even， a complete stranger。 By looking at this criticism as if it were applied to a different person， we can begin to give ourselves a break。But we’re also training ourselves to see alternate perspectives。 If you wish to win arguments， then learning to view a subject from your opponent’s perspective is key。 By having empathy for them， you can begin to understand how they’ve formed the conclusions they’ve made。 It doesn’t mean you have to agree with those conclusions， simply that you can see where they’re coming from。 This allows you to structure your arguments and responses in manners best suited to them， not yourself。 Debates can’t be won by laying down a card declaring your opponent’s bias。 Debates are won by getting the other side to agree with you or， at least， to consider your arguments as having merit。 The best way to do that is to consider your opponent’s thought process and to consider their biases。 Thinking 101 will help you do that。 ConclusionWoo-Kyoung Ahn’s Thinking 101 taught me a lot about myself。 I originally requested it to learn how other people think， but instead， I learned how my mind works。 Knowing that bias is an inherent part of being human and that there are strategies to work on my biases made me feel better。 I plan to work on these， particularly the overthinking and rumination associated with Causal Attribution。 My mental health will be better for it。 If you read this， I think yours will be too。 Highly Recommended。Thinking 101 by Woo-Kyoung Ahn is available from Flatiron Books on September 13 th， 2022。 。。。more
Carin
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I actually hadn’t been planning on reading this book， even though the author made a super fun and interesting presentation to us， but it came up in conversation with my husband， who started reading it that night， and I figured I would too。 After all， it truly does impact everyday life and just regular conversations daily。We all think we’re logical。 But we’re not。 Our brains aren’t designed that way。 They’re designed to make quick decisions based on available information。 Now， I am the child of a I actually hadn’t been planning on reading this book， even though the author made a super fun and interesting presentation to us， but it came up in conversation with my husband， who started reading it that night， and I figured I would too。 After all， it truly does impact everyday life and just regular conversations daily。We all think we’re logical。 But we’re not。 Our brains aren’t designed that way。 They’re designed to make quick decisions based on available information。 Now， I am the child of an economist who taught game theory， and he taught some of that to me， so I do feel like I’m more logical than most， but that’s a fallacy too （in fact， I was tickled when she pointed out that for decades the entire foundation of the Field of Economics was based on the bizarre belief that people always make the most logical decision。 Had economists never met people？ I mean， I see that disproved daily。） This whole book is about thinking fallacies。 From common ones like anecdotal evidence to ones you haven’t heard of as much， like the fluency fallacy or the recency fallacy， but I promise–when you read the section you’ll immediately think of a time when this happened in your life。 For example， there’s a fallacy where we tend to blame things we （think we） have control over。 Recently my husband’s car broke down in the drive-thru of a Walgreens。 He immediately blamed himself， saying that the car was hesitating on starting， and he had therefore tried to put it in gear too quickly， and by doing that he somehow broke it。 Nope。 It was the battery。 He didn’t do anything to the car。This book is super readable and surprisingly fun， and it will help us all think better， plan better （one fallacy is that you will have more time to do things than you really will）， and argue better。 How can you say no to a short book that will accomplish all that？ 。。。more
Gretchen Rubin
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A very engaging， readable， and powerful examination of how we can think more clearly。
Kat
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