The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds
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- Create Date：2021-06-29 09:55:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Michael Lewis
- ISBN：0393354776
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Summary
Forty years ago， Israeli psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky wrote a series of breathtakingly original papers that invented the field of behavioral economics。 One of the greatest partnerships in the history of science， Kahneman and Tversky’s extraordinary friendship incited a revolution in Big Data studies， advanced evidence-based medicine， led to a new approach to government regulation， and made much of Michael Lewis’s own work possible。 In The Undoing Project， Lewis shows how their Nobel Prize–winning theory of the mind altered our perception of reality。
Reviews
Josh Mendelowitz
，
Not a top Lewis book but still a great read about two fascinating Israeli economists and their ensuing friendship。 The storytelling was great as usual but the bigger message wasn’t as clear as other Lewis books。I will say that the opening chapter on Daryl Morey from the NBA is so good that I would read a Moneyball sequel just about him。
Bruce Ward
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Such a great book！ If you like the psychology， math， or economics you will love this book。 Michael Lewis = Entertaining， and he does a great job of explaining these topics throughout the book。 But really it was the fascinating relationship that these two amazing and complex men had with each other and themselves that captivated me。 Enjoy！
Hesam
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Lewis makes the technical works of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman very accessible to a broad audience and does so with his powerful story telling。 I was already familiar with their works yet still found this an enjoyable read。The book lacks a coherent narrative; this would normally cost books 2-3 stars in my reviews， but giving this one 4 stars because the writing was easy to read and quite engaging。
Paul Richardson
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This book deserves more attention than I have it。If you have an interest in psychology but more importantly how the world works then you will find this to be really interesting and helpful。
Melanie
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Interesting， just not my cup of tea。 It was recommended at a recent seminar I attended， and I had hoped it would help。 However it was more a story of the struggle of the researchers than the research itself。
Caroline Cormack
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You may not have heard of Daniel Kahneman or Amos Tversky， but their work on how we make decisions will have affected your every day life。 This biog of them & their work is fascinating， entertaining and well worth a read。
Danica Page （One Page at a Time）
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My only complaint about the book was that it was repetitive at times。 I thought the author repeated things a few too many times。However， other than that， I enjoyed this one。 I hadn't heard about Kahneman and Tversky--though I've definitely seen the impact of their work。 It's fascinating how little you can know about people who work in fields you don't study。 I greatly enjoyed reading about their research and also the complicated relationship between the two。 Collaborations are difficult and I lo My only complaint about the book was that it was repetitive at times。 I thought the author repeated things a few too many times。However， other than that， I enjoyed this one。 I hadn't heard about Kahneman and Tversky--though I've definitely seen the impact of their work。 It's fascinating how little you can know about people who work in fields you don't study。 I greatly enjoyed reading about their research and also the complicated relationship between the two。 Collaborations are difficult and I loved that this one hit on that but also did justice to the incredible work they did together。 I hadn't previously known much about it， so I can't speak as an expert or somebody overly familiar with them or the topic， but I enjoyed it。 。。。more
Yulia Bronstein
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Well written gives perspective。 This is not a replacement of "Thinking fast and slow" Well written gives perspective。 This is not a replacement of "Thinking fast and slow" 。。。more
Ravi
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Trust Michael Lewis to tell a story you cannot witness as a bystander。
Shelley
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We need the "Deep State" even if it's been demonized by the dark moneyed interests because that's what keeps our country functioning smoothly。 Does it have problems？ Sure， but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater， as they say。 This book is eye-opening in it's spotlight on the weaknesses exposed in our pathetic response to the pandemic。 We need the "Deep State" even if it's been demonized by the dark moneyed interests because that's what keeps our country functioning smoothly。 Does it have problems？ Sure， but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater， as they say。 This book is eye-opening in it's spotlight on the weaknesses exposed in our pathetic response to the pandemic。 。。。more
Anil Keshwani
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This is a good account of the early lives of and friendship between Amos Tversky and Daniel （"Danny"） Kahneman。 I personally really enjoyed the small details that rounded out the individuals' stories and just as importantly their context。 Reading the details of their lives for example was very gratifying， whether these were descriptions of Danny's relationship with his father and the way he viewed his death （Kahneman was apparently resentful of the fact that his father had not survived the war， This is a good account of the early lives of and friendship between Amos Tversky and Daniel （"Danny"） Kahneman。 I personally really enjoyed the small details that rounded out the individuals' stories and just as importantly their context。 Reading the details of their lives for example was very gratifying， whether these were descriptions of Danny's relationship with his father and the way he viewed his death （Kahneman was apparently resentful of the fact that his father had not survived the war， passing away in 1944 due to diabetes） or Tversky's regularly gung ho attitude that led the pair in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1973 conflict， much more to Danny's dismay。 There is a litany of funny quotes and anecdotes including how Tversky presented a French mathematics textbook as his choice text for an obligatory French exam （the examiner would pick a random page from a book of the candidate's choice for translation）; weirdly UMich didn't accept Hewbrew as a foreign language and hence the need to put Amos through a French exam。 （See also Lewis's article in Vanity Fair from December 2016， How Two Trailblazing Psychologists Turned the World of Decision Science Upside Down。 Available at https://www。vanityfair。com/news/2016/。。。）Equally striking were small but significant remarks like one mentioning how women emerged in the towns in the days after VE day with their heads shaved。 This was since Allied forces had forceably shaved them as punishment for sleeping with German soldiers。 Another described how， at a conference in the USSR that Tversky had attended， Soviet psychologists - described as charlatans - presented on the interference phenomenon between the brain waves induced by drinking vodka and those caused by drinking beer。 In general， the first half of the book did an excellent job of presenting many biographical tidbits that furnished a fuller understanding of what these two larger-than-life individuals were like。 Obviously， the book reads like a good amount of artistic licence has been employed but that only made the narrative more compelling and easier to follow。 The second half of the book I feel suffers from lack of substance and fails to fully flesh out the lives of each individual in times when their personal and working relationship was strained。 It moves away from the historical and personal desciptions to more mundate and what felt， to me at least， like repetitive themes。 Kahneman and Tversky had a falling out due to the interpersonal dynamics and difference in personalities （Danny much more self-critical; Tversky ever confident and brash）。 The insecurity felt by Danny especially as a result of his perception of Amos' feelings was a source of displeasure that exacerbated the falling out。 This， incidentally， was reinforced by the fact that Amos enjoyed the veneer of prestige that quantitative formalisms bring to scientific publication whilst Danny was not as confident with formal mathematics， being more interested in psychology and people at his core （this is mentioned early in the book）。 I feel like here， the book would have benefitted from more biographical research， interviews with colleagues， former students and friends of the two， and could have relied less on the interview made by Michael Shore in 1983。 The end of the book deals with Amos Tversky's death very briefly， which I suppose is appropriate given the short amount of time that elapsed between his diagnosis with malignant cancer and his death on June 2nd 1996。 The thoughts that run through Kahneman's mind about what he would do if he won the Nobel Prize in Economics are very touchingly described on the book's last page: how he would carry Amos to Stockholm， how he would take Amos' wife and children to the ceremony， how he would append Amos' eulogy to the end of his acceptance speech。---A few things to look up from this book are:1。 The as yet unresolved （for me） inability to replicate some of the results from Kahneman and Tversky （1972） as described here https://math。stackexchange。com/questi。。。 2。 The papers in the domain of medicine largely collaborated on with Donald A。 Redelmeier。 For example On the Framing of Multiple Prospects （https://journals。sagepub。com/doi/10。1。。。） or On the belief that arthritis pain is related to the weather （https://www。pnas。org/content/93/7/2895）。 3。 The landmark paper collaborated on by Robert Tibshirani， which led worldwide policy change regarding the use of mobile phones whilst driving。 D A Redelmeier， R J Tibshirani （1997） Association between cellular-telephone calls and motor vehicle collisions。 N Engl J Med。 https://pubmed。ncbi。nlm。nih。gov/9017937/ 。 ---I bash these reviews out in a short space of time when I finish the book， if indeed I feel like writing a review at all。 Obviously it's all opinion， except for the parts that aren't！ If I've made an error， e。g。 gotten a date or detail of the book wrong， please comment and let me know， or shoot me a message so I can correct it。 Cheers。 。。。more
Scott
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How can he be this good？
Mingli Chen
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Love the writing style of Michael Lewis and how he can explain complex concepts in simple layman language that you can grasp。 This book was pretty heavy on the mind though on the decision making concepts that it explored。
Nick Quenga
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Well-paced biographies of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman。 The focus was an intimate relationship where both members felt comfortable enough to share every thought they had。 Both had a variety of education and experiences that epitomized the Israeli intellectual class。 Nowhere else did world-class academics go racing off to front line combat。 This focus on the realistic and practical led them to look at the world as it was instead of trying to confirm the rational actor model， or any other idea Well-paced biographies of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman。 The focus was an intimate relationship where both members felt comfortable enough to share every thought they had。 Both had a variety of education and experiences that epitomized the Israeli intellectual class。 Nowhere else did world-class academics go racing off to front line combat。 This focus on the realistic and practical led them to look at the world as it was instead of trying to confirm the rational actor model， or any other idea held in psychology or elsewhere。Later， Amos became more famous and recognized。 This undermined the relationship， with Tversky unable to admit their equality and codependence to create their best work together。 Kahneman resented his partner's success and they could not reconcile their differences。 I will be using this as a leaping-off point for the other scientists that worked with the pair later in life。 。。。more
Ashish
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I am biased。 I absolutely love the work done by the two subjects of this biography。Michael is a good story teller and does a decent jobHowever， readers not interested in behavioural science may find parts tedious to read
Dmitriy Rozhkov
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"If you want to destroy stereotypes - get rid of classification" "If you want to destroy stereotypes - get rid of classification" 。。。more
MilkywayCrossing
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This book tells an interesting story about two psychologists who were great collaborators and friends， and who came up with fascinating ideas about how people make decisions。The story is funny， but can sometimes be hard to follow。
Miss M。
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I was a bit apprehensive on how to rate this book。 If I were to rate for introducing two excellent psychologist then I would rate it high with four and half stars。 However if I were to rate for the points that Michael Lewis is trying to convey then the rating world be two stars because there was a bit of confusion in the beginning。 The author jumped in too many different directions。 For example， for starters one might think the book is about sports， specifically basketball。 That said， in this bo I was a bit apprehensive on how to rate this book。 If I were to rate for introducing two excellent psychologist then I would rate it high with four and half stars。 However if I were to rate for the points that Michael Lewis is trying to convey then the rating world be two stars because there was a bit of confusion in the beginning。 The author jumped in too many different directions。 For example， for starters one might think the book is about sports， specifically basketball。 That said， in this book， Michael Lewis provides a glimpse of the work of these two psychologist: Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky。 The reader gets a glimpse of the way these opposing personalities were， able to challenge some of the main beliefs in society for example decision making， judgement， rational， to name a few。 However more in depth information is needed for the reader to rant understand。 I think Michael Lewis fell a bit short to deliver on that part。 。。。more
Tom
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Fascinating insights to our flawed nature， and a good narration of the lives of two remarkably different people who meshed well to explore the science of psychology。
Linh
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This book is both informative， with super rich psychology experiments & observations of how irrational we are， and touching， with a friendship of 2 remarkable men。 They came from totally different backgrounds， complete opposite personality， became fond of each other’s mind & started working inseparably， then fell apart with their jealousy and ignorance， and finally came back together for last masterpiece that won Nobel prize， before one of them died of cancel。The book author did an awesome job o This book is both informative， with super rich psychology experiments & observations of how irrational we are， and touching， with a friendship of 2 remarkable men。 They came from totally different backgrounds， complete opposite personality， became fond of each other’s mind & started working inseparably， then fell apart with their jealousy and ignorance， and finally came back together for last masterpiece that won Nobel prize， before one of them died of cancel。The book author did an awesome job of tracking down their life/work event， and all other related people that involved in their lives， offer a glimpse of explanation for their choices， and how their work has direct/indirect changed our lives in many many ways。In short， it is an awesome book， but you need to be patient and have some interest in psychology to find it amazing。 。。。more
Taylor
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The theories and ideas discussed pale in comparison to the insights Lewis gives into Danny Kahneman and Amos Tversky's relationship。 His depiction， through first-hand source interviews into a platonic romance - a type of love where two minds fed and fueled one another - offers a new perspective on collaborative endeavors。 We often think of geniuses as introverts， prodigious minds operating in relative isolation， scribbling on blackboards in dusty libraries （or today's version， hammering out code The theories and ideas discussed pale in comparison to the insights Lewis gives into Danny Kahneman and Amos Tversky's relationship。 His depiction， through first-hand source interviews into a platonic romance - a type of love where two minds fed and fueled one another - offers a new perspective on collaborative endeavors。 We often think of geniuses as introverts， prodigious minds operating in relative isolation， scribbling on blackboards in dusty libraries （or today's version， hammering out code in front of a laptop）。 Yet Lewis' depiction of Tversky and Kahneman's reliance on one another suggests quite the opposite; to have an equal （albeit differently-wired） partner - both a source of challenge and support - serves to enhance already prodigious minds。 It also shows the complexities of such relationships， and just how difficult they are to sustain long term。 For Danny Kahneman to go on to win the Nobel prize after living in the shadow of his good friend lends a redemptive quality to this story。 And despite Amos' unfortunately early demise， the timing of his cancer diagnosis felt bittersweet - a reminder that life is too short to hold grudges and too precious to let differences divide us from the ones we love。 。。。more
Spencie
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book！ While I've been a fan of Michael Lewis for a while now， I only recently stumbled across the name Daniel Kahneman （I'm sure I had heard it before， given the breadth of his influence， but it never fully registered） via listening to the podcast People I Mostly Admire by Steven Levitt， in which he interviews Danny about his new book Noise 。 In the interview， they discuss Thinking， Fast and Slow， as well as The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis。 I was so fascinated and I thoroughly enjoyed this book！ While I've been a fan of Michael Lewis for a while now， I only recently stumbled across the name Daniel Kahneman （I'm sure I had heard it before， given the breadth of his influence， but it never fully registered） via listening to the podcast People I Mostly Admire by Steven Levitt， in which he interviews Danny about his new book Noise 。 In the interview， they discuss Thinking， Fast and Slow， as well as The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis。 I was so fascinated and enthralled that I picked them both up and read the latter as a precursor to the former。 This book had me so energized and underlining and highlighting the entire way through。I highly recommend to anyone remotely interested in behavioral economics， decision theory， Kahneman， Tversky， or Michael Lewis （and if you are interested in Michael Lewis， you are most likely already interested in the others。 。。。more
Mike Malaski
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Ok。 My least favorite of the Lewis books。
John Poulain
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Intelligently written and deftly avoiding the complex maths that underpins Prospect Theory the Undoing Project investigates how people make decisions by seeing where they make errors and therefore the limits of human intuition， decision making and ideas。 The book arose out of a review for Michael Lewis's Moneyball which essentially wondered how the whole book could be written without mentioning what the reviewer thought was the key theory that the Oakland A's put into practice。 Lewis to his cred Intelligently written and deftly avoiding the complex maths that underpins Prospect Theory the Undoing Project investigates how people make decisions by seeing where they make errors and therefore the limits of human intuition， decision making and ideas。 The book arose out of a review for Michael Lewis's Moneyball which essentially wondered how the whole book could be written without mentioning what the reviewer thought was the key theory that the Oakland A's put into practice。 Lewis to his credit investigated and produced this work， which does begin by summarising parts of Moneyball， to explain where everything ties together。 A lot more information on the lives for Kahneman and Tversky is included than other books on the subject， giving some context to the papers and theories that the authors thought was irrelevant。 By the end there's no more mention of Moneyball and instead focus on what students of the theory have done in the real world。 With noise coming out next month （jointly authored by some of this books heavyweights） I couldn't be more excited about continuing to learn about real life applications。 。。。more
Dominic Lowe
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3。5
Nick Mclean
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Reading Michael Lewis's journalistic biographies is like studying the work of an auteur。 He's a master of this particular format。 Off the top of my head I can only think of a few professional biographers who are his equal: Doris Kearns Goodwin， David Mccullough， Walter Isaacson。 After reading a few of his books， you notice certain patterns and techniques。 Like a documentary filmmaker Lewis vividly highlights key vignettes and extrapolates from them to make a broader point about his subjects。 He Reading Michael Lewis's journalistic biographies is like studying the work of an auteur。 He's a master of this particular format。 Off the top of my head I can only think of a few professional biographers who are his equal: Doris Kearns Goodwin， David Mccullough， Walter Isaacson。 After reading a few of his books， you notice certain patterns and techniques。 Like a documentary filmmaker Lewis vividly highlights key vignettes and extrapolates from them to make a broader point about his subjects。 He has an eye for eccentric stories that connect to broader social themes。 He uses backup characters to bookend different episodes of his books， usually acting as catalysts for his characters/story development。 In many of his previous works， these tendencies sometimes serve him or his readers ill， and make his conclusions/sympathies unreliable。 Perhaps his greatest fault is his odd choice of heroes and villains。 We're supposed to cheer for a group of traders who get rich betting against a crashing American economy in "The Big Short" or loathe a group of hubristic， computer hacking quants who rip off hedge fund managers in "Flash Boys"。 Should we uncritically admire the introduction of heuristics and statistical mastery in sports， a trend that transformed many sports， arguably for the better， while also creating a situation where many leagues are now more dominated by a technocratically managed handful of well endowed teams？ Lewis is a fine writer， but not always the best guide to solving the problems he puts under the microscope。 Luckily in"The Undoing Project" his tendencies serve him and his readers well。 Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky are thoroughly deserving of his hagiographic treatment。 Lewis tells a gripping， unlikely story of how the self-doubting， painfully introverted， genial and conflict averse Danny Kahneman， collided with the exuberant， charismatic， arrogant and combative Amos Tversky。 And how， for a period that changed several scientific fields， two such opposing personalities almost merged into one。 The only thing they had in common was brilliance， and a willingness， almost eagerness to undermine conventional wisdom in several connected disciplines。 Lewis's writing and story telling abilities are on fine display， and he chronicles a sort of platonic love story of how these two figures gave birth to the field of behavioural economics and transformed the way we understand human decision making。 the narrative is compelling， taking readers through their early careers back and forth between a nascent Israel and the United States。 While they were both at the same colleges， it was not until they met before the outbreak of the Yom Kippur war that both career trajectories converged。 For a decade these two different personalities wrote several transformative papers， focusing on heuristics that lead to unpredictable decisions。 Later in their careers tension emerged that reduced the quality and quantity of their output， just as their work gained acceptance。 With personal stories as unlikely as their contributions to science and social science， and a touching epilogue， Lewis provides a great layperson's guide to the foundations of contemporary behavioural science， and， arguably， its two most indispensable figures。 。。。more
Drew
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A good Michael Lewis book， and a good example of one。 While most of his books seem to be about the people who see things in a new way or before other people see them， this one adds a wrinkle。 These people used to see things in a new way， but now we all see it。 It makes the book seem less urgent than Moneyball or the Big Short。 But it also works to explain Moneyball and the Big Short from another position removed。 So a good， but not great Lewis book， which still makes it worth reading。 One issue A good Michael Lewis book， and a good example of one。 While most of his books seem to be about the people who see things in a new way or before other people see them， this one adds a wrinkle。 These people used to see things in a new way， but now we all see it。 It makes the book seem less urgent than Moneyball or the Big Short。 But it also works to explain Moneyball and the Big Short from another position removed。 So a good， but not great Lewis book， which still makes it worth reading。 One issue about the structure: the prologue on Daryl Morey is great。 The concluding paragraph of the book is also great。 But unfortunately they don't work very well as the prologue and concluding paragraph of the same book。 I really wanted to go back to the world of basketball， especially considering that Tversky was such a big basketball fan。 Did he directly influence Morey？ Or was there just some vague connection between the two？ Was Lewis's research on Morey for his article on Shane Battier the impetus for this whole book？ How？ Did I miss the page that explained that？ 。。。more
Brian Moore
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Ever wonder why we often think that a coin that has landed heads five times in a row is more likely to land tails the next flip？ This book helps explain that illogical tendency while exploring the lives of two scientists who made the study of such their life's work。 Fascinating and moving。 Ever wonder why we often think that a coin that has landed heads five times in a row is more likely to land tails the next flip？ This book helps explain that illogical tendency while exploring the lives of two scientists who made the study of such their life's work。 Fascinating and moving。 。。。more
Tgandco2
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Excellent。 Thoroughly enjoyed this book。 Starts with a chapter on the different approach the Houston Rockets took to managing their team and then gets onto the subjects of the book， two Israeli psychologists who completely change they way human decisions ，asking is viewed。 Fascinated， well written， great！
Jeanne T
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