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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Summary of 12 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 12
Of two minds: how our behavior is determined by two different systems – one automatic and the other considered.
There is a compelling drama going on in our minds, a filmlike plot between two main characters with twists, dramas and tensions. These two characters are the impulsive, automatic, intuitive System 1, and the thoughtful, deliberate, calculating System 2. As they play off against each other, their interactions determine how we think, make judgments and decisions, and act.
System 1 is the part of our brain that operates intuitively and suddenly, often without our conscious control. You can experience this system at work when you hear a very loud and unexpected sound. What do you do? You probably immediately and automatically shift your attention toward the sound. That’s System 1.
This system is a legacy of our evolutionary past: there are inherent survival advantages in being able to make such rapid actions and judgments.
System 2 is what we think of when we visualize the part of the brain responsible for our individual decision-making, reasoning and beliefs. It deals with conscious activities of the mind such as self-control, choices and more deliberate focus of attention.
For instance, imagine you’re looking for a woman in a crowd. Your mind deliberately focuses on the task: it recalls characteristics of the person and anything that would help locate her. This focus helps eliminate potential distractions, and you barely notice other people in the crowd. If you maintain this focused attention, you might spot her within a matter of minutes, whereas if you’re distracted and lose focus, you’ll have trouble finding her.
As we'll see in the following blinks, the relationship between these two systems determines how we behave.
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What is Thinking, Fast and Slow about?
Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011) – a recapitulation of the decades of research that led to Kahneman's winning the Nobel Prize – explains his contributions to our current understanding of psychology and behavioral economics. Over the years, the research of Kahneman and his colleagues has helped us better understand how decisions are made, why certain judgment errors are so common, and how we can improve ourselves.
A note to readers: this Blink was redone especially for audio. This is the reason why the text version might differ from the audio version. If you’re trying to decide whether to listen or to read, we highly recommend listening!
Best quote from Thinking, Fast and Slow
A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth.
—Daniel Kahneman
Who should read Thinking, Fast and Slow?
- Anyone interested in the human mind
- People curious about how we make judgments
- Students of psychology and behavioral economics
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