You Are Not So Smart Book Summary - You Are Not So Smart Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

You Are Not So Smart summary

David McRaney

Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, and 46 Other Ways You’re Deluding Yourself

4.3 (92 ratings)
19 mins
Table of Contents

    You Are Not So Smart
    Summary of 8 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 8

    We delude ourselves that random situations have meaning or that we can control them.

    It would be nice to believe that we humans are rational beings who see the world as it really is. But, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

    Rather than being mere objective observers of the world around us, we constantly delude ourselves in order to make sense of coincidences and other random happenings.

    We do this by applying order to the random events and chaotic coincidences that occur around us.

    For ancient man, the ability to recognize patterns was essential to his survival: it enabled him to find food, and to distinguish friends from enemies and predators from potential prey.

    As a result, we’ve evolved into beings always on the lookout for patterns in the “noise” around us. We simply aren’t capable of switching off our pattern-recognition ability – which explains why we often see patterns where none exist.

    Have you ever, say, marveled at how a particular number – for example, seven – keeps popping up during your day? Or what if you find out that your blind date’s mother shares a name with your mother – does this make you think, even briefly, that you’re meant for each other?

    The fact is, the number seven is as common as all other numbers and countless other mothers share your mother’s name. They’re merely coincidences, but we see what we want to see, and we want to see meaning.

    What’s more, we not only find meaning in random situations, but we also trick ourselves into believing we can control them.

    For example, although the numbers that come up when a die is rolled are completely random, studies have shown that the more powerful a person feels, the more they believe they can predict the next roll of the die.

    Also, research indicates that most people engage in at least some “magical thinking,” like crossing our fingers when we wish for something particular to happen. Here, too, we believe we can control the uncontrollable.

    Want to see all full key ideas from You Are Not So Smart?

    Key ideas in You Are Not So Smart

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is You Are Not So Smart about?

    You Are Not So Smart (2011) explores the many different ways we have of deluding ourselves. By delving into a wide range of psychological research, the author challenges the notion that we are logical, rational beings who see the world as it really is and makes a case that we mislead ourselves every single day, for better and for worse.

    Who should read You Are Not So Smart?

    • Anyone who believes that they’re quite rational in their thinking and behavior
    • Anyone interested in how we delude ourselves every day

    About the Author

    David McRaney is a journalist, “psychology nerd,” and the author of the popular blog YouAreNotSoSmart.com, which served as the basis for this book. He has written for several newspapers including The Lamar Times and The Huffington Post, and was named one of the top ten college journalists in the nation in 2006.

    Categories with You Are Not So Smart

    Books like You Are Not So Smart

    People ❤️ Blinkist
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked

    Start growing with Blinkist now
    28 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    91%
    Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
    *Based on survey data from Blinkist customers
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial