You are Now Less Dumb Book Summary - You are Now Less Dumb Book explained in key points

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You are Now Less Dumb summary

Name: You are Now Less Dumb
Rating: 4 (42 reviews)
Author: David McRaney

David McRaney

How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself

4 (42 ratings)

21 mins

Brief summary

You Are Now Less Dumb by David McRaney is a witty book that explores the psychology behind our irrational behavior, biases, and misconceptions. It provides valuable insights and actionable tips to help you become more self-aware and make better decisions.

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Manipulation

Table of Contents

You are Now Less Dumb
Summary of 10 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 10

What’s in it for me? Discover why you shouldn’t always trust your brain!

You always know why you feel the way you do, right? Well… maybe you really don’t. You Are Now Less Dumb explains how our brains often deceive us into believing things that have no basis in reality. Our own behavior and feelings in crowds or towards people we find attractive, for example, seem to be fairly well understood by us. But in many cases, we don’t know our real reasons for saying and doing the things we say and do.

This book provides entertaining examples of how our brains play tricks on us and what we can do to avoid being fooled by these illusions.

In these blinks, you’ll find out

why home remedies don’t always work;
why you’re seldom alone in your opinions; and
how wearing a doctor’s coat can make you smarter.

Your brain fools you everyday – without you even realizing it!

Every day, your brain tricks you into believing the strangest things. Similar to an optical illusion, our brains often deceive us – even when we’re pretty sure what we’re observing is the truth.

And though we like to think our thoughts and decisions are grounded in logic and rationality – often they’re not.

Our perception of the world is unique to each of us. The way we experience the sight and smell of a flower, for example, is not the way a bee experiences it. Therefore, we can’t always trust that what we see or sense is the only truth.

For example, in 1951, after an important football match between Dartmouth College and Princeton University, during which both teams struggled and Princeton ended up victorious, both schools published articles about it in their college newsletters.

But it seemed, based on the newsletters, as though the two schools had witnessed entirely different matches. Princeton students accused their rivals of being uncivilized, while Dartmouth students reported that both teams were to blame and that the game had been altogether fair.

Psychologists decided to look into this discrepancy and had students fill out questionnaires about the game. They concluded that the students had alternate versions of reality depending on their attitude and the school they supported.

Although all the students had watched the same game, not unlike the above difference between the perception of a bee and a human, they interpreted what they witnessed in entirely different ways.

Now, most of us know that what we see is not always the absolute truth. Yet, under certain circumstances, such as watching an important sports game, we often fail to remember this. In order to become less naive, we need to be aware of this – at least some of the time.

Our attitudes influence our behavior and vice versa.

Do you feel like a respected manager because you wear a suit to work or do you wear a suit to work because you feel like a respected manager? Actually both are true. When we have an attitude, we act in accordance with it, but we also form attitudes that stem from how we act.

It’s logical that, when we do a favor for someone, they’re likely to appreciate us more than before. But did you know that it also makes us like them more? This phenomenon is known as the Benjamin Franklin effect because Franklin once turned a rival into a friend by asking him to borrow a special book.

When one event follows another, we tend to think they belong together.

Say you ate a chicken sandwich a couple of hours ago and now you’re starting to feel sick. What do you think could be the reason? The sandwich, right?

Not so fast.

Knowing just one trait of another person will influence the way we appraise the rest of their character.

Would you agree that sometimes you’re a bit shallow and form an opinion about another person based on just one characteristic? If so, don’t worry – you’re not alone!

When a person displays a certain trait, it influences how we perceive their personality in general. This is called the Halo Effect.

We’re unaware of the reasons behind our thoughts and feelings.

Whether you’re in a good or bad mood, you probably think you understand why you feel that way. But, actually, most of the time you really don’t know. Sometimes the most obvious reason isn’t the real one.

By now we know that our brains always need a rational explanation for events, but we’re not aware of the true reasons behind our emotions, which often leads to situations where we’re misguided.

Counterarguments and negative comments influence your behavior more than positive ones.

Imagine you’re a huge fan of an author and when her new book comes out, it gets panned by critics. Do you think that that'd influence your feelings towards it?

When we hold strong views, we often dissect and refute arguments in order to confirm our beliefs.

We’re bad at assessing whether a group shares our opinions and norms or not.

It turns out that most college students don’t actually enjoy drinking alcohol. So why do colleges report problems with excessive drinking?

Because we tend to go along with what we perceive as the norm for those around us. Problem is, this norm is often an inaccurate perception of other people’s opinions.

Forming and maintaining groups has a massive impact on our behavior.

Within groups such as families, circles of friends and office teams, we feel we know everybody pretty well and this brings us a sense of comfort. But how does living in groups impact our behavior and thinking?

We establish groups in which we feel we’re right and those outside the group are wrong.

Our outfit choice influences who we are and what we do.

Are you a fashionista? Or do you consider clothes mere pieces of fabric that are basic daily necessities? However you feel about them, clothes influence our behavior and the impressions we make on others.

Clothes aren’t just a means of covering up our bodies – they communicate attitudes and ideas and over time have become symbols of character traits or behavior. This means that we often unconsciously make judgements about other people based on what they’re wearing.

Money can buy happiness – but only to a certain extent.

If someone offered you the choice of $140,000 a year but you could only sleep six hours every night or $80,000 a year and you could sleep eight hours every night, which would you choose? Chances are you’d take the first option.

But, in reality, there’s a limit to how much money can actually improve our lives.

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What is You are Now Less Dumb about?

You Are Now Less Dumb provides thought-provoking studies and examples on how our brains often misguide us. It also enlightens readers with tips on how to uncover these unfounded beliefs and find out what’s actually happening in and around us.

You are Now Less Dumb Review

You are Now Less Dumb is an enlightening read that explores the common cognitive biases and illusions that cloud our thinking. Here's why this book stands out:

It offers a fresh perspective on how our minds work, uncovering the fascinating ways we deceive ourselves.
With thought-provoking examples and research studies, it challenges our assumptions and encourages critical thinking.
The book's accessible writing style and engaging narratives keep readers captivated, ensuring it is never dull or monotonous.

Best quote from You are Now Less Dumb

Post hoc rationalization is the fairy godmother of all things inaccurate, non-scientific, mystical, mythological and superstitious.

—David McRaney

Who should read You are Now Less Dumb?

Anyone who wants to feel a little bit smarter
Anyone interested in how our minds play tricks on us
Anyone interested in psychology

About the Author

David McRaney is the author of the popular blog You Are Not So Smart, which became a best-selling book of the same name. McRaney has also worked as a reporter, editor, TV host and public speaker. McRaney lives in Mississippi with his wife.

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