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The Art of Thinking Clearly
by
In engaging prose and with practical examples and anecdotes, an eye-opening look at human reasoning and essential reading for anyone with important decisions to make.
Have you ever:
• Invested time in something that, with hindsight, just wasn't worth it?
• Overpayed in an Ebay auction?
• Continued doing something you knew was bad for you?
• Sold stocks too late, or too early?
• ...more
Have you ever:
• Invested time in something that, with hindsight, just wasn't worth it?
• Overpayed in an Ebay auction?
• Continued doing something you knew was bad for you?
• Sold stocks too late, or too early?
• ...more
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Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
May 14th 2013
by Harper
(first published 2011)
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Mani Kandan
simple buy and read it.
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If you had lots of time (and interest in becoming aware of your cognitive biases), you should read Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, everything by Steven Pinker, Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb, and others. But since not everyone has the time and interest, instead read The Art of Thinking Clearly. This book has 99 short chapters (all of them are almost exactly 2.5 pages) that cover the major hiccups in our thinking process. A
...more

Nice packaging and design may give this book an aura of credibility. They certainly worked; I skimmed a few pages of it and bought it, thinking I would learn important lessons that I wouldn't get from other books about critical thinking. Alas, that won't be the case since the book reads like bull in a china shop; Dobelli massacres the art of critical thinking and puts in its place a Frankenstein doppelganger called cynicism and uncritical use of anecdotes.
Let's take for example: Lesson# 19 "The ...more
Let's take for example: Lesson# 19 "The ...more

My learning from the book:
(1) Never underestimate the hard work and lower probability of success, just because we are shown more successful people than many more actual failures
(2) Confirmation bias is the mother of all misconceptions. It is a tendency to interpret new information so that it becomes compatible with our existing theories. Warren Buffet has seen people losing money with this because they ignore facts which contradict the theory in the mind of the investor. Dis confirming evidence ...more
(1) Never underestimate the hard work and lower probability of success, just because we are shown more successful people than many more actual failures
(2) Confirmation bias is the mother of all misconceptions. It is a tendency to interpret new information so that it becomes compatible with our existing theories. Warren Buffet has seen people losing money with this because they ignore facts which contradict the theory in the mind of the investor. Dis confirming evidence ...more

Plagarism.
It can be useful as a starting point for a list of cognitive biases. However, it is mere plagarism of other texts.
Dobelli uses examples taken directly from other sources, changes the names of characters and wording slightly, and uses them as if they were his own. Why not just quote from the original text?
Also, some of his examples are so diluted and simplified that they are actually WRONG. One of the most glaring ones is his water treatment example for "Neglect of Probability". A: redu ...more
It can be useful as a starting point for a list of cognitive biases. However, it is mere plagarism of other texts.
Dobelli uses examples taken directly from other sources, changes the names of characters and wording slightly, and uses them as if they were his own. Why not just quote from the original text?
Also, some of his examples are so diluted and simplified that they are actually WRONG. One of the most glaring ones is his water treatment example for "Neglect of Probability". A: redu ...more

Now I understood why it has become so popular. Frankly, the author has done a great job here by surveying the wide field of thinking errors. Even though some of the information is already known, there are still some issues highlighted that are very important to us that we avoid or try not to perceive most of the time. I think there is a lot to learn from this book. I will definitely read it a second time in a few months.
"𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫, 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭 ...more
"𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫, 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐭 ...more

This book is the dead tree equivalent of a BuzzFeed post. Its title could be “I Got 99 Cognitive Biases But a Psychology Degree Ain’t One.” Or maybe not.
Rolf Dobelli enumerates 99 thinking errors, or cognitive biases, in The Art of Thinking Clearly, dispensing as he does tips for leading a more rational, less error-prone life. Anyone who has done even the least amount of reading in this subject will recognize many of the cognitive biases that Dobelli describes here. Unlike most popular cognitive ...more
Rolf Dobelli enumerates 99 thinking errors, or cognitive biases, in The Art of Thinking Clearly, dispensing as he does tips for leading a more rational, less error-prone life. Anyone who has done even the least amount of reading in this subject will recognize many of the cognitive biases that Dobelli describes here. Unlike most popular cognitive ...more

If you're looking for a book to help you get ahead, or improve you as a human being, don't look here; but if like me, you want to see how a book of such reputation with no scientific ground, or even much common sense, can be so popular among some people, get this book and start reading.
(I tried not to include any spoilers, so read with peace of mind if you have it in your to-read list.)
The fact that this is a terrible book became known to me very early in the book, however I decided to keep read ...more
(I tried not to include any spoilers, so read with peace of mind if you have it in your to-read list.)
The fact that this is a terrible book became known to me very early in the book, however I decided to keep read ...more

I bought this book just because I saw Taleb eulogizing the book right on the book cover and so I fell for it. If you have read The Black Swan, The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb then I would strongly re-commend do NOT go for the book but if you haven’t dipped into the ocean of Taleb’s thoughts then this book is for you. More or less, The Art of Thinking Clearly harps on the same line of thoughts, as is the case with Black Swan. Each chapter in the former case is like bu
...more

This book is a list of 99 common thinking errors and cognitive biases. Some of these you've probably heard many times before, but many will likely be new. I found it a quick, fun, interesting read, but it has 3 major flaws:
1. Because it's just a list of 99 disconnected items, with no common "story" to tie them all together, you will forget the vast majority of it shortly after finishing the book.
2. The book will tell you about the thinking errors, but not the solutions. Granted, there is value ...more
1. Because it's just a list of 99 disconnected items, with no common "story" to tie them all together, you will forget the vast majority of it shortly after finishing the book.
2. The book will tell you about the thinking errors, but not the solutions. Granted, there is value ...more

FYI: I won this book from goodreads Giveaways, but that in no way influenced my review.
The Art of Thinking Clearly presents a bunch of anecdotal evidence to support commonly known fallacies in logical thinking. You know that hindsight is 20/20, we cling to our narratives, and think we'll be like the models in makeup ads if only we buy their product, plus a bunch of other semi-obvious ways in which we end up making bad decisions (or poorly rationalized flukes that still turn out okay). This book ...more
The Art of Thinking Clearly presents a bunch of anecdotal evidence to support commonly known fallacies in logical thinking. You know that hindsight is 20/20, we cling to our narratives, and think we'll be like the models in makeup ads if only we buy their product, plus a bunch of other semi-obvious ways in which we end up making bad decisions (or poorly rationalized flukes that still turn out okay). This book ...more

It's a PLAGIARIZED anthology of cognitive errors. The biases it presents are, mostly, well summarized from a series of books from Taleb, Ariely, Kahneman and others(which, as shown by Taleb in the link, Dobelli used without permission). The author made no research on any of the items, but merely put forward the work of others. He does say so in the beginning, that his book comprises of research from other people, but it doesn't absolve him of copying.
Other than that, I consider it a good mix of ...more
Other than that, I consider it a good mix of ...more

Absolutely In love with this books, I fulfils its title. A good way of reading it would be highlighting the clearest example in each fallacy in addition to the conclusion. I would say at the end sit down with a pen and paper and try to apply each to your life to consolidate the learning, make a list of all and in important decisions make sure they are error free.
A passage from the epilogue
"Even highly intelligent people fall to the same cognitive traps. Likewise, errors are not randomly distri ...more
A passage from the epilogue
"Even highly intelligent people fall to the same cognitive traps. Likewise, errors are not randomly distri ...more

Entrepreneurs profit from understanding cognitive biases in two ways: first, you’ll make rational decisions; second, you’ll be an effective marketer.
The Art of Thinking Clearly exposes 99 cognitive biases – simple errors all of us make in our everyday thinking – and shows us how to become rational thinkers.
Author Rolf Dobelli brings a fresh perspective because of his unique skill-set. He’s a Swiss writer, novelist and entrepreneur. And he’s founder of an invitation-only society of the most disti ...more
The Art of Thinking Clearly exposes 99 cognitive biases – simple errors all of us make in our everyday thinking – and shows us how to become rational thinkers.
Author Rolf Dobelli brings a fresh perspective because of his unique skill-set. He’s a Swiss writer, novelist and entrepreneur. And he’s founder of an invitation-only society of the most disti ...more

Very popular book on psychology. In Bangladesh this book is sold like cake. The essence of Ralph Dobley's book is logic. Nothing in the world is beyond logic. Any decision or work of yours and mine can be explained with logic. However, the author has shown that we always live in different kinds of illusions. Even the logical explanation of our own wrong-doings makes our minds stand still. Ralph Dobley has proved the futility of those logic.
Those who examine everything on the basis of reasoning ...more
Those who examine everything on the basis of reasoning ...more

Enjoyed somewhat, but ultimately couldn't finish. What otherwise is an entertaining collection of findings from social psychology and other thinking and human behavior focused disciplines is ruined by the author's strange compulsion to "explain" the biases he identifies with random and entirely unconvincing musings about evolutionary origins. It's not enough to explain that we overweight the potential for loss over the potential for gain, which is interesting. Dobelli is compelled to clarify tha
...more

Nice book, extremely readable because of the 52 three page-chapters. The fallacies are very recognizable, often open doors, though Dobelli uses a lot of expensive words (action bias, endowment bias etc). All in all a beautifull collection of the dubious motives behind human actions.
But...Dobelli very often refers to practices in the world of management and financial investments; that says something about the public Dobelli is writing for. Most of the behaviour he describes is to a high degree in ...more
But...Dobelli very often refers to practices in the world of management and financial investments; that says something about the public Dobelli is writing for. Most of the behaviour he describes is to a high degree in ...more

A very useful overview of the biases and fallacies that impede clear thinking with emphasis on acquiring a variety of mental models.

The book is a collection of small chapters, each focusing psychological wrongdoings.
I loved a few chapters while others felt vague. Overall I loved it, mostly because author gave sufficient psychological experiment results to support his arguments. The author also made sure to give due credit to books and people who're ideas he used.
A lot of people have said in the reviews that this book is just a miniature of "thinking slow & fast".
Well, I am yet to read it, so can't comment on it.
You can find ...more
I loved a few chapters while others felt vague. Overall I loved it, mostly because author gave sufficient psychological experiment results to support his arguments. The author also made sure to give due credit to books and people who're ideas he used.
A lot of people have said in the reviews that this book is just a miniature of "thinking slow & fast".
Well, I am yet to read it, so can't comment on it.
You can find ...more

Nov 25, 2015
Verylazydaisy
marked it as dnf
I DNFed it at 25%. Not worth finishing.

Banal. Nothing a psychology freshman wouldn't learn in his first week.
...more

Jun 12, 2022
S.Ach
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
thinking,
non-fiction
Let me add the 100th thinking fallacy.
At around 35-40th thinking fallacy described in the book, you would wonder, if the one that you are currently reading is any different from one of the previous ones. But, you read on, because, the example is interesting and you do not belong to the fastidious puritan club.
At around 55-60th chapter, you are sure now, that the author is just twisting the examples to make it appear different from the previous ones, but those are really the derivatives of the ...more
At around 35-40th thinking fallacy described in the book, you would wonder, if the one that you are currently reading is any different from one of the previous ones. But, you read on, because, the example is interesting and you do not belong to the fastidious puritan club.
At around 55-60th chapter, you are sure now, that the author is just twisting the examples to make it appear different from the previous ones, but those are really the derivatives of the ...more

If you want to understand how your brain plays tricks on you, then this book holds the key! 99 different bias' for you to make your way through.
Does what it says in the tin. ...more
Does what it says in the tin. ...more

Lots of bad comments have been made, mostly regarding the book's originality. Now name me three things that r completely authentic top of ur mind. R they really?
Back to this phenomenal piece, love the way how words of wisdom concretely laid out in 99 chapters. Thus personally no doubt a highly recommended one or "a fireworks show of insights into how our minds work" (Iris Bohnet, Harvard Kennedy School)
"We think like lawyers, crafting the best possible justification for a predetermined conclusio ...more
Back to this phenomenal piece, love the way how words of wisdom concretely laid out in 99 chapters. Thus personally no doubt a highly recommended one or "a fireworks show of insights into how our minds work" (Iris Bohnet, Harvard Kennedy School)
"We think like lawyers, crafting the best possible justification for a predetermined conclusio ...more

The Art of Thinking Clearly has great insight in every day thinking errors and how we can avoid them (I mean that is what the book is about lol) I read it over a span of several months, every few days a chapter, and while reading I kept thinking "yes! exactly, this is fantastic I have to adjust my thinking process and remember this" but now that I have finished it I can barely remember anything I have read :D It's sad really. But nonetheless a really interesting read. Maybe it is a good idea to
...more

Mar 16, 2018
Mario the lone bookwolf (is on a longer vacation)
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
0-humanities
Good, sometimes too unilaterally formulated a summary of known research results
Please note that I put the original German text at the end of this review. Just if you might be interested.
Where other authors could already put together a whole book with a handful of the topics covered, along with detailed consideration of each aspect, the essentials are distilled out briefly and succinctly on three pages each. Moreover, explain the essence of various psychological phenomena related to human evoluti ...more
Please note that I put the original German text at the end of this review. Just if you might be interested.
Where other authors could already put together a whole book with a handful of the topics covered, along with detailed consideration of each aspect, the essentials are distilled out briefly and succinctly on three pages each. Moreover, explain the essence of various psychological phenomena related to human evoluti ...more

Long short story, the book is about cognitive errors we make and got to the point where we don't realize they're 'mistakes' but most of what he mentions is already discussed, so nothing life changing. What I loved about this book is how the author managed to make it feel like we're sitting together and he's 'philosophizing' everything around us. It gets unnecessarily long at some points but it's fun, I guess. I loved how he mentioned that entrepreneurs and successful business leaders write books
...more

Left me a tad disappointed. Not that the knowledge in there is wrong or displayed arrogantly, but it's superficial and rather gimmicky. Nothing in this book is going to change the way you're thinking about anything. In fact, most people I believe are aware of cognitive dissonances, but are just defeated by them.
It was a pleasant read overall, but it would've benefited from having less chapters and going more in depth about the art of thinking about certain issues the proper way. In fact, this bo ...more
It was a pleasant read overall, but it would've benefited from having less chapters and going more in depth about the art of thinking about certain issues the proper way. In fact, this bo ...more
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Rolf Dobelli is a Swiss author and businessman. He began his writing career as a novelist in 2002, but he is best known internationally for his bestselling non-fiction The Art of Thinking Clearly (2011, English 2013), for which The Times has called him "the self-help guru the Germans love".
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“Whether we like it or not, we are puppets of our emotions. We make complex decisions by consulting our feelings, not our thoughts. Against our best intentions, we substitute the question, “What do I think about this?” with “How do I feel about this?” So, smile! Your future depends on it.”
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