Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious
Author(s): Gerd Gigerenzer
First published: 2007
Gut feelings are the result of unconscious mental processes—processes that apply rules of thumb that we’ve derived from our environment and prior experiences. But gut feelings are not things to run away from, they lead to good practical decisions, and underlie the moral choices that make our society function.
Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart
Author(s): Gerd Gigerenzer
First published: 2000
Fast and frugal heuristics–simple rules for making decisions when time is pressing and deep thought an unaffordable luxury.
Risk Savvy: How to Make Good Decisions
Author(s): Gerd Gigerenzer
First published: 2007
Anyone can learn to make better decisions for their health, finances, family, and business without needing to consult an expert or a supercomputer, and Gigerenzer shows us how.
How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking
Author(s): Jordan Ellenberg
First published: 2014
Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic.
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don’t
Author(s): Nate Silver
First published: 2012
How can we distinguish a true signal from a universe of noisy data?
The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect
Author(s): Judea Pearl, Dana Mackenzie
First published: 2018
A Turing Award-winning computer scientist and statistician shows how understanding causality has revolutionized science and will revolutionize artificial intelligence
Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction
Author(s): Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner
First published: 2015
As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed in a landmark 2005 study, even experts’ predictions are only slightly better than chance. However, an important and underreported conclusion of that study was that some experts do have real foresight, and Tetlock has spent the past decade trying to figure out why. What makes some people so good? And can this talent be taught?
Thinking: The New Science of Decision-Making, Problem-Solving, and Prediction
Author(s): John Brockman (Editor)
First published: 2013
Original ideas by today’s leading psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers who are radically expanding our understanding of human thought.
Think Better: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking
Author(s): Tim Hurson
First published: 2007
How you can start with an intractable technical problem, an unmet consumer need, or a gaping chasm in your business strategy and, by following a clearly defined, practical thinking process, arrive at a robust, innovative solution.
Author(s): Reid Hastie, Robyn M. Dawes
First published: 1988
Renowned authors Hastie and Dawes compare the basic principles of rationality with actual behavior in making decisions.
Author(s): Jonathan Baron
First published: 1988
How should we think? What, if anything, keeps us from thinking that way? How can we improve our thinking and decision making?
Author(s):Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths
First published: 2016
A fascinating exploration of how insights from computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives, helping to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind
Author(s): Sheena Iyengar
First published: 2010
Whether mundane or life-altering, these choices define us and shape our lives. Sheena Iyengar asks the difficult questions about how and why we choose: Is the desire for choice innate or bound by culture? Why do we sometimes choose against our best interests? How much control do we really have over what we choose?
Author(s):Barry Schwartz
First published: 2004
A social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret.
Author(s): Jonah Lehrer
First published: 2009
Our best decisions are a finely tuned blend of both feeling and reason—and the precise mix depends on the situation.
Author(s): Gary Klein
First published: 1998
Gary Klein is one of the developers of the naturalistic decision making approach, which views people as inherently skilled and experienced. It documents human strengths and capabilities that so far have been downplayed or ignored.
Author(s): Eliezer Yudkowsky
First published: 2015
Eliezer Yudkowsky explains the science underlying human irrationality with a mix of fables, argumentative essays, and personal vignettes.
Author(s): Daniel H. Pink
First published: 2004
The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic “right-brain” thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn’t.
Author(s): John S. Hammond, Howard Raiffa, Ralph L. Keeney
First published: 1998
Where should I live? Is it time to switch careers? What is the best course of action for me?
Author(s): Annie Duke
First published: 2020
Through interactive exercises and engaging thought experiments, this workbook helps you analyze key decisions you’ve made in the past and troubleshoot those you’re making in the future. Whether you’re picking investments, evaluating a job offer, or trying to figure out your romantic life, How to Decide is the key to happier outcomes and fewer regrets.
- Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts
Author(s): Annie Duke
First published: 2020
By shifting your thinking from a need for certainty to a goal of accurately assessing what you know and what you don’t, you’ll be less vulnerable to reactive emotions, knee-jerk biases, and destructive habits in your decision making.
Author(s): Daniel Todd Gilbert
First Published: 2006
Gilbert reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there.
Author(s): Dan Ariely
First Published: 2010
Ariely uses data from his own original and entertaining experiments to draw arresting conclusions about how and why we behave the way we do.
Hi Farah, thank you for putting together this wonderful website. A couple of suggestions to add to your reading list – Annie Duke “How to Decide” and “Thinking in Bets”. Thanks Taz
You’re welcome, and thank you for the suggestions!