Audiobook9 hours
Feeling Smart
Written by Eyal Winter
Narrated by Sean Pratt
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Distinguished authors like Daniel Kahneman, Dan Ariely, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb have written much about the flaws in the human brain when it comes time to make a decision. Our intuitions and passions frequently fail us, leading to outcomes we don't want.
In this book, Eyal Winter, Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of Rationality at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wonders: why? If our emotions are so destructive and unreliable, why has evolution left us with them? The answer is that, even though they may not behave in a purely logical manner, our emotions frequently lead us to better, safer, more optimal outcomes.
In fact, as Winter discovers, there is often logic in emotion, and emotion in logic. For instance, many mutually beneficial commitments-such as marriage, or being a member of a team-are only possible when underscored by emotion rather than deliberate thought. The difference between pleasurable music and bad noise is mathematically precise; yet it is also the result of evolution. And our inherent overconfidence-the mathematically impossible fact that most people see themselves as above average-affords us advantages in competing for things we benefit from, like food and money and romance. Other subjects illuminated in the book include the rationality of seemingly illogical feelings like trust, anger, shame, ego, and generosity.
Already a bestseller in Israel, Feeling Smart brings together game theory, evolution, and behavioral science to produce a surprising and very persuasive defense of how we think, even when we don't.
In this book, Eyal Winter, Professor of Economics and Director of the Center for the Study of Rationality at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wonders: why? If our emotions are so destructive and unreliable, why has evolution left us with them? The answer is that, even though they may not behave in a purely logical manner, our emotions frequently lead us to better, safer, more optimal outcomes.
In fact, as Winter discovers, there is often logic in emotion, and emotion in logic. For instance, many mutually beneficial commitments-such as marriage, or being a member of a team-are only possible when underscored by emotion rather than deliberate thought. The difference between pleasurable music and bad noise is mathematically precise; yet it is also the result of evolution. And our inherent overconfidence-the mathematically impossible fact that most people see themselves as above average-affords us advantages in competing for things we benefit from, like food and money and romance. Other subjects illuminated in the book include the rationality of seemingly illogical feelings like trust, anger, shame, ego, and generosity.
Already a bestseller in Israel, Feeling Smart brings together game theory, evolution, and behavioral science to produce a surprising and very persuasive defense of how we think, even when we don't.
Related to Feeling Smart
Related audiobooks
Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Me, Myself, and Us: The Science of Personality and the Art of Well-Being Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRedirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Horse: Achieving Success Through the Pursuit of Fulfillment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before You Know It: The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wisest One in the Room: How You Can Benefit from Social Psychology's Most Powerful Insights Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Curious? Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Mind Is Flat: The Remarkable Shallowness of the Improvising Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How We Change: (And Ten Reasons Why We Don't) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking (Fully Revised Edition) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Life-Changing Science of Detecting Bullshit Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of E Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kill The Company: End the Status Quo, Start an Innovation Revolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Psychology For You
The Art of Seduction: An Indispensible Primer on the Ultimate Form of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The 48 Laws of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Win Friends and Influence People: Updated For the Next Generation of Leaders Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed For You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Win Friends And Influence People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sociopath: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Games People Play: The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Banish Your Inner Critic: Silence the Voice of Self-Doubt to Unleash Your Creativity and Do Your Best Work Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Garden Within: Where the War with Your Emotions Ends and Your Most Powerful Life Begins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Feeling Smart
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
1 rating0 reviews