Thinking

Talking about the books that I keep, my recent leisure reading was The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli.

The author used to work in the financial sector, but this book is about practical psychology. It summaries 99 common errors in logics and decision making. The chapters are short and easy to follow. In fact, if you have no background knowledge in this area, this small paperback could well serve as a comprehensive guide to logical thinking.

You may ask: How do I compare this book to Thinking, Fast and Slow?

For visitors with some medical background, I would put it like this: Kahneman's book is a narrative review of (mostly) his own work with a wealth of the first-hand experience, while Dobelli is a meticulous student who does a systemic review of the literature. The topic was stunning when I first read it from Kahneman, and was impressed but much less shocked by the time I encountered Dobelli.

In the very words of Dobelli himself, this is the primacy effect.