You Are Not So Smart

Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself

By: David McRaney

Narrated by: Don Hagen

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

An entertaining illumination of the stupid beliefs that make us feel wise.

You believe you are a rational, logical being who sees the world as it really is, but journalist David McRaney is here to tell you that you're as deluded as the rest of us. But that's OK - delusions keep us sane. You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self-delusion. It's like a psychology class, with all the boring parts taken out, and with no homework.Based on the popular blog of the same name, You Are Not So Smart collects more than 46 of the lies we tell ourselves everyday, including:

• Dunbar's Number - Humans evolved to live in bands of roughly 150 individuals, the brain cannot handle more than that number. If you have more than 150 Facebook friends, they are surely not all real friends.
• Hindsight bias - When we learn something new, we reassure ourselves that we knew it all along.
• Confirmation bias - Our brains resist new ideas, instead paying attention only to findings that reinforce our preconceived notions.
• Brand loyalty - We reach for the same brand not because we trust its quality but because we want to reassure ourselves that we made a smart choice the last time we bought it.

©2011 David McRaney (P)2011 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"In an Idiocracy dominated by cable TV bobbleheads, government propagandists, and corporate spinmeisters, many of us know that mass ignorance is a huge problem. Now, thanks to David McRaney's mind-blowing book, we can finally see the scientific roots of that problem. Anybody still self-aware enough to wonder why society now worships willful stupidity should read this book." ( David Sirota, author of Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live In Now)

Read this to know yourself better

Would you consider the audio edition of You Are Not So Smart to be better than the print version?

Because I hate to read, or I'd most certainly have bought the book.

What did you like best about this story?

That it's the story of my mind.
How I think and why I think that way I do.
It's all self-recognition.
Beautiful, really.

What about Don Hagen’s performance did you like?

Well, I thought it was David speaking himself.
Natural. Like he wrote the book.
Articulate, expressive.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Have you ever got to know yourself?

Any additional comments?

In my excitement to rate, I rated 5 stars for 'story' as well. It's true to life. A life analysis.

Good concept, dry performance.

The subjects this book discussed are interesting. Even though the author dug so deep into researches some times, he rarely suggested solutions.
The reader is very serious and performed in a very dry and boring tone that caused me to zone out so often. But he has a calm deep voice which is important.

Good Introduction to Our Natural Foibles

I heard a lot of these stories before - especially on how our brain and senses deceive us, but it is a good first book for the not-yet-self-initiated on brain science.

A good introduction to skepticism

This book offers a good introduction to skepticism and logical fallacies without hardly ever using those labels. Each chapter is a welcome attack on the reader's ego, sneaking in the admonition that "you are not to smart" at every opportunity. At first I was sort of annoyed with this style, but by the end I started to anticipate and thereby enjoy each cheeky recitation of the book's mantra.

Some of the psychology addressed in the book is on the weaker side. For example, I doubt that replication would vindicate the finding that "experiences of physical warmth increase feelings of interpersonal warmth". But I can't fault the author for presenting the published literature as is. The reader should beware that there's a replication crisis in psychology and that many of these weaker effects may not even be real.

It's official, I'm an idiot

I think it's safe to say that I found myself park in my car, sitting with the door ajar, still listening to this book more than any other book I've listened to. The format is very simple and it's conveyed in such a way that laypeople like me can feel smart for understanding it's complexity. [cute play on words huh?]

It's an amazing book of self deprecation, of laughing at yourself as you drive because you do the exact same thing the book is describing, word for word and you did it just this morning and you thought you were so clever when you did it. The man who reads it does a superb job and is just as effective as hooking you as the book itself.

It's also a real and serious help if you at all interested in working on yourself in a way that isn't something touchy feely and an even better way to understand and gain empathy about all of us and why we do the stupid s**t we do.

You can listen to this book in the same way you watch "How do They Make That" documentaries on the Science Channel and get some great information out of it and/or as a book that can help you identify deeper thought issues you might have.

good one

Most of these things are, well, not to say rehashed, but somewhat of a collection of familiar stories. It's pop sociology/psychology, for sure - but I'm giving it four stars because it's well-written and organized, and, as collections go, it's fun and informative to read.

EXCELLENT BEDTIME BOOK

Would you consider the audio edition of You Are Not So Smart to be better than the print version?

~ I didn't know about the print version.

What other book might you compare You Are Not So Smart to and why?

~ You Are Not So Smart falls into the category of self development books that have snap in their method. It's good not to beat around the bush & just get to the point of who & what you need to self realize & self actualize to finally move on up

Have you listened to any of Don Hagen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

~ Not that I know about....but he examplarily held true to the whole concept of this book with his lisply reaffirming & stoically matter-of-factly bearing.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

~ The writer just about covered every niche & nuuky, whether imaginable or real, about how we like to excuse & self dilute ourselves, in 46 ways, for our actions & decisions so it seemingly looks like we won the sinking ship battle, after it sank. Don't let your ship sink in the first place!

Great narration, good presentation

The book presentation was great. It opened my eyes to how easily we dupe ourselves with everyday encounters. More than once I caught myself saying "Yes! I totally do that." Each chapter dives into a different 'effect' that is discussed in depth about how it works and the various research that had been done regarding it. I got the book during a daily deal but even at full price I would have been satisfied.

Your Brain is powerful, But...

This is another book I will have to read through again. Alot of cool information of ones abilities or lack there of accurately assessing common everyday events. The writing style, very straightforward, if not humorous at times. Perhaps a bit monotone. The more I learn of Psychology, Psychological aspects of human nature the more amazed I become. This is not a book for entertainment, like a mystery. It is an entertaining book nonetheless. If your looking for something different, a quick read, with lots of interesting examples th that t you can relate to, pick this one up.

Check your Ego at the Door

You might start reading this book thinking it will be another standard self help book, or psychology style book, that while interesting, doesn’t apply to you. But, you are not so smart. Take the time to listen and mentally check off the list of your own psychological errors and realize you are just as dumb as the rest of humanity. You will learn that you are wrong about most of your pre conceived notions of who you are, how well you know the world around you, and just how accurate your intuition is (it is not). A must read for all people.

No narrative to follow, simply chapter after chapter of quirks/misconceptions/ fallacies about yourself.