Thinking, Fast and Slow

By: Daniel Kahneman

Narrated by: Patrick Egan

Length: 20 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The guru to the gurus at last shares his knowledge with the rest of us. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman's seminal studies in behavioral psychology, behavioral economics, and happiness studies have influenced numerous other authors, including Steven Pinker and Malcolm Gladwell. In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman at last offers his own, first book for the general public. It is a lucid and enlightening summary of his life's work. It will change the way you think about thinking.

Two systems drive the way we think and make choices, Kahneman explains: System One is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System Two is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Examining how both systems function within the mind, Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities as well as the biases of fast thinking and the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and our choices. Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, he shows where we can trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking, contrasting the two-system view of the mind with the standard model of the rational economic agent.

Kahneman's singularly influential work has transformed cognitive psychology and launched the new fields of behavioral economics and happiness studies. In this path-breaking book, Kahneman shows how the mind works, and offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and personal lives - and how we can guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2011 Daniel Kahneman (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A tour de force... Kahneman’s book is a must read for anyone interested in either human behavior or investing. He clearly shows that while we like to think of ourselves as rational in our decision making, the truth is we are subject to many biases. At least being aware of them will give you a better chance of avoiding them, or at least making fewer of them.” (Larry Swedroe, CBS News)

“A major intellectual event... The work of Kahneman and Tversky was a crucial pivot point in the way we see ourselves.” (David Brooks, The New York Times)

“[Thinking, Fast and Slow] is wonderful, of course. To anyone with the slightest interest in the workings of his own mind, it is so rich and fascinating that any summary would seem absurd.” (Michael Lewis, Vanity Fair)

How to hack a brain - tips from a seasoned hacker

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book provides some great insights into how our minds work, and when you analyze your own, you will soon realize that yours is also being hacked on a daily basis without you even being aware of it.
Being an IT security expert, it is difficult to not draw parallels to that universe when reading this book, realizing how our minds are being exploited on a daily basis without us even noticing.
Some of the topics and examples are fairly well known and the reader have most likely heard about or experienced them before, but here you get a good explaination for them and how much of it fit together. Those of you who are facinated by skilled mentalists like Derren Brown will gain some insights to some of their

What did you like best about this story?

The easy-to-grasp explainations and the practical examples demonstrating how these traits apply also to the readers mind.

What about Patrick Egan’s performance did you like?

Very good reading voice and overall performance, perfect fit with the right level of authority and credibility.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me wonder where i can get an antivirus for my brain.

Any additional comments?

Mandatory reading for all wanna be mind hackers.

Heavy concepts

overall good and interesting,. be willing to give most of your attention at all times when listening or you will miss the key points.

Superb!

This book is filled with insights. Kahneman, in addition to being brilliant, is kind and generous in his efforts to generate dialogue.

Too long and dry

Overextended and boring. Author shares too many stories of his personal life and is not in a hurry to make his point. There are some thought evoking ideas here and there, but it takes too damn long for the author to get to the point.

Observing my decisions from the awareness this book affords makes for better decisions

The content is deep and at first felt it was over my head, having a degree in social sciences versus economics. I stuck with it and glad I did. Knowing the difference between System 1 and 2 is critical to making sound and rational decisions. It’s helped me, considerably so. (Pun intended)

Insightful and a must read for everyone

One of the most brilliant discoveries of biases in one place. Takes time to digest but worth it. Lessons should be made of this and fed to school textbooks

Very educational and worth the listen

Best followed if you have the text to follow along with as it references the I the book holds very frequently.

Insightful

I recommend listening at slightly over 1.0x because the reader felt slightly slower than I would prefer.

Prepare to identify and understand your own systems 1 and 2. There's a lot of information on offer, and the experimental evidence to back it up.

Enlightening

The book covers some thing personal, the way we think and helps deconstruct that process and it's potential pit falls. the narrator is excellent. I would strongly suggest it to the introspective.

Interesting and boring at the same time

This is a summary of the work of many researchers and fields. What makes the book interesting is really entertaining and surprising research topics.
I'm afraid this is not good as a book. What makes it boring is the narration and really slow rhythm. This is not just the narrators fault but also the writing style of Daniel Kahneman, which is quite monotonous and unsurprising. With this I mean: go read a proper novel and get back to this book, and see for yourself.
I agree with the comparison of "what your grandmother would have said". Many of the behavioral traits that transcend are very much in line with what we know about people. Don't get complacent though: there is a world of difference from observing it to really studying it. This book is about science.