The Invisible Gorilla

And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us

By: Christopher Chabris, Daniel Simons

Narrated by: Dan Woren

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Reading this book will make you less sure of yourself - and that's a good thing. In The Invisible Gorilla, Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, creators of one of psychology's most famous experiments, use remarkable stories and counterintuitive scientific findings to demonstrate an important truth: Our minds don't work the way we think they do. We think we see ourselves and the world as they really are, but we're actually missing a whole lot.

Chabris and Simons combine the work of other researchers with their own findings on attention, perception, memory, and reasoning to reveal how faulty intuitions often get us into trouble. In the process, they explain:

• Why a company would spend billions to launch a product that its own analysts know will fail
• How a police officer could run right past a brutal assault without seeing it
• Why award-winning movies are full of editing mistakes
• What criminals have in common with chess masters
• Why measles and other childhood diseases are making a comeback
• Why money managers could learn a lot from weather forecasters

Again and again, we think we experience and understand the world as it is, but our thoughts are beset by everyday illusions. We write traffic laws and build criminal cases on the assumption that people will notice when something unusual happens right in front of them. We’re sure we know where we were on 9/11, falsely believing that vivid memories are seared into our minds with perfect fidelity. And as a society, we spend billions on devices to train our brains because we’re continually tempted by the lure of quick fixes and effortless self-improvement.

The Invisible Gorilla reveals the myriad ways that our intuitions can deceive us, but its much more than a catalog of human failings. Chabris and Simons explain why we succumb to these everyday illusions and what we can do to inoculate ourselves against their effects. Ultimately, the book provides a kind of x-ray vision into our own minds, making it possible to pierce the veil of illusions that clouds our thoughts and to think clearly for perhaps the first time.

©2010 Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"From courtrooms to bedrooms to boardrooms, this fascinating book shows how psychological illusions bedevil every aspect of our public and private lives. An owner's manual for the human mind!" (Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and New York Times best-selling author of Stumbling Upon Happiness)

Informative & important

This is the sort of book that more people need to read and understand. There are countless limitations on our brains and cognition. Our intuition is not always the cure all for any one situation. Sometimes slow analytical thinking is called for, and sometimes intuition is helpful. What I enjoyed most about this book was that it presents a very counterintuitive message. Well worth reading or listening to.

easy/fun read, lots of interesting research

the title is right on the money -- the book is about how human intuitions can be deceiving. superbly written, citing lots and lots of extremely interesting research. a really fun read.

Fascinating

It's amazing how our minds deceive us! Other than being a bit repetitive at times, this was a great book. It generated good discussion at our book club. The narration lacked some expression, but it was ok since this is nonfiction. Great listen on my commute.

The trees may be full of monkeys - don't believe what you think you see

An interesting look at 6 illusions that cause humans to make poor decisions. Excellent use of research examples, yet as the reader learns more regarding everyday illusions of thought questioning of the assumptions by the authors becomes problematic.

The data within this book can be utilized to influence others through their natural biases.

Good book about our knowledge!

The illusions presented were well articulated and this is the major strength of the book. Examples are rich. It could have been shorter.

Every leader MUST read this, three times or more

I've encountered far too many leaders that use there intuition and memory as their primary decision making factor. This book challenges that with clear, fact-based analysis.

An interesting entry into how gut feelings aren’t everything…

Definitely give this a listen if you are an over thinker.
The authors do discuss everyday beliefs about success,confidence and how our gut feelings aren’t always on point.

Debunking Popular Thinking with Research

There are many ways popular thinking deceives us about such things as always going with your gut in important decisions or relying on the person who exudes the most confidence. The book deals with six illusions in common thinking, debunking popular thought with peer reviewed psychological research.

Not so much...

Unfortunately, I didn't think this book lived up to the expectations created in my mind when I read the other reviews.
The book seemed to drag on after it was about 80% complete.
There are other books such as "Sway," "Brainrules," and "How We Decide" that were much more informative as well as very interesting.

Nothing new, has a few interesting acecdotes

I was expecting something far more "usuable" as a tool of instruction. Instead it simply speaks and excessive lenght about a few interesting academic ideas. I think the goal was to make some money for the author's and the publisher, but taking a 45 minute academic lecture and expand it to something more marketable.

There are a few interesting discussions, but about 60% is pure repetition and pointless commentary.