What are some recommended books on human irrationality?

[Demystifier]

Perhaps psychology is not exactly a "science" in a STEM sense, but understanding human irrationality is these days important more than ever before. To beat the pandemic or the climate changes, we have to cope not only with medical and environment issues, but also with human irrationality. Some excellent books on human irrationality I am aware of are
D. Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
R. Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly
D. Ariely, Predictably Irrational

Do you know some other good books of that kind?

 

[Frabjous]

While not quite in the vein of your books (more of a leadership book):
Emotional Intelligence by Goleman

I like Kahneman.

A long time ago I read the line:
We are born rationalizing animals. The goal is to become rational ones.

 

[Demystifier]

Emotional Intelligence by Goleman

Yes, that one is great too.

 

[Arjan82]

Or Irrationality by Stuart Sutherland

 

[ipsky]

Carlo Cipolla's The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (il Mulino, 2011) comes to mind. It is an economist's perspective from the 1970s. You may be aware of the plenty in philosophy which discuss human nature's virtues and vices?

 

[Demystifier]

Carlo Cipolla's The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity (il Mulino, 2011) comes to mind. It is an economist's perspective from the 1970s. You may be aware of the plenty in philosophy which discuss human nature's virtues and vices?

I looked at it, looks like a joke book, somewhat like the Murphy's laws.

 

[Demystifier]

Or Irrationality by Stuart Sutherland

Started reading it, thanks!

 

[ipsky]

I looked at it, looks like a joke book, somewhat like the Murphy's laws.

It may appear so, but its salient points are similar to Kahneman and Tversky's conclusions.

 

[julian]

Have you heard of:

David McRaney, "You are not so smart" is an informative and entertaining book based on research - it is a list of the ways people are irrational.

And his follow-up book "You can beat your brain"

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

Well no creature is pure rational-logical being...
Existence isn't rational affair, and to survive one needs to be more irrational than rational...

 

[MathematicalPhysicist]

You better know how to swim, which I don't...

 

[kith]

The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef

 

[valenumr]

Sorry, I can't resist: https://www.bible.com/

 

[kith]

D. Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

There has been some critique of this book following the replication crisis in social psychology. I'm not sure if this isn't a bit overstated (the authors don't apply their analysis to other books) but Kahneman himself has acknowledged some problems at least for his chapter on priming.

 

[hutchphd]

Do you know some other good books of that kind?

Perhaps not exactly within the purview but I am a very big proponent of Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World". Seems to me exactly on point.

 

[econreader]

I recommend Ken Binmore's Rational Decisions. Although it doesn't discuss irrationality that much, it's a very useful and accessible overview.

There has been some critique of this book following the replication crisis in social psychology. I'm not sure if this isn't a bit overstated (the authors don't apply their analysis to other books) but Kahneman himself has acknowledged some problems at least for his chapter on priming.

There is so much that Kahneman and Tversky did and so much of it being actively used in current research that I wouldn't dismiss Kahneman's (pop-science) account of his work just because of a blog post. (Of course, there can be some reasonable points there, too).

 

[valenumr]

Sorry, I can't resist: https://www.bible.com/

I feel a bit bad for posting that. I'm not really anti-religion. Kind of agnostic, actually. But a lot of terrible things have happened due to "isms". On the other hand, modern science has led to some pretty terrible things.

 

[kith]

There is so much that Kahneman and Tversky did and so much of it being actively used in current research that I wouldn't dismiss Kahneman's (pop-science) account of his work just because of a blog post. (Of course, there can be some reasonable points there, too).

Don't get me wrong, I still think it's a good book. The question for me is how much of the narrative can be taken at face value given that Kahneman has been wrong about priming. The blog post also doesn't argue for dismissing his account completely but for taking it "as a subjective account by an eminent psychologists [sic], rather than an objective summary of scientific evidence." Given that Kahneman addresses a broad audience I'm willing to accept some streamlining. But in any case, I want to evaluate the book on its own merits instead of only considering the impact of his research.

I take issue with your "just because of a blog post" part. If I imagine the starting point to be a familiarity with the scientific literature which is based on Kahneman's (scientific, not pop-sci) work and nothing else, your appeal to scientific authority might seem sensible. But knowing that the topic of the blog post is the replication crisis in the social sciences which has surfaced only after Kahneman wrote his book, I find it strange to emphasize the fact that the source is a blog post instead of addressing the impact of the replication crisis on the book.

 

[hutchphd]

I feel a bit bad for posting that. I'm not really anti-religion. Kind of agnostic, actually. But a lot of terrible things have happened due to "isms". On the other hand, modern science has led to some pretty terrible things.

I feel compelled to once again quote Steven Weinberg.

"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."

Weinberg was awarded the premiere "Emperor Has No Clothes Award" in 1999 after making this widely reprinted remark about religion at a conference..

/

 

[wrobel]

Books on human irrationality​

i think any textbook on global history suits

 

[Frimus]

Sorry, I can't resist: https://www.bible.com/

"To say the Bible was written by men and may contain inaccuracies completely contradicts the word of the Bible." [from 100 Greatest Quotes from fundamentalist christians]

 

[valenumr]

"To say the Bible was written by men and may contain inaccuracies completely contradicts the word of the Bible." [from 100 Greatest Quotes from fundamentalist christians]

Circular arguments are circular.

 

[hutchphd]

But irrefutable !

 

[jbunniii]

Perhaps also of interest: Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay. A classic originally published in 1841, it starts with three examples of mass financial mania: the Mississippi Scheme, the South Sea Bubble, and the Dutch Tulip Mania. Then moves on to alchemists, fortune tellers, witch hunters, etc.

 

[Demystifier]

"To say the Bible was written by men and may contain inaccuracies completely contradicts the word of the Bible." [from 100 Greatest Quotes from fundamentalist christians]

This quote completely contradicts the word of this quote.

 

[Nugatory]

Perhaps also of interest: Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay. A classic originally published in 1841, it starts with three examples of mass financial mania: the Mississippi Scheme, the South Sea Bubble, and the Dutch Tulip Mania. Then moves on to alchemists, fortune tellers, witch hunters, etc.

You beat me to it - good call!

 

[Nugatory]

If we're willing to consider fiction, Shakespeare has covered this ground more thoroughly than anyone else before or after, at least in the English-speaking world.

 

[Moes]

"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."

To be truthful, I don’t find this statement to be so true. It can work both ways.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

If we're willing to consider fiction, Shakespeare has covered this ground more thoroughly than anyone else before or after, at least in the English-speaking world.

This cannot be, by no assay of reason, ‘Tis a pageant, to keep us in false gaze.

 

[Hall]

Perhaps psychology is not exactly a "science" in a STEM sense, but understanding human irrationality is these days important more than ever before. To beat the pandemic or the climate changes, we have to cope not only with medical and environment issues, but also with human irrationality. Some excellent books on human irrationality I am aware of are
D. Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
R. Dobelli, The Art of Thinking Clearly
D. Ariely, Predictably Irrational

Do you know some other good books of that kind?

How about The Karamazov Brothers? (I'm sorry, I think The Karamazov Brothers is the book where humans act as rationally as never before!)

 

[bob012345]

Sorry, I can't resist: https://www.bible.com/

As I understand it, from its own perspective the Bible comments a lot on human irrationality especially in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Of course the Bible view is unbelief itself is irrational 'The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”'. Psalm 14:1.