Thinking, Fast but mostly Slow (if you’re me)

For an estimated 10 hour read, I’m very embarrassed to admit that I have been reading Thinking, Fast and Slow since July, 2020. The two main characters of the story are the two systems of thinking, System 1 (fast) and System 2 (slow). I think it is safe to say that I have definitely forgotten the specifics discussed within the first half of the book. Without further ado, I will pick my battle but lose the war.

First of all, although Kahneman’s writing is well constructed for the layperson, the depth of technicality consistently managed to put me to sleep. The book contains a myriad of examples of studies, however, this approach has meant that not a single experiment discussed possesses a salience of its own. If you hope to learn anything that can be applied to your day-to-day life, don’t. The flood of examples makes it hard for any cues to be retained in the audience’s memory and all build towards the error-prone nature of humankind. Ultimately, if you don’t have ten spare hours to waste this book could be summarised into a tl;dr that would be approximately two sentences long.

I thought the book started off strong and was gripping… until it wasn’t. Thinking, Fast and Slow provides (way too deep) insight beyond psychology and into behavioural economics. A lot of the concepts discussed within the book seemed dated and repetitive. However, it is important to remember that Amo Tversky and Daniel Kahneman championed the studies that paved the way for the latter concepts that have become increasingly prevalent in public discourse. This is integral to appreciating the book, and Kahneman’s credentials speak for themselves.

Hopefully, this week will be less busy so I can create some time to watch a film…

Oh and Happy Chinese New Year (only if that’s what you celebrate)!