Thinking Fast and Slow: How to make better decisions and avoid hidden mind traps
Growth Mindset Psychology: The Science of Self-Improvement
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Sam Webster Harris reads a Progressive Insurance ad promoting bundling home and auto for potential savings.
You think you're rational? Think again. We love feeling like thoughtful decision-makers, but the truth is we're riddled with cognitive shortcuts.
Daniel Kahneman's Nobel Prize-winning work breaks down the systems of our mind. We constantly substitute hard questions with easy ones; e.g. Buying a stock because you like the company, not because you've done the data.
This episode cuts through the 300,000-word book to show you exactly how these shortcuts lead to everything from bad investments to pointless stress about the weather. It's time to stop letting your brain’s simple tricks run your whole life.
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Stop overestimating the importance of your current stress.
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Identify and reduce low-level daily pains (like a bad commute) for massive life returns.
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Implement a "sleep-on-it" rule to override System 1's instant commitments.
Why let a lazy brain ruin your best decisions? Start thinking slower today.
Further Reading:
- Thinking Fast and Slow - Daniel Kahneman
- Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
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Growth Mindset Psychology:
Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Understanding Cognitive Biases, comedy and systems of thinking
03:58 Deep Dive into System One and System Two Thinking
05:23 How System 1 and System 2 Work Together
06:49 System 1's Impact on Decision Making
08:26 System 1 and Politics
11:29 The Teenage Brain and System 2 Development
12:32 Cognitive Biases and Their Impact
17:45 The Law of Large Numbers
22:38 Prospect Theory, Risk Assessment and Loss Aversion
23:41 Rationality and Utility Theory in Economics
25:39 Prospect Theory: Perception of Value and Risk
27:16 Probability and Decision Making
29:29 The Experiencing Self vs. The Remembering Self
31:17 The Peak-End Rule and Its Impact on Memory
34:58 Momentary Pleasure vs Long-Term Satisfaction
38:09 The Focusing Illusion: What Really Matters
43:46 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
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