Why We Make Mistakes and What We Can Do To Avoid Them

A highly engaging and informative read, _Why We Make Mistakes_ provides insight into our most common goofs. It turns out that the very traits that maximize our thinking processes and sense of efficacy--such as searching for meaning, making connections, seeing the big picture, and having an (overly) optimistic view of our abilities--are also the culprits behind many of our mistakes. As the author succinctly summaries: "We are blinded by the effects of habit and hubris and hobbled by a poor understanding of our own limitations." Luckily, an awareness of the origins of our common mistakes is the first step to their prevention. Hallinan does an impressive job of extracting the highlights of hundreds of psychology, medical, science, and economic articles and presenting them in a most readable and entertaining form. (No surprise that he's a Pulitzer Prize winner!) If you're interested in learning about the workings--and the non-workings--of the human mind, then reading this book will be anything but a mistake!

As humans we all make mistakes. The reasons are wide and mainly because we aren't computers that operate "by the rules". This book is a fun reading. It shows phenomenal mistakes we are doing.
A lot of the stories are probably from the same sources as others books I have read on the subjects. But they are nice to be remembered.

I did enjoy the story about us straightening the map. It appears that when we have a map in our head we straighten the curves. I saw it myself while driving the road.

I'm not sure its possible to "fix" this natural human behavior. It is though nice to know about them :-)"

I'm a psychologist, and although the author of this book, Joseph Hallinan, is not (surprisingly, he's a journalist), he provides an excellent overview of many classic experiments and concepts from social psychology. Many of the reasons for why we make mistakes stem from perceptual errors in thinking, a topic that always fascinating during my graduate studies and one which Hallinan does a comprehensible job of summarizing here. Hallinan includes mini-experiments to add interest (see the Q&A with the author on the main page of this review for one example) as well as skillfully weaves in statistics to illustrate his points. The only time I felt that this book fell a little short was during the Conclusion, when Hallinan attempts to offer some suggestions for preventing mistakes; his recommendations didn't seem to flow particularly well from the preceding content, and the entire chapter had a somewhat scattered feel. Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I believe that most people will find it to be quite discussion-worthy--personally, I found myself frequently pausing to quote parts of it aloud to my husband as I read it. Definitely recommended for interesting reading (but not self-help).

"Why We Make Mistakes," while enlightening and informative, is a compelling book that remains consistently engaging. Yes, there is an abundance of statistical and scientific data, but isn't supporting evidence a necessary component of a sound argument? Hallinan establishes credibility, rather than insulting the reader's intelligence, while cleverly offsetting the factual information with his conversational tone and fascinating stories.

The reader is sent through a whirl-wind of unexpected feelings, ranging from disdain(perhaps, "I'm smarter than that!" in response to study findings that the facial appearance of political candidates impacted decisions of voters) to panic (upon reading about the alarming errors that occur during the shift of a sleep-deprived pilot or hospital resident?). "Why We Make Mistakes" is rich with contextual examples of seemingly unfathomable human error, which clarify theories that are shockingly validated as Hallinan seeks to navigate through various deficiencies in the fabric of our behavior, perceptions, surroundings, environments and possessions.

Hallinan's perspective is beneficial and empowering. We don't need to agonize over our mindless actions or reactions that result in unfavorable consequences. We can use our awareness of the common misconceptions we have, as outlined in this book, and remain mindful of these tendancies as they apply to our daily lives. There is plenty of useful information that can be used to improve performance at work, home, in social situations, etc.

We can also use our understanding of human limitations to examine the environment and external elements of dysfunctional scenarios and develop strategies and materials that eliminate the potential for human errors to occur. Resolutions are effective when we accept our limitations because we are then equipped to anticipate realistic conflicts and implement proper safeguards.

Frankly, until reading this book, I assumed that I understood why people make mistakes. True, several of the causes are obvious: emotional, impulsive decisions made in haste, action without sufficient knowledge, trust in unreliable sources, false assumptions or premises, and so forth. However, most people are vulnerable to basic illusions and/or delusions. (Check out the tabletops illustration devised by Roger Shepard on Page 20.) As John Hallinan explains so brilliantly in this book, most of the most significant causes are not so obvious and one of them really caught my attention: even when we know we have made a mistake, we reject that fact and often make the same mistake again. Why? Because "we are all afflicted with certain systemic biases in the way we see, remember, and perceive the world around us, and these biases make us prone to commit certain kinds of errors...we just don't know we're biased. Some of these tendencies are so strong that even when we do know about them, we find it hard [if not impossible] to correct for them." Here is a representative selection of phenomena, observations, and insights:

"Understanding the role of context is also extremely important, especially when it comes to remembering things. Memory, it turns out, is often more a reconstruction than a reproduction." (Page 9)

"In one study, radiologists missed up to 90 percent of cancerous tumors that, in retrospect, had been visible `for months or even years.'" (Page 24)

"If we are going to err at something, we would rather err by [begin italics] failing [end italics] to do something." (Page 53)

"It doesn't take much to distract a driver. A two-second glance doubles the risk of an accident." (Page 83)

Note: My first reaction to this item was "So what? What's the big deal?" Then I did a simple calculation and realized that if a car were moving at 60 mph, it would travel 176 feet in only two seconds. Hmmmm....

"As something becomes more familiar, we tend to notice less, not more. We come to see things not as they are but as (we assume) they ought to be." (Page 113)

"Events learned in one emotional state are best remembered when we are back in that happy state. Happy times, for instance, are best remembered when we're happy." (Page 117)

"We often think we're being rational when we're being visceral, and vice versa. When a mistake does happen, we often end up blaming the wrong cause." (Page 211)

"Happy people tend to be more creative problem solvers. They also make decisions more quickly, with less back-and-forth." (Page 218)

Many readers may not be aware of the neurological infrastructure of the decision-making process, notably the importance of what is generally referred to as the "unconscious mind." That is what Hallinan means when noting that many decisions are made or at least significantly influenced "outside of our consciousness." This fact helps to explain why most of us make mistakes when trying to understand why we make mistakes. Ironically, we demonstrate what we are trying to eliminate.

As indicated by hundreds of citations throughout the book supplemented by extensive References and Bibliography section (Pages 225-237 and Pages 239-273), Hallinan has obviously absorbed and digested an abundance of research data from a wide range of resources. He fully achieves his objective to explain why people make mistakes of all kinds and suggests, especially in the concluding chapter, what can be done to prevent or correct them. He urges his readers to "Think small [because] little things, as the song says, mean a lot." Also, be alert to the fact that "we don't see all that we observe, and yet we sometimes 'see' things we don't know we've seen." Therefore, beware of seeing only what you expect to see, not what is. Certain biases such as overconfidence (i.e. hubris) are amenable to correction. On occasion, it also helps to think negatively when making a decision. "What could go wrong?" Hallinan also suggests we can become less error prone by letting our spouse "proofread" our reasoning and by slowing down and sharpening the focus of our attention. "Multitasking is, for most of us, a mirage. There are strict limits to the number of things we can do at one time, and the more we do [or attempt to do], the greater the chance for error."

Many who read this last paragraph may respond, "Well, duh, that's just common sense." As Joseph Hallinan convincingly establishes in this thoroughly entertaining as well as highly informative book, it would be a serious mistake to assume that common sense is common.

* * * * *

Even publishers do not always recognize a mistake made. The dust jacket of the copy I have is a case in point. It was not trimmed to proper size nor is the photo of it displayed online by the store. You'd think that someone would have corrected it by now.

About: Hallinan gives a fascinating tour of why humans make common errors over and over again. Perception, attention, biases and ways to combat these errors are all covered.

Some fun facts I learned:

* Teams with black uniforms get penalized more than those with other color jerseys
* Men really don't like to ask for directions
* If you change an answer on a test, you are most likely changing it to a wrong answer
* NBA players miss more free throws in the playoffs
* You'll buy more if a price is listed as four for a dollar as opposed to 25 cents each

Pros: Very interesting, well written. Includes references and bibliography.

Cons: No in text citations. Unclear why he includes both a bibliography and references. I'm assuming he used most of his bibliography as references.

Grade A-

This book was such an interesting read at the beach. Ironically, it reminded me how accidents can and do happen in the seconds BECAUSE we are distracted. I was skimming it while also watching my son play in the surf while my husband was on his surfboard. I kept looking up, but I got engrossed in one of the many interesting vignettes, when I looked up I couldn't find my son Luke (who has autism). I walked closer to shoreline, kept looking til I looked way far out and saw my husband was pulling him onto his board, "I thought YOU were watching him! He tried to come out after me and got caught in a rip-tide...he practically drowned!"

Please read this book BEFORE you let your teens (or elderly parents for that matter) drive, it should help you to resist answering the cell phone if it rings while driving..."it's the distraction, stupid." Humans are not just terrible multi-taskers, we're completely unable to multi-task. If you think you're successfully multi-tasking, you should understand that something isn't getting done.

Fascinating reading along the lines of Blunder by Zachary Shore and all of Gladwell's bestsellers (Blink, Tipping Point, Outliers). Don't miss it, it might even save your life on the highway... and the many studies he cites (re: airline safety, anestesialogy, cell phone use) might already have saved your life.

I vowed never to talk on the cell while driving again...after reading the "rest of the story" about the bus driver who sheared off the top of his bus under a GW parkway arched bridge w/ low clearance in the right lane when all he had to do was switch to the left lane (he was angry at the lead bus driver and was engrossed in a conversation with his sister instead of paying attention the low clearance sign --so he never even saw the bridge itself!)

So do your civic duty, read it and tell all your friends! ("friends don't let their friends drive and cell" research based on VIDEO RECORDING (vs. what people SAY) shows it is almost as dangerous as being drunk &/or sleepy...

Applying these ideas that Joseph Hallinan talked about in his book is fairly easy. I think just looking at how we make mistakes says it all too how we should correct ourselves. Being less confident is a big one, creating a check list so we don't forget things or try to be less optimistic because if you are, things tend to end up the wrong way. I would have to say what he talks about is very valid. No matter how you put it we all make mistakes in life. We all do it differently but there are just different reasons for it. I guess people in the corporate industry and anyone who works should read this book. But I feel like it reaches out to everyone. It talks about all sorts of things people do and why they do them in life and how we maybe can fix that. For example, everyone tries to multitask. But in the end, when we multitask we end up slowing the process of getting something done then if we just focused on one thing at a time. But this can relate to anyone out there because everyone multitasks. I don't know if my actions will change dramatically but I'll definitely be more aware of making a decision and making sure I am not over confident. I think there was a lot to take from what Joseph T. Hallinan said. Human error is common in everyday life and if we learn from our simple mistakes, we can maybe accomplish more and not fall into the risk of something bad happening. I think it was a very valid book and I enjoyed reading about something that I do probably do every day.

It becomes apparent while reading this interesting book how and why we make often subtle mistakes. Various studies and experiments giving the reader insight into often unconscious activity that goes on inside our brains. A book that leaves the reader often wondering what could the author possibly come up with next. Packed with knowledge on how to see the signs and symptoms of mistakes, the problem is studies often show when individuals are showed how they make mistakes they will often continue to do so. A definite must read.

I really enjoyed "Why We Make Mistakes" and would recommend it to anyone interested in the psychology and neuroscience of what makes us both efficient and prone to making mistakes. In a practical sense, there are important economic implications to the mistakes we unconsciously make. But on a personal level, I think it's very useful to understand the common misconceptions outlined in the book and to learn to be more mindful of these tendencies as they apply to our daily lives. This is a interesting and useful read.

If you haven't heard anything at all before about behavioral psychology, and want to get started, this is a decent-good starting point book.

Or, if you have dipped a toe or two into learning about this, and want more, specifically along the lines of the book's title, it's OK.

But, if you really want to learn much about behavioral psychology, or its first cousin, behavioral economics, go to the source and read Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky or Daniel Ariely.

Nicely written and very interesting treatment of the topic. The examples are great. I thought his "Self-Deception" book, although in the same vein, was a bit better, but this one is worth reading, too.

I found this book very entertaining and enlightening. I would recommend it to anyone who has an open mind. This book really shows how you can't be set in your ways. It brings up simple points that sometimes causes complex problems and/or reccuring mistakes. I find myself stopping and thinking before I make certain decisions now. I also analyze my mistakes and others mistakes in a completely different manner. I was not dissappointed at all in purchasing this book.

I enjoyed reading this book and it answered several of the questions I needed answers to.
All in all, it's a great read. The intense use of stories, facts and figures did make it a little dry at times but would still recommend it!

Explorations behind the sources of human error. This one will explode a lot of myths, and bring into question some of our more parsimonions management strategies - If you can bring yourself to believe the data :-)

This book is very well written, covers a wide range of current information, and is a very good introduction to the topic. Great examples of common human errors in a variety of real-life contexts. Readers will learn to recognize these errors and have the tools to prevent them.

"Why We Make Mistakes" is a meandering monologue that seemingly goes on forever. Lots of anecdotes, no common thread, no means to improve. Context is part of the problem; other explanations include the way the eye functions, stupefying ignorance (eg. assuming the first few letters in 'pediatrician' signified 'pedophile'; radiologists misreading x-rays because they lacked useful feedback from prior readings), poor design (eg. Toyota floor mats getting caught under the accelerator; actually, this type of error cause was already beaten to death already by W.Edwards Deming and the quality improvement movement - Hallinan, however, does a poor job of learning from their prior efforts). Blaming others is another problem. Anesthesiologists, however, did accept responsibility for high death rates, started using checklists and encouraging feedback from fellow O.R. staff, and had equipment standardized - reducing death rates by a factor of 40.

The book has many interesting stories and research citations. Too many, in fact. Unlike other recent books that expound on these ideas (such as Tipping Point, Freakonomics, Outliers), this text simply does not have a consistent strand that draws the reader along the journey. I struggled to maintain my desire to read the book, and at times I simply had to concede that I needed to read it in small parts, like articles, in order to make it through. It's a bit of a shame, really, and I actually enjoyed looking up some of the cited articles to get a bigger picture of the research than was provided in the book.

COMPLETELY AGREE! Okay, here's why we make mistakes... got it? Good. Will this help you to CORRECT "the mistakes we make"? No. This is a typical book written by a reporter. He compiled anecdotal evidence, gave examples, told stories. That's it. Seriously. If anyone gave this meandering waste of time (full of info we already knew, i.e. THAT we can't find our keys, THAT we offer differing descriptions of the same event from other witnesses that saw the same thing, ETC. ETC. ETC.) that leads absolutely... NOWHERE. Why was this in the "Self Help" section? It should have been a 5 page magazine article, not a book.