Book Reading #47: Why We Make Mistakes

Reference Information

Title: Why We Make Mistakes

Author: Joseph T. Hallinan

Publisher: 2009 Crown Archetype

Chapter 8: We Like Things Tidy
Summary
This chapter discussed the human tendency to distort irregular details of memories in a way that makes them simpler and smoother. This is shown through a number of experiments, such as Milgram's, the drawing of a map of Paris in which the main river was straightened, and the war of the ghosts retelling. Short distances are overestimated, distances to a landmark are judged to be less than distances from the landmark, and the human mind forms a map by organizing information into a hierarchy. Finally, since memories can be distorted, stories that are told are tailored to the audience and the purpose, and conversation is more a means creating an impression.


Discussion
I found it interesting that conversation is not so much about telling the truth, but creating an impression, and that what is said is altered depending on who's saying it and who it's being said to. However, it's not too surprising. Also, the idea that memories are altered to make them more rational and smoother seemed interesting. I wonder how many things are actually distorted in our memories that we are unaware of?


Chapter 9: Men Shoot First
Summary
This chapter discussed the differences in behavior between men and women that tend to lead to different errors. Men tend to be more overconfident, which is the leading source of human error. Women are more risk averse, partially due to how they see the rewards of the risk, and they are more likely to not use debugging features on a computer due to lack of confidence about them. Finally, maps and the asking of directions was discussed, which seems to depend on how wide the home range a person had as a child.


Discussion
I found it interesting that men and women typically view the world so differently, which means that they commit different types of errors in everyday life. I especially thought it was intriguing that how far a person was allowed to wonder as a child affected their confidence, mapping skills, and many decisions when they are older.