David McRaney "You Are Not So Smart" (2012)

Teos, millesse on kogutud natuke alla viiekümne näite sellest, kuidas sa end ühel või muul viisil petad, endale valetad või täielikus kujutelmas elad. Autor teeb poppsühholoogiat kasutades paari lehekülje vältel selgeks, kuidas tegeleme enesepettusega ja miks. Enamus neist on evolutsiooni ja miljonite aastate põhjal välja kujunenud refleksid, millele me ei mõtle ja mis peavad meid panema turvaliselt tundma ja tekitama head enesetunnet. Ainus jama on selles, et viimase paari tuhande aasta jooksul oleme ühiskonnana muutunud totaalselt teises suunas ja vaimne pool ei taha eriti uues ühiskonnakorralduses toime tulla. Paljuski on see sellest, et me ei tea tegelikult miks me midagi teeme, me ei tunne ennast üldse ja ei mõtle eriti sügavalt millelegi. Seetõttu tekitab inimese aju teadmatuse asemele lohutavaid fantaasiaid, mis peaksid tekitama üldiselt turvatunnet kuid selle miinuseks on see, et neid fantaasiaid toidavad tihti reklaamiagnetuurid, poliitikud ja pätid - ehk siis kasutatakse meie mõistuse ja käitumise nõrkusi ära suhteliselt manipuleerivatel eesmärkidel.

"Krebs has researched purchasing trends on Amazon and the clustering habits of people on social networks for years, and his research shows what psychological research into confirmation bias predicts: you want to be right about how you see the world, so you seek out information that confirms your beliefs and avoid contradictory evidence and opinions."

"The maintenance of a positive self-image seems to be so important to the human mind you have evolved mental mechanisms designed to make you feel awesome about yourself. Cognitive biases lead to poor choices, bad judgements and wacky insights that are often totally incorrect. For example, you tend to look for information that confirms your beliefs and ignore information that challenges them. This is called confirmation bias. The contents of your bookshelf and the bookmarks in your Web browser are a direct result of it."

"Research shows if you believe someone is going to be an asshole, you will act hostile, thus causing them to act like an asshole. This same research shows if people think their partner doesn't love them, they will interpret small slights as big hurts - and this will then lead to a feeling of rejection that causes the partner to distance him - or herself. The feedback loop will build and build until the prophecy is fulfilled."
"When it comes to belief, you are not so smart, and the things you think are true will become reality if given enough time to fester. If you want a better job, a better marriage, a better teacher, a better friend - you have to act as if the thing you want out of the person is already headed your way. It doesn't guarantee you'll see a change, but it's better than nothing. The point is this: a negative outlook will lead to negative predictions, and you will start to unconsciously manipulate your environment to deliver those predictions."


Mõnus lugemine neile, kes tahavad enda kiikse ja käitumist uurida ja häiriv ja peletav lugemine neile, kes usuvad horoskoope. peavad end erilisteks või on masenduses.