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Blunder

Why Smart People Make Bad Decisions

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Blunder

By: Zachary Shore
Narrated by: Zachary Shore, Kevin Pariseau
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About this listen

 We all make bad decisions. It's part of being human. The resulting mistakes can be valuable, the story goes, because we learn from them. But do we? Historian Zachary Shore says no, not always, and he has a long list of examples to prove his point.

From colonialism to globalization, from gender wars to civil wars, or any circumstance for which our best solutions backfire, Shore demonstrates how rigid thinking can subtly lead us to undermine ourselves. In the process, he identifies seven "cognition traps" to avoid. These insidious yet unavoidable mind-sets include:

  • Exposure Anxiety: fear of being seen as weak
  • Causefusion: confusing the causes of complex events
  • Flat View: seeing the world in one dimension
  • Cure-Allism: thinking that one-size solutions can solve all problems
  • Infomania: an obsessive relationship to information
  • Mirror Imaging: thinking the other side thinks like you do
  • Static Cling: the refusal to accept that circumstances have changed

    Drawing on examples from history, politics, business and economics, health care, even folk tales and popular culture, Shore illustrates the profound impact blunders can have. But he also emphasizes how understanding these seven simple cognition traps can help us all make wiser judgments in our daily lives.

    For anyone whose best-laid plans have been foiled by faulty thinking, Blunder shines the penetrating spotlight of history on decision making and the patterns of thought that can lead us all astray.

    • ©2008 Zachary Shore (P)2009 Audible, Inc.     Decision-Making & Problem Solving Personal Success Psychology War Imperialism Career Military Mental Health

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    Everyone needs to read or listen to this book

    We live in a world where more and more people are educated however there is a distinct lack of wisdom in them. Their contribution to the wellbeing of the planet is questionable at times due to some of the cognition traps as described in this book. Could the world be a better place if we practiced more wisdom?

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    In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.