Why we make mistakes : how we look without seeing, forget things in seconds, and are all pretty sure we are way above average

WHY WE MAKE MISTAKES: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average (2009)......Page 1
Contents......Page 8
Introduction: Why Do We Make Mistakes? Because.........Page 10
To Err Is 90 Percent Human......Page 11
We Take the Good with the Bad......Page 12
The World Around Us Isn\'t Helping......Page 13
Awareness Is All......Page 16
01: We Look but Don\'t Always See......Page 20
We See a Fraction of What We Think We See......Page 21
The Expert\'s Quiet Eye......Page 22
We Notice on a Need-to-Know Basis......Page 23
Movie Mistakes......Page 24
We See What We Are......Page 26
You Can\'t Handle the Truth......Page 28
We \'re Built to Quit......Page 30
Please Stow Your Gun in the Overhead Compartment......Page 32
Meaning Matters; Details Don\'t......Page 34
Names Don\'t Matter......Page 37
A Slip of the Tongue?......Page 38
We Recall Part, but Not All......Page 39
We Can Make the Meaningless Meaningful......Page 40
Why We Forget Passwords and Hiding Places......Page 42
Making Faces More Memorable......Page 46
How Not to Identify a Suspect......Page 47
The Ugly Face of Crime......Page 50
03: We Connect the Dots......Page 52
Snap Judgments Are Hard to Shake......Page 53
A Woman\'s Body Gives Her Away......Page 54
It\'s Not the Wine ; It\'s the Bottle......Page 58
Color Counts......Page 59
Why You Should Change Your Answer......Page 60
The Role of Regret......Page 62
Some Mistakes Are More Memorable than Others......Page 63
04: We Wear Rose-Colored Glasses......Page 65
We Remember Our As......Page 66
Your World Revolves Around You......Page 68
Hindsight Isn\'t Twenty -Twenty......Page 73
Remembering Our Sex Partners......Page 75
Why Gamblers Are So Confident......Page 76
We\'re Shallower than We Realize......Page 77
Doctors Are Under the Influence......Page 79
Disclosing a Bias Doesn\'t Cancel the Bias......Page 80
The \"Hey, I Warned You\" Principle......Page 83
05: We Can Walk and Chew Gum but Not Much Else......Page 85
We\'re Not Really Multitasking......Page 86
Multitasking = Forgetting......Page 88
Bridge? What Bridge ?......Page 90
Keep Your Eyes on the Road......Page 92
A Living Room on Wheels-or a Hearse......Page 93
Your Distractible Brain......Page 96
Coming Soon : A Copilot for Your Car......Page 97
06: We\'re in the Wrong Frame of Mind......Page 100
How We Frame Issues......Page 101
Holding On to a Sure Thing......Page 104
Framing and Money......Page 106
How Time Affects Our Decisions......Page 107
Discovering the Price of Beauty......Page 109
Lessons from the Grocery Store......Page 111
The Power of a Home\'s Listing Price......Page 115
07: We Skim......Page 118
We Pay Attention to Beginnings......Page 119
A Mistake Only a Rookie Could Catch......Page 120
A Titanic Error......Page 121
Fool Me Twice......Page 122
The Importance of Context......Page 123
How a Walk in the Park Improves Memory......Page 125
Happy Endings......Page 126
08: We Like Things Tidy......Page 127
We Straighten the Seine......Page 128
An Information Hierarchy......Page 130
\"The War of the Ghosts\"......Page 132
O Say Can You Remember the Words to the National Anthem?......Page 136
How Much of What You Say Is True?......Page 137
Lying-or \"Impression Management\"?......Page 139
The Star-Spangled Banner......Page 142
09: Men Shoot First......Page 143
Overconfident Men......Page 144
Risk and Reward......Page 146
Lying and Lottery Tickets......Page 149
A Computer Error......Page 150
The Importance of Tinkering......Page 152
How Boys and Girls Navigate......Page 153
Making Maps......Page 154
Why Men Don\'t Ask for Directions......Page 155
10: We All Think We\'re Above Average......Page 158
Lessons from the Putting Green......Page 159
Why We Pay Not to Go to the Gym......Page 160
How Credit Cards Play on Your Overconfidence......Page 162
Knowing Your Limitations......Page 163
What Weather Forecasters Can Teach Us......Page 165
The Power of Feedback......Page 167
Warren Buffett\'s Biggest Mistake......Page 168
The Illusion of Control......Page 170
Information Overload......Page 171
Horse Sense......Page 172
Executive Decisions......Page 174
Confidence Quiz......Page 177
Lessons from the Putting Green-Part II......Page 178
Practice , Practice......Page 181
A Big Library of the Mind......Page 182
Cognitive Maps......Page 183
Hitting the Nail on the Head and in the Heart and the Neck......Page 185
The Seven - Hundred - Page Owner\'s Manual......Page 186
One-Trick Ponies......Page 189
Thinking Outside the Box......Page 190
12: We Don\'t Constrain Ourselves......Page 192
Making the Same Mistake-Twice......Page 193
What\'s in a Name?......Page 195
How Pilots Fly Straight......Page 196
Lessons for Error - Free Design......Page 197
Look ing for Root Causes......Page 198
Knowing Where to Look......Page 200
Attitude and Errors......Page 202
A Mutilating Surgery......Page 204
13: The Grass Does Look Greener......Page 207
\"So Here\'s a Funny Story for You About L.A.\"......Page 208
Predicting How We (and Others) Will Feel......Page 210
Why Gift Cards Are a Bad Idea......Page 212
Focusing on the Wrong Things......Page 215
Conclusion......Page 219
Keep Tabs on Your Dry Holes......Page 221
Think Negatively......Page 222
Let Your Spouse Proofread......Page 223
Get Some Sleep......Page 225
How Happiness Helps......Page 227
Beating a Dead Horse......Page 228
The Currency of Life......Page 229
Acknowledgments......Page 231
References......Page 233
Bibiography......Page 246
INDEX......Page 281
About the Author......Page 290