(Following instructions from Reading Reflection No. 2)
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
1. The general theme of the book was about the way people think. The author talks about two systems when it comes to making decisions. System one is quicker thinking; the kind of thinking we think we do without thinking, if that makes sense. Thinking that is almost automatic. System two is a more slow way of thinking; the kind of thinking we concentrate on and spend more time on. With these two systems in mind, we are constantly making decisions to avoid risk in any way we can. He also discusses the fact that the past is more unknown than most people think. We tend to think that we know everything about what's already happened: our past. According to Kahneman, the past is more unknown than most people think. Because of the assumption that we know everything about our past, we tend to think we know what will be in our future, but that's also not necessarily true. A lot of our memories that we think of when making decisions could be deceiving or just flat-out wrong.
2. I think that for what this classes is generally teaching about, entrepreneurship, it is important to understand the way we think. There is a lot of risk involved in entrepreneurial activities, and this relates to what Kahneman is talking about in the book. It makes sense as an entrepreneur to do anything and everything you can to avoid risk. I think that many entrepreneurs would use a system two way of thinking, because there is a lot of risks involved in decision-making when you have a business or a business idea, so you need to take more time to think about these decisions.
3. An exercise I would give a class based on this book is to create a list of 10 decisions that would require system one thinking and 10 decisions that would require system two thinking, and explain why each decision is categorized in its system.
4. I think the part that surprised me the most is when he was talking about what we know about our past. He discusses the fact that a lot of our memories can be wrong, which shocked me. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized it was true. Remembering things incorrectly happens so often, yet we still trust our memory so much. It makes sense to me when he said that because we think we know so much about the past, we think we know so much about the future.
This really resonated with me because of how much I agree with it. We don't know anything about the future; we might have some good guesses, but nothing is promised. I think that the state the world is in today is a great example of that, because five months ago none of us were expecting a worldwide pandemic that would change our lives.
Hi Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your idea for the activity about this reading. I think it is creative and gets the mind thinking. The part you found most surprising seemed very interesting, and I would be curious to look into the facts more. In the book I choose, taking risks was another entrepreneurial concept I found as well. I think the way people think is a big point in finding opportunities and could be useful for future entrepreneurs to read about this information.
I find it so interesting that our past in unknown to us. I have never thought that way before, but it makes sense. I would like to read this book as it sounds really interesting now. I've heard that our memories can be wrong, even though we hate to believe it. I think that is true. You did a good job relating the book to the current situation because nobody knew that this would happen.
ReplyDeleteHi Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteI found the aspect of that a lot of our memories could be wrong as shocking as well. I did not read the book; however, I can see the author's point of perspective and fully comprehend and agree with what it entails. A lot of our memories could be made from conclusions that we thought were right. I would give this book a read to see the different perspectives. Thank you for the great reading.
Hello Kimberly,
ReplyDeleteI found these two systems of thinking to be very interesting. There are many things that we don't really think about doing, such as breathing or making common sense decisions like not putting our hands on a hot stove top. But we never really think about why that is and how those systems of thinking shape our choices. I also really liked the part about our memories being wrong because it is very true. I thought your exercise suggestion was very thought out and challenging. Great job!