How We Decide

How We Decide
Jonah Lehrer
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009
265 pgs.


I’ll be honest…

I am not normally drawn to these types of books. You know the type… science and self-help or pseudoscience or whatever you want to call it. Science has never been an area that has piqued my interest, and a book describing the inner-workings of the brain and why we do things wouldn’t usually make me glance twice. Nevertheless, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try.

The biggest kudo I could give to this book is this: readability. The book is such a smooth read, with author Jonah Lehrer seamlessly interweaving the scientific numbers and definitions with real life stories on what people have done and why they do it. He describes tests that have been done and in what way the results show how the brain reacts and works in our lives.

Whether Lehrer is writing about firefighters, pilots, poker players, or your average shopper, How We Decide describes the strengths and weaknesses of our brains. He shows when we make decisions based on rational thought, and when those decisions are made through our emotions. After finishing the book, the author asks the reader to remember one key concept, “Whenever you make a decision, be aware of the kind of decision you are making and the kind of thought process it requires.”

While this book isn’t out to cure all stupid decisions we will make (we will always have “buyers remorse” or choose green when we wanted to choose red), it does help explain why we make these decisions and how they affect us every day. Grumpy around 3 in the afternoon at work? Maybe it’s because the diet you are on is limiting your sugar intake, which helps fuel the brain and, in turn, doesn’t allow the brain to monitor your negative emotions. Spending too much? Ask yourself how much you’d spend on items if there were no credit cards and only cash. And while some of his observations are not groundbreaking (credit cards lead to debt) the book encapsulates the inner-workings of the mind in such a succinct manner and allows the reader to relate through great visualization.

So to be honest, I really enjoyed How We Decide and would recommend it to anyone that is curious on why and how we make the decisions we make.

How We Decide