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What mistakes do smart people make? Territory of delusions

According to legend, the old Emperor Hadrian was impressed by the deeds and views of the young Aurelius, so he decided to adopt him and make him heir to the throne...

At the age of 17, Marcus Aurelius was adopted. Thanks to this, he became heir to the Roman throne.

Marcus Aurelius was born in rich family. His upbringing was mainly done by his grandfather, since his mother and father died relatively early.

From the very beginning, the hallmark of Marcus Aurelius was the pursuit of knowledge. He was attracted to philosophy, and in particular to stoicism, based on the concept of what exactly behavior, not thoughts or words, determines virtue.

Guide to a Balanced Life

According to legend, the old Emperor Hadrian was impressed by the deeds and views of the young Aurelius, so he decided to adopt him and make him heir to the throne.

Aurelius fulfilled his duty to the state for more than 20 years before becoming Emperor of Rome.

There is great uncertainty regarding the details of the life of Marcus Aurelius. He lived almost 2000 years ago, and most sources are dubious (at best).

The clearest idea about this person is given to us by his personal notes. "Alone with myself. Reflections."

"Alone with myself. Reflections" is one of the most influential works of Stoicism. A lot has been said and written about her. It is a timeless guide to living a balanced life.

This work is more than philosophy; it gives us an insight into the clarity with which Marcus Aurelius thought.

He saw the world as it was and had no illusions. This may not sound like an achievement, but it's less common than we think.

This kind of awareness pays dividends in all aspects of life, and we can look at the life of Marcus Aurelius to understand how to develop it intentionally.

Brain Efficiency Problem

We are exposed to many external stimuli every day, and if we absorbed every one of these stimuli, we would not be able to function properly.

To prevent this from happening, our brains engage efficiency filters. He has a good understanding of what information we need and when. It knows that if you're in a busy restaurant, for example, the voice of the person you're talking to is more important than the background noise, so it tunes in solely to their perception.

However, this mechanism unfortunately has an unintended side effect. The point is that sometimes our attention is not fully focused on certain important things, and we need to make a conscious effort to make this happen. There is a trade-off when it comes to efficiency.

Michael Caine is a cognitive psychologist at the University of North Carolina who studies the interaction between memory and attention.

During one of his experiments, he discovered that About 30% of the time, people tend to think about something completely different from what they are doing at one time or another.

This number shows how easy it is to neglect up-to-date information and become trapped in our brain's default settings.

There are three ways to deal with this

1. Train yourself to fight brain autonomy

In his book “Alone with Yourself. Reflections” Marcus Aurelius points out that it is very important to learn to see not only what is on the surface in order to better understand the world.

In his own words: “Nothing can expand the mind so much as the ability to systematically and truly examine everything that comes under your observation in life.”

And while attention doesn't automatically follow every relevant piece of information, we can train our brains to be more active.

By keeping this in mind, we can paint a more revealing picture of the world. This is where awareness and clear thinking begin.

Set yourself up throughout the day to really see and listen. Be conscious of trying to circumvent the trade-offs made by the autonomous brain. There are many things in the world that matter.

2. Harness objectivity through a different pair of eyes.

One of the cornerstones of mindfulness is objectivity. It is a kind of neutrality that seeks to see the world as it is, and not through the prism of personal judgment and bias. It is not easy to cultivate.

By default, our senses absorb information about where we are, what we are doing, and how we feel. The world bombards us with stimuli, and these stimuli follow different neural pathways in each of us. We all interpret them differently.

We tend to go through life understanding the world and influencing our own behavior as if we were at the center of reality, with everything around us given importance according to how it fits into our story. This distorts the perception of the environment and how reality unfolds.

In cosmology there is the Copernican principle, according to which the Earth does not have a privileged position in the Universe. Despite its importance to us, on a larger scale it is insignificant.

The same applies to people. Despite the intensity with which we feel and sense, much of what happens in the world does not concern us alone.

There's a bigger picture, there's more going on. The sooner we can set aside our personal biases, the sooner we can understand reality, not how we feel about it. This is an important distinction.

Judging by his personal records, Marcus Aurelius had a deep ability to detach himself from his own mind in order to observe himself and the world without emotional attachment. This helps explain the depth of his understanding.

He was able to expand his awareness by striving to see things from more than one point of view. This is a very practical tactic, and one that most of us don't use enough.

Separate yourself, conceptualize your observations as if you were in another person's body, and try to harness objectivity through many other pairs of eyes.

3. Always look for ways to clear your mind.

One of the distinctive aspects of the collection “Alone with myself. Meditations" is that Marcus Aurelius wrote it for himself, and not for someone else. Apparently, it was a personal diary. The entries presented there are not particularly coherent or structured.

This suggests that he did not write for the purpose of sharing his wisdom. This probably helped him clear and organize his own mind.

This makes a lot of sense, and the work of Dr. James Pennebaker explains why.

James Pennebaker is a pioneer in the field of writing therapy and a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. The American Psychological Association has recognized his work on the benefits of journaling as one of the most influential in the field.

In 1994, Pennebaker and his team divided people who had been unemployed for eight months into three groups.

The first group was asked to write about their dismissal and how they felt after it happened.

The second group was asked to simply write something (nothing specific), and the third was not given any written instructions at all.

Result?

Participants who were asked to write about their experience of being laid off were more likely to search for new job after the end of the study.

Writing helped them relieve stress and eliminate the noise in their head, becoming more in alignment with what they were feeling. This gave them the push they needed to understand where they were and what direction they needed to go.

Similar studies subsequently found that the benefits of keeping a personal journal ranged from helping people cope with trauma to strengthening the immune system.

By making personal notes, Marcus Aurelius was able to extract the information that was restlessly wandering around in his mind and transform it into concrete principles to which he could strive.

Others achieve the same effect through meditation, walking in nature, or even certain types of exercise.

The human mind is filled with noise, but by creating a routine that helps us clear it, we can improve its efficiency.

By developing the habit of organizing our own thoughts, we can make sense of the complexities of life in this busy world.

Everything you need to know

Mindfulness is defined as a state of mind. These are awareness of relevant knowledge, awareness of the environment, and awareness of personal feelings and thoughts. It is a state of mind that seeks to understand reality closer to the truth.

Marcus Aurelius is known today as the man described by the Greek philosopher Plato as the “King of Philosophy.” He was a political leader who actively pursued wisdom and knowledge. A leader who tirelessly asked what it meant to live well.

Marcus Aurelius successfully ruled one of the most powerful empires in history not only because of his virtues and desires, but also because of his ability to use the clarity of his mind.

The extent of your awareness determines the outer limit of what you can achieve. The more you know, the better you are able to understand your surroundings. The better you organize your thoughts, the more possibilities you have ahead.

The ability to think clearly is a key strength and can be developed like any other skill. It's all about practice. published .

If you have any questions, please ask

P.S. And remember, just by changing your consciousness, we are changing the world together! © econet

DIE KUNST

DES KLUGEN HANDELNS

52 IRRWEGE

DIE SIE BESSER

ANDEREN ÜBERLASSEN

Mit Illustrationen von El Bocho

and Simon Stehle

ROLF DOBELLI

TERRITORY OF MISCONCEPTION

WHICH MISTAKES

SMART PEOPLE DO IT

Illustrations by El Boko and Simon Stehle

Publishing house

"Mann, Ivanov and Ferber"

Information from the publisher

Dobelli, R.

The territory of misconceptions: what mistakes are made? smart people/ Rolf Dobelli; ill. Elya Boko and Simone Stehle; lane with him. Kapitolina Kruglova and Ekaterina Krylova. - M.: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2014

ISBN 978-5-00057-120-0

Thinking and acting intelligently is an art that each of us can master. How to avoid making mistakes and make the right decisions? The main principle of this book is based on the method of action “by contradiction”: understanding what you shouldn’t do, knowing everything “ underwater rocks", we discover the path to clear thinking and reasonable behavior in all situations.

This book describes 52 thinking traps that we are often unaware of and because of which we make mistakes in a variety of cases: in personal relationships, at work, in making important strategic and political decisions.

Legal support for the publishing house is provided by law firm"Vegas-Lex".

Preface

One day the Pope asked Michelangelo: “Tell me the secret of your genius. How did you sculpt the statue of David, this masterpiece of all masterpieces?” Michelangelo replied: “Very simple. I removed everything that didn’t look like David.”

Let's be honest. We don't know exactly what makes us successful and what makes us happy. But we know exactly what destroys happiness or success. It’s very easy to find out, you just need to remember the rule: negative knowledge (what not to do) is much stronger than positive knowledge (what to do).

Ancient Greek, Roman and medieval thinkers had a special name for this course of action: via negativa. Translated from Latin - the path of denial, refusal, limitation. This term was first used in theology to define the essence of God: one cannot say what God is, one can only say what he is not. Relevant to today's concept via negativa can be formulated this way: it is impossible to say what gives us success, we can only say what harms its achievement. And that will be enough.

As an entrepreneur and company founder, I have fallen into a lot of mental traps myself. Fortunately, I could always get out of them. But now, when I read reports to doctors, businessmen, shareholders, managers, bankers, politicians, I feel like one of them. There is a feeling as if the listeners and I are sitting in the same boat and are still trying to row along the sea of life so as not to drown in its whirlpools.

Theorists have a hard time interpreting the path through negation. Practitioners, on the contrary, realized the via negativa and adopted it. Legendary investor Warren Buffett writes about himself and his partner Charlie Munger: “We were not trained to solve complex economic problems. We have learned to avoid them." Via negativa.

The book “Trapped in Mental Traps” is followed by “Territory of Delusions.” A fair question arises: what is the difference between errors in action and errors in thinking. To be honest - none. I needed a title for the next 52 chapters and this seemed appropriate. The texts are again taken from notes that I wrote for the newspapers Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Schweizer Sonntagszeitung. By combining both books, we will reveal the essence of the hundred most important mental traps.

Frankly, I have a very simple desire: to help all of us avoid mental traps, be it in our private lives, at work, or in making strategically important political decisions. If we succeed, there will be a qualitative breakthrough in the well-being of all humanity.

Conclusion: we don’t need any additional tricks, new ideas, or increased activity. All we need is to do less stupid things. After all, the path to betterness runs along via negativa. Michelangelo realized this, and long before him, so did Aristotle: “The wise man does not strive for pleasure, he strives for the absence of suffering.” Now this goal is before you, the goal that the sages strived for.

Rolf Dobelli, 2012

Notes to the Preface

Why is it sometimes enough to just name the reason?

Explanation of reasons

Traffic jam on the motorway between Basel and Frankfurt. Road surface repair. I'm starting to get nervous. For a quarter of an hour I trudge at a snail's pace until the traffic jam is left behind. At least that's what I think. However, half an hour later I stop again - and again due to repairs to the surface. But, oddly enough, I'm much less nervous. Along the highway, at equal distances from each other, there are billboards with the inscription: “We are repairing this road for you.”

The story with the traffic jam reminded me of an experiment conducted in the 70s by Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer. In the library, she waited for a line to form at the copy machine. Then she asked a question to the person in front: “Excuse me, I have five sheets. Will you let me through?" Only on rare occasions was she allowed to skip the line. She repeated the experiment, giving the reason: “Sorry, I have five sheets. Don’t miss me, I’m in a hurry.” Now almost everyone missed her. Which is understandable, because haste is a valid reason. Amazingly, when she once again asked: “Sorry, I have five sheets. You won’t let me through, I need to make several copies,” almost everyone let her go ahead again, although the reason was ridiculous: everyone in line needed to make copies.

We receive more sympathy and understanding from others when we indicate the reason for our behavior. And what’s surprising is that her rationality does not play any role. This is explained by the magic words “because”. IN billboard with the inscription “We are repairing this road for you” there is absolutely no need, after all, the situation on the road is obvious. One glance from the window is enough to understand: they are coming renovation work. However, indicating the reason reassures us. Conversely, the absence of “because” is terribly unnerving.

Frankfurt Airport, landing delayed. An announcement sounds: “The departure of flight LH 1234 is delayed by three hours.” I walk up to the counter and ask the lady the reason. Unsuccessfully. I'm offended. It’s monstrous to force people not only to wait, but to wait in ignorance. Here is another example of an announcement: “The departure of flight LH 5678 is delayed by three hours due to technical reasons.” The reason is extremely unconvincing, but it is enough to reassure both me and the other passengers.

People are obsessed with the morbid desire to know the reason, they need “because”. We need this word, even if it means nothing. And those who lead people know this for certain. If you don't give your employees the magical “because”, their motivation will wane. It is not enough to simply announce that your shoe company's purpose is to produce shoes, because that is precisely the purpose. No, your goal should be in the spirit of: “Our shoes will revolutionize the market” or: “We will decorate women's feet to decorate the world.”

About the art of reasonable action and clear thinking. About how not to make the mistakes that most people make when moving from thoughts to actions. The book describes 52 mental traps, knowledge of which will help you act judiciously in any situation.

You will learn:

why a wide choice of alternatives is bad;
why we love more what we made with our own hands;
how being over-informed can lead to rash decisions;
why you shouldn’t watch and read the news;
why, in fact, the best student in the class does not always become the most successful.

Who is this book for?

If you like books by Dan Ariely and Nassim Taleb and are interested in how we make decisions and what mistakes we make, this book is for you.

From the author

Think more clearly, act more intelligently, like Michelangelo, not focusing on David, but cutting off everything that is not like him. When we get rid of erroneous actions and judgments, clear thinking and reasonable behavior will come naturally. Ancient Greek, Roman and medieval thinkers had a special name for this course of action: via negativa. Translated from Latin - the path of denial, refusal, limitation. This term was first used in theology to define the essence of God: one cannot say what God is, one can only say what he is not. Relevant to today's concept via negativa can be formulated this way: it is impossible to say what gives us success, we can only say what harms its achievement. And that will be enough.

Expand description Collapse description

Preface from the translator - that is, me.

The idea to translate Rolf Dobelli’s book came to me a long time ago, even when I first read it. Lack of time and “translation skills” still prevailed, and almost two years have passed since I read it until today. I don’t know what exactly made me remember what I had planned once, but when I took my Kindle with me on the subway and started reading again, I simply couldn’t put it down. I warn you right away

a) I am not a translator. Moreover, I even write very illiterately in Russian. Let this not confuse the potential reader, but in my opinion the book is still worth it
b) most (if not all) of what the author writes about will be familiar to most. The essence lies, firstly, in a potentially unfamiliar small part and, secondly, in examples that emphasize the points and deepen their understanding.

I also really hope that with this translation I do not offend the feelings of the author, or do not infringe on his intellectual property.

Preface

It all started one autumn evening in 2004. At the invitation of the publisher Hubert Burda, I went to Munich to take part in the so-called “exchange with intellectuals.” I'd never thought of myself as an "intellectual" before (I studied microeconomics and became an entrepreneur - the opposite of an intellectual), but I published two novels, and that was obviously enough.
Sitting at the table was Nissam Nicholas Taleb, at that time a very “shady” Wall Street broker and lover of philosophizing. I was introduced to him as an expert on the English and Scottish enlightenment - especially David Hume. I was obviously confused with someone. I didn’t say anything, smiled a little hesitantly at everyone and with my pauses left the impression of having deep philosophical knowledge. Taleb immediately pulled a chair towards him and, slapping the seat, invited me to take a seat. Fortunately, after a few sentences the conversation moved from Hume to Wall Street, where I could at least somehow carry on the conversation. We had fun with the systematic mistakes of the directors, without attacking each other. We talked about how incredible events seem more likely in retrospect. We laughed at the fact that shareholders, being under the buying price, are not able to part with shares
Then he sent me his manuscripts, which I commented on, partially criticized, and which eventually formed the world bestseller “Black Swan.” This book catapulted Taleb into the league of intellectual stars. With a growing intellectual hunger, I devoured the literature on heuristics and statistical bias. In parallel, I intensified my exchanges with a circle of people who could be called the American intelligentsia of the east coast. Years later, I realized that in addition to my work as a writer and entrepreneur, I had a thorough education in social and cognitive psychology.
Thinking errors, as I call them, are systematic deviations from rationality, optimal, logical, reasonable thinking and behavior. The word "systematic" is important because we tend to "err in the same direction." For example, it happens much more often that we overestimate our knowledge than we underestimate it. Or the danger of losing something causes us excitement much faster than the possibility of winning something. A mathematician would talk about the asymmetrical distribution of our thinking errors. What a blessing - asymmetry sometimes allows you to foresee mistakes.
In order not to frivolously squander the wealth that I have accumulated throughout my career as a writer and entrepreneur, I began compiling a list of systematic thinking errors along with comments and anecdotes, without thinking about ever publishing it. I did this only for myself. I soon noticed that this list helped me not only in my investments, but also in my business and personal life. Knowing my mental mistakes made me calmer and more reasonable: I recognized my own mistakes in time and could prevent them before they caused much damage. For the first time, I understood when others were acting unwisely and was equipped to stand up to them—perhaps even to my advantage. But the main thing is that the specter of irrationality was disarmed, I had categories, definitions and explanations to drive it away. Thunder and lightning have not become rarer, weaker or quieter since the days of Benjamin Franklin, but they no longer inspire the same fear - just as I have mastered my irrationality.
Soon my friends began to be interested in my little textbook. This interest led to my small page in the newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine"( one of the most famous newspapers in Germany - approx.) and in the Swiss "SonntagsZeitung", many lectures (mainly to doctors, investors, directors and boards of trustees) and finally to this book. Voila. You hold it in your hands - maybe not your happiness, but at least insurance against a great misfortune caused by yourself.

ROLF DOBELLI

DIE KUNST DES KLUGEN HANDELNS

52 IRRWEGE DIE SIE BESSER ANDEREN ÜBERLASSEN

Mit Illustrationen von El Bocho und Simon Stehle

All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet or corporate networks, for private or public use without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Legal support for the publishing house is provided by the Vegas-Lex law firm.

Preface

Why is it sometimes enough to just name the reason?

Explanation of reasons

We receive more sympathy and understanding from others when we indicate the reason for our behavior. And what’s surprising is that her rationality does not play any role. This is explained by the magic words “because”. There is absolutely no need for a billboard that says “We are repairing this road for you”, after all, the situation on the road is obvious. One glance from the window is enough to understand: renovation work is underway. However, indicating the reason reassures us. Conversely, the absence of “because” is terribly unnerving.

People are obsessed with the morbid desire to know the reason, they need “because”. We need this word, even if it means nothing. And those who lead people know this for certain. If you don't give your employees the magical “because”, their motivation will wane. It is not enough to simply declare that your shoe company's purpose is to produce shoes, because that is precisely the purpose. No, your goal should be in the spirit of: “Our shoes will revolutionize the market” or: “We will decorate women's feet to decorate the world.”

If stock indexes rise or fall by half a percent, the stock commentator never indicates the real reason. Actually we're talking about about white noise, that is, about the random result of changes in market conditions. Readers want to know the reasons, and the commentator gives them. Moreover, what he says is completely unimportant (in such cases, the statements of the presidents of central banks are especially popular).