In an age with too many choices and unprecedented levels of stimuli*, it’s hard to figure out what to ignore and what to focus on.

    Have you spent time doing something that, in hindsight*, just wasn’t worth it? Or spent too much money shopping online? Or continued to do something you knew was bad for you?

    These are examples of what Rolf Dobelli calls cognitive biases*, simple errors all of us make in day-to-day thinking. But by knowing what they are and how to identify* them, we can avoid them and make better choices: whether in dealing with personal problems or business negotiations*, trying to save money or earn profits, or just working out what we really want in life.

    The author maps out* these errors and how to avoid them in brief, pointed chapters, and while each is interesting in its own right, together they are overwhelming*: 300 or so pages are divided into 99 chapters. Their format is also wearying* — each section consists of a concept* wrapped in a tight anecdote* that ends too often with a blunt “In conclusion….” This is mostly about figuring out how to shuck off* the unnecessary.

    From why you shouldn’t accept a free drink to why you should walk out of a movie you don’t like, from why it’s so hard to predict the future to why you shouldn’t watch the news, the book helps solve the puzzle* of human reasoning.(SD-Agencies)