Discount Shopping Online :: Books Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things : :

Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things
by: Madeleine L. Van Hecke

List Price: $19.98

Amazon.com's Price: $13.59

You Save: $6.39 (32%)
Prices subject to change.

Used Price: $10.75
Third Party New Price: $10.75

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 153
EAN: 9781591025092
ISBN: 1591025095
Label: Prometheus Books
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 250
Publication Date: April 26, 2007
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Sales Rank: 3319
Studio: Prometheus Books

Related Items:

Editorial Review:

Product Description:
A woman planning a dinner party calls a gourmet caterer and learns that 'Chateaubriand' can be ordered. To which she responds, 'No, thanks. We're going to take care of the wine ourselves'. The dead silence at the end of the phone is her first clue that something is amiss. A CEO attempts to put an end to complaints from employees about the demeaning behaviour of certain managers by berating the managers before the staff - thus reinforcing the very behaviour he's trying to correct. We often criticise such incidents with remarks like 'How dumb!' or 'What was he thinking?' But psychologist Madeleine L Van Hecke argues that much of what we label stupidity can better be explained as blind spots. Just as the blind spot in the driver's side mirror can swallow up a passing car, patterns in the way we think can likewise become blind spots, sifting out information and observations that to other people seem obvious. Drawing on research in creativity, cognitive psychology, critical thinking, child development, education, and philosophy, Dr Van Hecke shows how our assets as thinkers create the very blind spots that become our worst liabilities. She devotes a chapter to each of ten mental blind spots that afflict even the smartest people: not stopping to think, jumping to conclusions, my-side bias, getting trapped by categories, and much more. At the end of each chapter she offers tactics for overcoming that specific blind spot, so we can become more creative and competent thinkers. Full of funny, poignant stories about human foibles, 'Blind Spots' offers many insights for improving our social and political lives while giving us fresh slants into the minds of people who are poles apart from ourselves.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Clear and concise explanation
I found this book to be very good and I recommend it to others who are looking for ways to identify and fix performance blind spots. Explanations were very clear and I had no trouble following the content. I thought the recommendations, provided by the book to help identify and remedy my blind spots when dealing with situations and people, were excellent.

Rating:

- Pablum!!!
I had high expectations but all I got was common sense....stop and think, look from somebody else's perspective, etc. This was very disappointing. I expected some science and some insight.

Rating:

- Too much common sense & too little insight
I must start by saying I only read the first 65 or so pages (about 1/3rd of the book) before the author lost my attention. She filled the first several pages with a shallow discussion of commom tenets your parents or teachers probably already shared with you. I paraphrase: 'Stop and think before you act'; 'What you don't know CAN hurt you'; 'Don't miss the forest for the trees.'

In the subsequent chapters, she attempted to dive more deeply into the reasons these tenets ring true. As I read through the discussion, I came away with the distinct impression that I was stuck in an entry level class on human behavior at a community college. Her analysis lacked depth; her analogies were flat or did not fit. She offered little insight into an intriguing topic.

Based on the reviews I read before purchasing the book, I expected more rigor and critical analysis than I found. The book's concept has ... Read More

Rating:

- Get ...and stay...Smart!
If every person in a position of responsibility read this book, perhaps there would be fewer catastrophes! Granted, there are so many things at play in complex situations, a mere human may not be able to change entire outcomes. However, there are so many stupid decisions that contribute to ruin ... and that can be changed. That's why this book is so important.

Van Hecke presents 10 Blind Spots:
1. Not Stopping to Think
2. What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
3. Not Noticing
4. Not Seeing Yourself
5. My-side Bias
6. Trapped by Categories
7. Jumping to Conclusions
8. Fuzzy Evidence
9. Missing Hidden Causes
10. Missing the Big Picture

While listing the chapters may seem like the Cliff Notes, it would be a mistake to conclude that the list is the whole story. The author does a complete, substantiated and entertaing job of describing ... Read More

Discount Shopping Online Books and Publications

Books : Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things
Books and Publications Average Rating:

Search the web for info about Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things

Discount Shopping Online Books and Publications

Books : Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb ThingsBooks and Publications Average Rating:

Search the web for info about Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things

Books : Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things
Books and Publications Average Rating: