People think and act irrationally, even they believe they are rational. Cognitive science has been proving this lately. So only we can do is knowing how we are irrational, that help us to think and act less irrationally.
The author of this book is not scientist but journalist. He gives us practical 99 examples with short stories.
1. Overestimate your chance to succeeding.
In daily life, because triumph is made more visible than failure, you systematically overestimate your chance of succeeding. (P.1)
2. The circumstance of yours.
Harvard has the reputation of being a top university. Many highly successful people have studied there. Does this mean that Harvard is a good school? We do not know. (P.5)
3. We are not rational.
If fifty million people say something foolish, it is still foolish. (P.12)
4. That had already done.
The film was dire. After an hour, I whispered to my wife; “Come on, let’s go home.” She replied; “No way, we are not throwing away thirty dollars.”
We have spent the thirty dollars regardless of whether we stay or leave, so this factor should not play a role in our decision. (P.13)
5. absolute value.
The contrast effect. Experiment shows that people are willing to walk an extra ten minutes to save $10 on food. But those same people would not dream of walking ten minutes to save $10 on a $1000 suit. An irrational move because ten minutes is ten minutes, and $10 is $10. Logically, you should walk back in both cases or not at all. (P.29)
6, Attractive people.
Why attractive people climb the career ladder more quickly. – Halo effect. (P.113)
7. Delay rewards.
The older we get and the more self-control we build up, the more easily we can delay rewards. (P.154)
8. Procrastination.
So get over yourself. Procrastination is irrational but human. To fight is, use a combined approach. (P.256)
9. Envy.
Envy is the most stupid of vices, for there is no single advantage to be gained from it. (P.258)
10. Jealousy.
The subject of envy is a thing (status, money, health and so on.) The subject of jealousy is the behavior of third person. Envy needs two people. Jealousy, on the other hand, required three. (P.258)
11. Talent and hard work.
Little is achieved without talent, and nothing is achieved without hard work. When a person is successful for a long run compared to less qualified people – then and only then is talent the essential element. (P.282)
These are sentences I though helpful for me. If you are interested in some, I would suggest you try this book.