cstraus's blog

OK, now I have also read "Sway: The Irrational Pull of Irrational Behavior" written by two Israeli brothers. This book, like "Mistakes Were Made" discusses why people do things based on parts of their thinking they are not conscious of. The examples range from the fatal-- a top pilot taking off in a fog and killing himself, the entire crew and all "souls" on board. (my words) to a preference for flat rates on such things as cell phone minutes. (I found fault only here-- the cell phone companies price these plans so the "fairness bias" kicks in. But more on that later.)

This book is far more readable than MWM (the Tavris book) and--happily-- shares some ways to avoid the quirks that beset us humans in our thinking.

OK folks—I have finished the book on “cognitive dissonance.” I read in vain for the missing pieces—what do we do to change this… and (most telling) what about the fact that everyone simply is NOT stuck in this mode.

I am also sorry to say I discovered the authors had their own conformation bias. They quote an author who sates that we all know right from wrong because we were children we know what hurt us (which I am convinced is true ) then state categorically that their example—Charles Cranmer and Lynndie England of Abu Ghraib infamy did not know what they were doing was wrong-or evil.

Later in the book they state “but the soul wants to confess.” Which is also true. This is why we say someone has “sold their soul” when they do what they know is wrong. These two statements can’t both be true—but the authors overlook this These authors (and their editors) seem to have fallen prey to their own confirmation bias.