Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average, by Joseph T. Hallinan, 2009.
This is an absolutely intriguing book. I’ve never seen a book that really explores why we all seem to make decisions that in retrospect were clearly wrong – and then we go and do it again!
Hallinan shares the research into how we can “walk and chew gum but not much else”; why the “grass does look greener” every time and why people insist that San Diego is west of Reno. Hallinan has a wealth of real life stories and you will see yourself in many of them.
Keep this book by your bed and treat yourself to a good laugh just before you turn off the light. And maybe you’ll find yourself making some mental shifts and avoiding a mistake or two.