Thinking Fast and Slow Short Summary

The book was written by a psychologist by the name Daniel Kahneman. The author explains that the human mind is made of two systems that are sometimes involved in a fight. Conflicts that arise from these systems lead to humans making wrong decisions in some cases. System 1 is known as fast thinking, while system 2 is slow thinking.

The operation of the two systems controls every decision that is made by humans. Instead of these systems working together, they are often engaged in fights. As a result, one can easily make the wrong decisions as to the proper judgment by an individual is blurred.

The first system of the mind is fast when it comes to decision making. Our past survival guides its operation. The system primitive skills such as the ability to judge distances, danger detection, and determining where a particular sound has come from. With practice, an individual can add other skills such as arithmetic calculations, comprehension of sentences, and driving. Other skills that you can learn include making fast moves in a chess game.

On the other hand, the 2^nd system is usually slow. Logic controls its operations. However, it is less primitive when compared to system 1. It can help in making more complex decisions such as calculating complex mathematical problems, moving in an unfamiliar area, and understanding other complex arguments.

A huge portion of this book focuses on the interaction of the two systems. Both systems are usually in operation when one is awake. System 1 always works even when one is asleep. On the other hand, system two wats to be used in difficult decision-making situations that cannot be handled by system 1. The systems develop over the years of human life. They are aimed at making life easier.

However, system one sometimes prevents two from taking over in difficult situations. For example, it is common for people to ignore their intuition. System 1 is usually effective in familiar situations. However, there are those moments when the human brain becomes lazy, making it hard to make decisions. The errors can sometimes be too huge and have a massive impact on human life. In the book, the author points out the errors that people can make when coming up with solutions and gives effective techniques for controlling human thinking.