Summary of David McRaney's You Are Not So Smart

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 You constantly split your mind into consciousness and subconsciousness. You are doing it right now – breathing, blinking, swallowing, maintaining your posture, and holding your mouth closed while you read. You could pull those systems into conscious control or leave them to the autonomic nervous system.

#2 The subjects in the study did not wash away their emotions, but they did connect their hand washing with all the interconnected ideas associated with the act. They then influenced their behavior.

#3 The researchers conducted the experiment with real objects instead of photos. The participants played the ultimatum game with a briefcase and leather portfolio, and 91 percent of the group that connected the neutral photos chose to split the money evenly. The group that connected business-related images only offered to split the money evenly half of the time.

#4 The adaptive unconscious is a place where unconscious primes are processed. It is largely inaccessible, and you can’t directly self-prime. You must allow your brain to take the lead and make decisions on its own.