I Think Therefore I Am Wrong: A Guide to Bias, Political Correctness, Fake News and the Future of Mankind

by Howard Rankin

What really influences your thinking? How do emotion, experience and logic interact? How can you protect yourself against the rampant manipulation and distortion that exists in our society? How do you know the degree to which your thinking is being influenced by others? How can you make better decisions?"Human beings aren't logical, they're psychological, with the emphasis on the psycho," wrote Howard Rankin in his book Power Talk; The Art of Effective Communication. In I Think Therefore I Am Wrong, Dr Rankin explores the various processes of thinking and shows how for the most part, we are not logical but rationalizers, story-tellers interested in consistency and emotional comfort than the truth. The book takes us through the latest information in cognitive neuroscience, told with Rankin's uncanny knack of making scientific ideas easy to grasp and wrapping the details in humor. Who would have thought cognitive neuroscience could be that funny! The overall message also has some dark undertones as Rankin shows how and why, the conventional and social media have major influences on thoughts and beliefs and how that impacts us in the present and the future of civilization. Rankin explores traditional concepts of defense mechanisms and relates them to the many cognitive biases that have been identified, as we march to an ever more narcissistic view of 'reality'. These biases effect every aspect of life and Rankin explores how they influence key institutions like healthcare, the law, education as well as relationships. Rankin also offers suggestions and tools on how we can as individuals improve emotional control -- a critical component for more critical and objective thinking.

Genres: Psychology

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 15, 2019

Reviews

[Nilesh Jasani · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read with many quotable quotes interspersed in between. One learns a lot about numerous behavioral terms, too. However, the secondary nature of the theoretical aspects and comparatively few practical examples make it too preachy at times and too laboriously obvious at others.