Keep Your Eyes Open

If you still think all your decisions are rational, think again.

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Dec 27, 2011

Posted by: Douwe Rienstra, MD

Never Stop Re-Evaluating What You Think to be True

The complexity of this world makes it difficult for us to really see it. The ancients thought with good reason that the sun travelled around the earth, until Aristarchus of Samos realized that it didn't. Until recently time and the world we see seemed fixed and regular; Einstein reasoned they just couldn't be, that they had to bend.

And still today we think we accurately judge the people and the world around us. We can't. Many of us think that humans are dangerously damaging the environment; many of us think the opposite. Therefore, no matter how the facts turn out, quite a few of us are very self-confidently wrong.

This difficulty in perceiving the world accurately endangers our health. When doctors disagree, whom should you believe? If your family disagrees with the doctor, how do you decide?

This book review gives actual examples of how we can misperceive the world, and how correct perceptions can save lives. Click here to learn more.