Book Reading #47 - Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 8: We Like Things Tidy
Summary:
People remember things as much "cleaner" than they were in reality. For example, people remember rivers, states, streets, etc as much straighter than they really are. Also, humans will alter stories so they make sense in their mind, even to great lengths. Finally, how much we remember is greatly limited, and we also will believe our own outright fibs if it fits the impression in our own mind.
Chapter 9: Men Shoot First
Summary:
The main difference between men and women is the level of confidence. Men are more confident in themselves, which leads to better navigation, debugging, and social skills. Men will over estimate how well they did, why women will under estimate their performance. The role of tinkering and exploring as children can lead to these results.
Discussion:
I thought the bit about how we remember things being straighter was really neat. People generally like things organized, in some form or another, and I thought it was cool we even do this to our own mind. I didn't think anything else particularly stuck out in the rest of the chapter, except how we will change a story so it will make sense in our own mind. I loved the second chapter. I immediately texted my fiancee to tell her that the book said men are better navigators. I also loved the part about directions, but strongly disagree that using landmarks is more concrete. What happens if there is more than one church, as in the example in the book? I know I'm biased, but I also know that cardinal directions don't change, nor do mileages. The best solution is probably something in the middle.