The art of thinking clearly
by Rolf Dobelli · first published 2013
56% recommend37% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short chapters cover 99 common thinking errors and cognitive biases, each with memorable examples and stories. Suits readers new to biases who want names for patterns they've sensed and a quick, approachable survey.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
The Art of Thinking Clearly by world-class thinker and entrepreneur Rolf Dobelli is an eye-opening look at human psychology and reasoning — essential reading for anyone who wants to avoid “cognitive errors” and make better choices in all aspects of their lives. Have you ever: Invested time in something that, with hindsight, just wasn’t worth it? Or continued doing something you knew was bad for you? These are examples of cognitive biases, simple errors we all make in our day-to-day thinking. But by knowing what they are and how to spot them, we can avoid them and make better decisions. S
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…stone age times and how that still influences us today. This is by no means exhaustive but are just some of the topics I've found most useful. That said, here are the best resources I've found: - The Art Of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli: Taught me about human biases. Reads like a directory of most biases. - Influence by Robert Cialdini: Taught me about incentives and a whole lot more. - Metaphors We Live By by George…
on “Ask HN: Any recommended books on developing mental models?” ↗…highest offer but be ready to walk out if things go badly. 4. Don't fall for the sunken-cost fallacy - if you're in a bad relationship of any sort then get out early and consider yourself lucky. See "The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli for more. This especially includes love.
on “Ask HN: What is it like to be old? What advice would you give to younger people?” ↗- "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie - "The art of thinking clearly" by Ralf Dobelli - "Sources of power" by Gary Klein - "The 8 pillars of motivation" by Farnoosh Brock - "ReWork" by Jason Fried and David Hansson - "Don't make me think" by Steve Krug - "The art…
on “Ask HN: What were your "life-changing" books?” ↗The Art of Thinking Clearly : a 2013 book by the Swiss writer Rolf Dobelli which describes in short chapters 99 of the most common thinking errors - ranging from cognitive biases to elements like envy and social distortions. Really…
on “Ask HN: Books on specific topics that have applied to many areas of your life?” ↗"The Art of Thinking Clearly" by Rolf Dobelli: It explains some concepts that I've been thinking about but can't directly name.
on “Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?” ↗I would recommend books like Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow" and Dobelli's "The Art of Thinking Clearly". Maybe also "How to win friends and influence people" for good leadership mentality. And Erich Fromm's "The Art of Listening" for empathetic leadership. I've read a couple of consulting books, but psychology…
on “Ask HN: Favorite books on how to be a good manager?” ↗@soneca thank you for that link, I hadn't read this particular post. rolf dobelli's 'the art of thinking clearly' has a similar essay which greatly affected me to avoid 'news'. Ironically he also wrote a piece in the UK Guardian newspaper https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/12/news-is-bad-ro... recommending…
on “Tell HN: Aaron Swartz's website is offline” ↗Some resources to start with: - Problem Solving 101 - Ken Watanabe - The Pyramid Principle - Barbara Minto Mental Models: - https://fs.blog/mental-models/ - The Art of Thinking Clearly - Rolf Dobelli - Books by Nassim Taleb Meditate: - waking up app - Sam Harris
on “Ask HN: How to Think Clearly?” ↗Reminds me of The Art of Thinking Clearly https://www.amazon.com/Art-Thinking-Clearly-Rolf-Dobelli/dp/... , also a fantastic book. Thanks for sharing! When I read these, I understand them, but find it hard to recognize instances of when I'm…
on “Cheat Sheet of Cognitive Biases, Heuristics and Fallacies” ↗I learnt about this (similar) topic about 4 years ago: Rolf Dobelli mentioned something in some section in his book "The Art of Thinking Clearly". It's not about the technology, but the same idea may be applied. Since then I have given up many "good" things. That's a good book and I think you may learn something from it too.
on “Ask HN: How do you deal with information addiction?” ↗I like this book: "The Art of Thinking Clearly" by Rolf Dobelli. It has some tips on how to avoid some of them. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Thinking-Clearly-Rolf-Dobelli/dp/...
on “Guide to cognitive biases” ↗"The art of thinking clearly" by Rolf Dobelli https://www.amazon.com/Art-Thinking-Clearly-Rolf-Dobelli/dp/... 99 cognitive biases with memorable examples and stories.
on “Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?” ↗A related, fun book I have been reading is The Art of Thinking Clearly. I recommend it if this topic interests you.
on “Mental Models Box – A collection of models useful in everyday life” ↗This is article is very bad rip-off from the book "Art of thinking clearly". This book goes into each of bias that we face in everyday life. Knowing them can help you immensely. The articles just takes contents from the book to and try to infer that NEWS is bad for you. It…
on “News is bad for you” ↗…great as it covers the mental models. It also has a wealth of life advice. You can also subscribe to the fs blog or their podcast The Knowledge Project. They do a lot with mental models. The book The Art of Thinking Clearly is another great book that covers biases of the mind in one to two pages each. The Tim Ferris podcast surprisingly has some amazing guests filled with life advice. I just listened to one with Jim Collins,…
on “Ask HN: What are good resources for life advice?” ↗