The influential mind
by Tali Sharot · first published 2017
50% recommend50% neutral
"We all have a duty to affect others--from the classroom to the boardroom to social media. But how skilled are we at this role, and can we become better? It turns out that many of our instincts--from relying on facts and figures to shape opinions, to insisting others are wrong or attempting to exert control--are ineffective, because they are incompatible with how peoples minds operate. Sharot shows us how to avoid these pitfalls, and how an attempt to change beliefs and actions is successful when it is well-matched with the core elements that govern the human brain"--Amazon.com.
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…of the other power-losing enties). All three have become terribly efficient at using hype, hyperbole and divisiveness as means to "proving" they still matter. For more info on these concepts see "The Influential Mind" by Tali Sharot. https://www.amazon.com/Influential-Mind-Reveals-Change-Other... While she doesn't do a direct take down of media, social media and politics, it doesn't take a genius to read between…
on “Americans Agree: Social Media Is Divisive (But We Keep Using It)” ↗Interesting. I'd be curious to know if the author has read "The Influential Mind" by Tali Sharot. Long to short, humans are wired to be anything but rational and purely logical (even when necessary). https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/books/review/the-influ... The book was on…
on “The financial cost of not knowing things” ↗Best of luck. We need it! That said, I'd like to suggest a book. "The Influential Mind." Long to short, there's more to influence than objective facts. https://www.amazon.com/Influential-Mind-Reveals-Change-Other...
on “Launch HN: OurWorldInData (YC W19 Nonprofit) – Data on World’s Largest Problems” ↗…orange - gets hammer their facts into their echo chamber. Etc. It's important to realize that there is no democracy or democratic process without a health and proper Fouth Estate. Btw, Tali Sharot's "The Influential Mind" is a great read on the subject on influence. https://www.amazon.com/Influential-Mind-Reveals-Change-Other... Edit: their to there. with to without.
on “The American Press Is Destroying Itself” ↗If you find this article interesting look into "The Influential Mind" by Tali Sharot. It was on FT's shortlist for Best of 2017. The parallel is how the brain is wired, and how that effects perception / belief. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781627792653
on “Statistics, Fast and Slow” ↗To Further Reading I would add: The Influential Mind By Tali Sharot It was on FT's shortlist for Best Book of 2017. https://upliftconnect.com/tali-sharot-influential-mind/ --- That aside, tools, I would think, are a function of culture; and culture…
on “How to Get Your Teammates to Follow Your Lead” ↗Two things to add: 1) You might be interested in the book The Influential Mind. While she doesn't come out and say it directly, the bizarre state of our digital lives (i.e., social media) has quite a bit of reasonable (scientific) explanation. https://www.amazon.com/Influential-Mind-Reveals-Change-Other...…
on “Google workers discussed tweaking search after travel ban” ↗…and (say) voting. The act of voting, like it or not, creates (and/or acknowledges) a bias. Of course, this applies to everyone as well. As a side note, of sorts, earlier this year I read the book "The Influential Mind" by Tali Sharot. While she didn't address it directly she explains quite a bit of the dysfunctional discourse in todays (digital / social media) world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyME0Idsq9w
on “Biased News Media or Biased Readers? An Experiment on Trust” ↗If anyone would like to explore the topic a bit further try "The Influential Mind" by Tali Sharot. It was on FT's short list for best of 2017. It's a quick easy read. Gladwell-esque. The difference iis, she is an actual scientest who works in that field. Tho' perhaps that makes her…
on “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds (2017)” ↗I found Start The Week very good this week. Pinker appeared with Rob Riemen (philosopher, author of On Facism and Humanism) and Tali Sharot (neuroscientist, author of The Influential Mind.) I thought Pinker's progress argument was soundly defeated by Rieman. His counter-argument was that Pinker's arguments have the same hollowness of similar arguments before the WW1 and then again WW2.…
on “Twenty Questions with Steven Pinker” ↗I'm only a chapter in on "The Influential Mind" by Tali Sharot, but the op-ed as influential makes sense. Mainly because a good op-ed should explore the given issue with some balance (i.e., present and identify with all sides), and draw its own conclusion.
on “Newspaper op-eds change minds” ↗The book The Influential Mind does a chapter on (essentially) tips & tricks for estimates (of all kinds). Long to short, be careful of group think. It's best to collect the estimates independently, then aggregate. Else the group members…
on “Even bad estimates are valuable if you use them right” ↗…knock on crowds is they are quickly and easily compromised by debate. That is, have to get everyone's opinion __before__ there's discussion. I'm sure there are plenty of sources. I read about it in The Influential Mind.
on “Knowledge from small number of debates outperforms wisdom of large crowds (2017)” ↗FYI this test is also "diffused" in the book The Influential Mind.
on “Replication of Marshmallow Test: Delayed Gratification May Be Less Predictive” ↗