I Think Therefore I Am Wrong

Perhaps it's time to start telling people how they really think, not what to think? The science is fairly clear. We are story-tellers most interested in emotional comfort and consistency in our narratives rather than rationality. The processes of perception and memory are vulnerable to different forms of interference. Cognitive biases allow us to justify whatever we want. Numerous brain shortcuts and defaults have been hacked by marketers and others who want to influence us our thoughts and decisions. The trend towards the uncritical acceptance of our egocentric perceptions continues apace. In the era of the selfie, objectivity is getting a downgrade.

I Think Therefore I Am Wrong is due for release on November 1st 2019. It explores the process of thinking and how it is influenced by a variety of factors that can lead us far away from the truth. And when you consider how complicated “the truth” really is, it’s no surprise that so much of our thinking is flawed.

Other writers in this area claim that despite these problems people generally get by with a combination of intuition and some rationality. I think that’s being too generous! Sure, a lot of times generalizations and even miscalculations don’t really matter, but on other occasions they can be disastrous at a personal and societal level. Do you want to believe in the science of climate change or do you prefer to close your eyes because it either doesn’t fit your agenda, you don’t want to believe it or it makes you uncomfortable? Either way, you’ll chose numerous biases including the ubiquitous confirmation bias to convince yourself you are right and people who believe otherwise are misinformed idiots.

Binary thinking is too simplistic. You can choose to accept that or not.

This issue is critical because it affects every aspect of your life and human existence. There’s the normalcy bias which is the tendency to undervalue and minimize events that have never happened before on the grounds that, well….they haven’t happened before. (See the response of some brick and mortar retailers to the advent of online shopping).

Temporal discounting is another ubiquitous bias. We significantly discount the future, because it isn’t here yet and we can’t feel future emotions

I can predict that people will not look to the future

We train our brains every second of our existence through the things we attend to, how we perceive and react to them. We consciously or otherwise allow others to program us, making fake news, be it malicious or unintentional, not just a nuisance but a serious influence.

The understanding of the many cognitive biases sheds light not only on your own life decisions but the inconsistencies and flaws in many critical institutions, such as the Law, Healthcare, Education, the Media, even Science, pretty much everything.

Testimonials

“Nothing less than the shared fate of humanity hinges on our collective judgments- about imperatives and opportunities, proprieties and priorities. These, in turn, depend on how we think, and reach closure. By illuminating the paths that lead to our conclusions, Dr. Rankin helps us know ourselves better- and better manage these big brains for which our kind is famous.” –– David Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM, CEO, DietID; President, True Health Initiative; Director, Yale-Griffin PRC, author or The Truth About Food, leading Lifestyle as Health expert and influencer.

“The challenges we are facing today and the perils of the future have less to do with our resources, and the environment, and more to do with our thoughts. How we will make decisions as a collective going forward will determine the future of our kids and the ultimate fate of our planet. In this enlightening book, Dr. Rankin shines the piercing light of reason upon the very fabric of thought. It is only when we are able to find the proper tools of thinking that we may be able to navigate the journey.”  – Dean Sherzai MD, MPH, MAS, Director of Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University, Co-author of The Alzheimer’s Solution and co-founder of Healthy Minds Initiative.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 Is Reality an Illusion?

Chapter 2 Logic

Chapter 3 What is Thinking?

Chapter 4 The Problem of Perception

Chapter 5 Words and Language

Chapter 6 The Binary Brain and Determinism

Chapter 7 Emotions and Thoughts

Chapter 8 Offendology and Political Correctness

Chapter 9 Defense Mechanisms

Chapter 10 Mature Defenses

Chapter 11 Cognitive Bias

Chapter 12 Bias, Spirituality and Morality

Chapter 13 Intuition

Chapter 14 Cognitive Bias in Daily Life

Chapter 15 Science and Pseudoscience

Chapter 16 Culture and Philosophy

Chapter 17 The Future of Mankind

Chapter 18 Evolution of Consciousness

The book also includes exercises to reduce cognitive biases and improve self-awareness.

“If you don’t know what introspection is you need to take a long, hard look at yourself.” – Ian Smith

You can pre-order a Kindle version here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WSRKK96