Eliminating cognitive errors

“You are on your way to a concert. It is flawed decision-making triggered by “social proof”-driven thinking that causes toxic bubbles in the stock market, points out Dobelli, noting that this tendency “exists in fashion, management techniques, hobbies, religion and diets. It can paralyse whole cultures, such as when sects commit collective suicide.” But “social proof”, or a decision based on the herd instinct, is only one of the 99 “cognitive errors” that he describes in this insightful and entertaining volume. But today’s world rewards independent thinking, not the herd, argues Dobelli, and that puts a premium on the ability to think without cognitive errors. The other cognitive errors Dobelli dwells on include confirmation bias, sunk cost fallacy, availability bias, and survivorship bias.