The World's Best Book Summaries
What is hindsight bias? How does it work, and how can you avoid it? Hindsight bias is the tendency to believe you have predicted events or outcomes that were unpredictable. Hindsight bias is a problem because it inflates our confidence about predicting the future. We’ll look at hindsight bias examples that make the above definition clearer. Learn why the hindsight bias in psychology is an issue and how to overcome it.
What is “fast thinking?” When should you use it, and when should you slow down? Fast thinking is thinking that is automatic and quick. It uses little or no effort, and no sense of voluntary control. Learn when to trust your fast thinking and why formulas usually beat intuitions.
If you’re overweight, what are the issues with getting pregnant? How can it cause issues with complications in pregnancy, and in your baby’s future outcome? Learn more here.
What is the cell-free fetal DNA test? How can it help you detect Down Syndrome and other disorders, at minimal risk to the baby? Learn more about this modern advance in fetal genetic testing.
What is expected utility theory? How is it used to predict human behavior? And what are its flaws? Expected utility theory is a theory of how people make choices and take risks when they don’t know the outcome. Traditional expected utility theory asserts that people are rational agents that calculate the utility of each situation and make the optimum choice each time. We’ll look at how expected utility theory for decision making works and cover some of its flaws.
What is outcome bias? How does it manifest in your everyday life, and how can you avoid it? Outcome bias is the tendency to evaluate the quality of a decision when the outcome is already known. People who succeeded are assumed to have made better decisions than people who failed. We’ll look at outcome bias examples and why we’re so vulnerable to outcome bias.
While you may be a habitual smoker, pregnancy is a special time when smoking will affect the fetus. How much smoking is OK while pregnant? And what are the risks of smoking during pregnancy?
What is “slow thinking?” How can you use it to become a better thinker and make better decisions? Slow thinking is when you allocate attention to the effortful mental activities that demand it, including complex computations. It’s often associated with the subjective experience of agency, choice and concentration. We’ll cover what slow thinking is and how to use it to make better decisions.
A premature birth occurs before 36 weeks and occurs in 12% of pregnancies. Early-term is between 37-38 weeks, and full-term is 39 and beyond. Over the past decades, survival for preterm babies has increased dramatically due to improvements like assisted ventilation (lungs develop later in pregnancy). It’s a marvel that even babies born at 22 weeks still have a shot at survival. What are the specific chances of survival for each week of pregnancy? How likely is a baby to survive at 24 weeks, vs 26 weeks, and 28 weeks?
What are your chances of getting pregnant, depending on the day that you ovulate? The good news is, your chances of getting pregnant are pretty good, ranging from 10 to 35%, depending on when you try conceiving relative to your ovulation day. However, outside of a range of days, you have 0% chance of getting pregnant. We’ll cover how ovulation works, your specific chances of conception before ovulation, and why the chance of getting pregnant varies so much.