The World's Best Book Summaries
What is narrative fallacy? When and why do you make this fallacy, and how can you avoid it? The narrative fallacy is the tendency to create a story with cause-and-effect explanations out of random details and events. We fall victim to the narrative fallacy because our brains want to make sense of a random world. Learn why your brain is so prone to falling for the narrative fallacy and how to counter it.
What is “System 1 Thinking,” from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow? When should I use it, and when shouldn’t I? System 1 thinking is thinking that operates automatically and quickly. It takes little or no effort, and no sense of voluntary control. We’ll cover how Kahneman’s System 1 thinking is involved in making judgments and what biases System 1 thinking leaves you susceptible to.
Which fish are best for you to eat during pregnancy? In Expecting Better, Emily Oster covers the best fish while pregnant, from best to worst.
How easy is it to get pregnant at age 30? Age 35? Age 40 or 45? We’ve got the data here on your chances of conception at each age, along with charts showing the data. Contrary to what you learned in high school health class, it’s not that easy to get pregnant. Female fertility peaks in your teens, then decreases gradually from then on, until falling off a cliff around age 45.
Nausea is very common in pregnancy – 90% of women report nausea, and >50% report vomiting. The important thing concerning nausea is to know when you have an unusually high level of nausea, and when to seek help.
What is the endowment effect? Am I affected by it? How does it function in my everyday life? The endowment effect is the theory that people keep an object and value it more highly once they own it. In essence, the endowment effect causes people to overvalue their belongings. We’ll look at three examples of the endowment effect and how you’re susceptible to it.
The medications you take while pregnant can affect your baby’s health. The baby is exposed to most drugs the mother takes, except for large molecules (e.g. heparin) and drugs that get stuck in the placenta (e.g. buprenorphine). So what medicine can pregnant women take, and what should they avoid? Learn the five categories of safety here.
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.