Customer Reviews

Bozo Sapiens: Why to Err is Human

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
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"Despite the medieval paintings, Error is not a single being, born of sin, and enemy of Man. Error, unpersonified, is a part of our thinking process - an ally. If a dangerous one, in understanding and controlling the world. Once we know its taxonomy, from slips to motivated reasoning, we can design our way out of some of it." (p. 139)

Bozo Sapiens is a book based on the above premise: that error in thinking is endemic to human nature. Take away our tendency to err, and you take away a part of what makes us human. While no one is saying that humans do not possess a good deal of rationality, the truth still runs contra to what logicians and some philosophers want us to believe: we are not always the rational animal.

The book starts with a lively discussion on what logic is (a tool for thought), why it is important, and why it is not the natural state of the mind. One must work at logic, as evidenced by the bevy just as alive today as when Aristotle first catalogued them. Rather than being the laws of thought (as some have supposed) logic is a sometimes unnatural tool that we can, but often don't, use to think our way to conclusions.

What else do we use? The answer is taken up by the next 2/3rds - the meat - of the book. First, there are sensory mistakes (optical illusions, false memories, selective listening, etc.). Since we humans rely on our senses for much of what we believe, when our senses go wrong, it is hard indeed to rectify the situation (try convincing the schizophrenic that there is no CIA plot to listen to his inner thoughts, or the ghost-hunter that it is all smoke and mirrors).

Another favorite fallacy of the Kaplan's is "motivated reasoning,"; what is more commonly called "confirmation bias." We humans have a tendency to favor our own leanings rather than to see situations objectively. This leads not only to people "sseing evidence everywhere" for some most foolish beliefs (holocaust denial, UFOlogy), but to our tendency to erroneously believe that others err more than we. All of this is made possible by our very very human tendency to attend to the "hits" while ignoring or discounting the "misses."

An entire chapter is devoted to errors made in economics. The authors rightly see economics and finance as a field where inordinate amount of errors occur, and rightly note that this is largely becuase our evolved brains were not "designed" to handle large numbers and statistics. We come from hunter/gatherers whose brains helped them get food and deal with things right in front of them, rather than placeholders, decimals, and commas.

Lastly, we deal with the very human areas of love and ethics. We have all done stupid things for love. How stupid? Well, our authors detail some fascinating examples (which show that we have not gotten far beyond our ancestors' tendency to think short-term when the heart is concerned.) And ethics? Well, philosophers have debated its fine points for years, and our authors fare no better. What do we make of humans' conflicting impulses towards doing for onesself and helping others, for short-term gain and long-term happiness, for 'ends in themselves' and 'ends justified by means.'

All in all, Bozo Sapiens is a page turning read for those who, like myself, marvel at our remarkable human strength and frailty. The Kaplans never intend to degrade humans by pointing out the more stupid things we do, but only to remind us that we are human and that this is for better or worse.

One complaint I have about this book is that it is often whirligig in nature, never sticking to one subject long enough to do more than offer a brief taste. There is not much original here (that cannot also be found in books like "Nudge," and "Predictably Irrational.") That said, the writing and examples used are fascinating, and I reccomend this book to anyone fascinated with how our brain works (or does not).

The basic premise of Bozo Sapiens is that while it is human for us to reach for the stars, it is also human for us to shoot ourselves in the foot. The authors focus their bemused attention on the second point, examining how and why we humans repeatedly make ghastly errors in dating, at work, in investing, in politics, etc.

B.S. is like a college-level survey course on human folly, taught by a team of experts, one of whom is a bit tipsy. The sober-sided experts talk about the latest research in neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, cognitive and social psychology, behavioral finance, and evolutionary biology; while the happy lush at the end of the table contributes an endless stream of hilarious anecdotes and examples that help illustrate all that dry research. The experts are highly informative; the lush is highly entertaining.

B.S. has the normal advantages and disadvantages of any survey course. The range of topics covered is enormous, but few topics are covered in any real depth. Anyone looking for an in-depth discussion of neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, cognitive and social psychology, etc., is probably going to be disappointed. But if what you're looking for is an erudite, witty examination of the myriad of ways in which human folly manifests itself, then I would highly recommend this book.

I found Bozo Sapiens to be engaging, informative, well-written, and occasionally humorous. It was a pleasure to read. It's also very timely material. The nation is in the midst of a stupidity epidemic that shows no signs of abating any time soon, and this epidemic appears to be driven by deliberate choices. Among other things, this book helps shed light on why those particular choices get made.

This book intrigued me, because I have a strong interest in books on human intelligence or the lack thereof. Bozo Sapiens talks about the mistakes we make and misperceptions we have, and the reasons behind them. It explained some things I have been wondering about and caused me to think about other things I hadn't previously considered.

Bozo Sapiens was also well-researched. Since it draws from the literature in areas of brain research, neurochemistry, behavioral science, evolutionary biology, and other related topics, many of its references will be familiar to a person who is reasonably well-read in these topics.

One of the key concepts this book brought to me is there are good reasons for why we get things wrong. The brain adapts and alters its perceptions of reality to fit its expectations of reality. If we can account for that, we can avoid pointless self-flagellation and get on with things. We can also understand others better by recognizing that people can see the same facts or situation differently for reasons that have nothing to do with comparative intelligence.

The authors devote a significant amount of page space to exploring how and why our illusions and delusions serve good purposes. This concept that such mechanisms are helpful is a fundamental assumption behind treating maladaptive coping behaviors with talk therapy (what used to work no longer works).

This book consists of seven chapters and an extensive notes section.

Chapter One is titled From the Logbook of the Ship of Fools. It doesn't have a single theme or thrust. Mostly, it explores some basic concepts of logic and reasoning. This includes discussions of fallacious reasoning, the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, word connotations in arguments, and the scientific method.

Chapter Two is titled Idols of the Marketplace. Here, the authors say things that would make any Libertarian pause. A major point in this chapter is that the markets are not rational. Computers (which are purely rational) make choices one way and humans make them in another way. Therefore, the market on its own won't produce the best outcomes. But for the same reasons, neither will a centrally-controlled economy. This chapter is full of great stuff for fascinating dinner conversation. For example, loss aversion typically causes people to cheat themselves.

Chapter Three is titled Tinted Glasses. This chapter draws heavily on recent works (of original research) to explain why the brain sees a different version of reality than what's actually there. I like the way the authors thread things together. I've read many of the works they reference, but then I read more books in a year than 40% of Americans read in their adult lifetimes. It simply is not possible to write accurately on this topic without drawing from authoritative works.

Chapter Four is titled Off the Rails. It naturally follows the previous chapter. In this chapter, the authors look at what we do with the distorted information our brains produce from our senses. One subtitle in "Complex systems, simple mistakes." That is the territory where this chapter takes you.

Chapter Five is titled One of Us. The focus here is on kinship, group formation, belonging, and various aspects of becoming "us" as opposed to "them."

Chapter Six is titled Fresh Off the Pleistocene Bus. Subtopics include sex, marriage, and food. The authors discuss cultures, anxiety, and the tragedy of the commons. They briefly discuss why the French use a great deal of butter and sugar in their cooking, but manage to stay lean.

Chapter Seven is titled Living Right. Here, they discuss how people arrive at different views about what's right. They discuss moral axioms, national characters, altruism, and polarized politics. Quite a discussion of ethics, and not just in the human realm. One subheading is "Why the Great are Rarely the Good." The discussion that ensues helps explain the Dilbert work environment.

This book is a good one to add to your collection. It helps you understand more about what makes us human, and why we do some of the crazy things we do.

I agree with some of the other reviewers. I liked the authors' previous book on probability, so I thought I would be a good candidate for this book. But, it does read like it was written by a commitee. Some of the information has already been covered in better books (Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely comes to mind), so it was not interesting to read about it again here. Frankly, I was bored. Can't recommend this one.

The authors begin by talking about the scientific method, but then their thesis is backed only by a bunch of amusing anecdotes that quickly get old. Worse, I don't know how accurate they are.

I'm still in the first chapter about the market and just read about the Prisoner's Dilemma, where they state "Game theory concludes that the best strategy for an individual is to betray the other." Sadly, for the authors and my respect for the rest of the book, that's false. I'm an old fart who has followed statistics and game theory for a long time. Way back in the dawn of time (ok, only a couple of decades ago), a computer contest by the IEEE had programs compete in the game. People created fancy strategies, but a very simple program won. Again and again, it won. Tit-for-tat has remained the strategy that works best. Start by being silent, then follow with whatever your opponent did last turn.

That the authors make no mention of the program and the strategy makes me strongly wonder just how little they paid attention to the other areas they discussed in the book. Everything else becomes suspect.

I keep a file called "Neat Stuff" for facts and findings, mostly from the social and cognitive sciences, that catch my eye. *Bozo Sapiens* is a smorgasbord of Neat Stuff, containing hundreds of astounding and thought-provoking tidbits. (Shakespearean verbal ingenuity modulates brain wave patterns. On the basis of smell alone, women rate as most attractive those men whose immune systems are most different from their own. Some Amazon peoples condone infidelity on the theory that "children are formed like pearls, through successive layers of male insemination.")

But *Bozo Sapiens* is much more than just an assortment of oddments. In the last decade or so, philosophers and scientists from a multitude of disciplines have been converging on a new understanding of human nature that favors the irrational over the rational, the unpredictable over the regular, the probabilistic over the absolute. The Kaplans survey this new understanding from the standpoint of human error: "Wrong thinking, reasoning that could never stand up to scrutiny, is universal and nearly constant. Why?" They examine the origin and consequences of flawed logic and perceptions gone haywire in a variety of settings, including economics, cognitive psychology, engineering and design, group dynamics, evolutionary biology, and moral reasoning. Errors, they conclude, are "the permanent companions of our capabilities.... We err because we seek, we fail to grasp because we try the furthest reach."

As in the Kaplans' previous books (*Chances Are*, as well as *The Art of the Infinite* and *Out of the Labyrinth*, by Ellen Kaplan and her husband Robert), the writing in *Bozo Sapiens* has the virtues of the best conversationalists: clarity without pedantry, wit without ostentation. (In fact, it has taken me several tries to finish this review, because each time I flip through the book, I cannot resist rereading a few paragraphs...and then another page...and another.) Highly recommended.

Why are humans the way they are? Why do we make such stupid (and obvious) mistakes all the time? Why are we so bad at estimating probability? Why do we fall for scams? As the Kaplans ask, "Is it instinctive for people - our doltish enemies, our spontaneous selves - to get things wrong?"

Yes, this is another book about evolutionary psychology, and one of the most approachable that I've encountered. It casts its net wide; after a brief introduction, we get four chapters on topics as diverse as economics; perception, language and thinking; error in action; and social structures and relations. The penultimate chapter, "Fresh off the Pleistocene Bus", considers the difference and (more important) continuity between us and our ancestors from 70,000 years ago. The authors close with "Living Right": the origins of our sense of what is right, civil, moral, and just, and the way in which "we accommodate the tensions between our simple primate emotions and our bewildering world through the connective tissue of culture."

This is a delightful book. It nicely complements and extends Dennis Dutton's outstanding The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution. As I was reading it, I worried slightly that the Kaplans had spread themselves too thin, and were attempting to bring in too many topics. By the time I finished, those fears had disappeared. I think they've struck just the right balance.

The advanced reading copy that I had did not include an index; I'm not sure if one is planned. It did, however, include copious end-notes, and they are uniformly good. Perhaps footnotes would have been better, simply because they're less easily overlooked. But this is a minor point.

Highly recommended.

The book Bozo Sapiens is a well structured study of how people, particularly Americans, view the world around them and the unconscious responses to environmental stimuli.

As a computing professional, I run across database mistakes on a daily basis and must admit that they account for over 75% of the software development I do. While these mistakes are purely unintentional, I was still left wondering why they happened in the first place. The book "Bozo Sapiens" by Michael Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan does a great job of quantifying these mistakes not as problems but rather a way of life that we all must understand and work around since we are inevitably human.

Chapter IV "Off The Rails"
I secretly applied my own interpretation of this chapter to some reports that my software was producing. The author explains that human mistakes often come with the brains ability to filter out repeated information. I soon realized that my reports were "dull" and causing users to inadvertently skip over glaring errors in the numerical data. In an effort to trip them up, I put a filter on the report that caused values that fell out of a statistical range to appear as a double font size. My email box starting filling up and the phone started ringing the next day. My coworkers were finding problems with their data and wanted help! Through the numerous examples taken from studies in this book, I was able to adjust my own software development practices.

Thank you Michael Kaplan and Ellen Kaplan for publishing this book. I hope other software developers take the time to pick up a copy and gain the same understanding that I now have. You taught me that the dreaded Id10t error is not something that is intentional but rather a part of the human thought process that must be accounted for in our daily lives.

We don't naturally think like scientists, except perhaps in very limited and specific ways. Thinking that can't stand up to scrutiny is commonplace. Why do we tend to be more wrong than right most of the time? This book is one of many recent releases that attempts to address this question through scientific experiments and theories in various fields.

At first this book looks very much like many other recent releases devoted to the quirks of human decision making. It isn't as strong on the details of neuroscience as many of the others, and there isn't as much technical coverage of psychology as others, but this book has a compelling advantage. It is more of a literary delight than the others with wonderful turns of phrase and superb summaries of the important points.

As with most books on human reasoning (and unreasoning) you get a list of examples of cognitive distortions, perceptual illusions, theories of decision making, and examples. Where Kaplan and Kaplan excel is in particularly well chosen, memorable, and entertaining examples, and particularly thought provoking and wide-ranging conclusions. They mention but don't dwell much on the classical examples like the Wasson test, then go on to look at the topic from a unique perspective taken from real life experience or literature. This style brings the lessons to life in a very distinctive way. The lessons range broadly over behavioral economics, game theory, evolutionary psychology, social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, probability, various kinds of decision making research, and many other fields. In one chapter, "Fresh off the Pleistocene Bus," they explore evolutionary psychology, but recognize that there is something inherently anti-romantic that grates against our sensibilities about evolutionary psychology, sometimes called "the moral equivalent of fast food." There is a genuine sense of larger wisdom and balance throughout this book that helps keep it fresh and interesting.

Some of my favorites from the book:

"Consciousness brings with it a gnawing sense of exile from the world of simple certainties."

"There seems to be something fundamental about using money as the stand-in for worth that causes us to abandon common sense."

"Sound encodes the rich symbolic power of language and hte emotional truths of music; it duplicates through tone of voice many of the clues to character and mood that we attempt to read from facial expression. This may be why becoming deaf seems more a banishment from life than blindness."

"When the illusion is broken and we see the truth, the world loses a little meaning for us. We laugh as the tension loosens, but deep down we are slightly disappointed."

"Any image forms expectations; attention responds to novelty. We look at what has surprised us in what we see."

"In our lifelong journeys, we humans tend to navigate like coasting sailors, not transoceanic pilots: we look our for landmarks and invent rules of thumb. Our minds, so acute locally but wooly in general, try to concoct the best possible sense our of what life shows us here and now, rather than to develop a consistent picture of how everything fits together. Thus we are built to be interested in and judicious about the incidents and quirks of what we know well - that line of surf over the reef, that darkening of the upwind horizon - while our broader explanations so easily shade off into krakens and mermaids."

How do they wrap this all up? The Kaplans offer interesting advice:

Think probabilistically, admitting the power of the random and the unknown and take small steps testing them along the way. Make good use of the primordial urge to examine new things closely. Don't assume you can understand the complexity of situations, rather use the "straight lines of local conclusions to approximate the wider curves of probability." Culture is essentially the human urge to create fictions nd it is what allows us to reshape our own expectations, to create new explanations, to enjoy finding things out, and without them ... we would have died out as victims of our own certainty. Our grand abstractions like truth and justice and free will are "neither divine powers nor personal whims" but are "responsibilities we must take on with full knowledge that they will always be greater than ourselves."

I love this miracle of a book. Every page has something fascinating on it, and I unded up highlighting so much that I functionally should just underline the whole book.

Now, for INFORMATION on the topic--academic, scientific, clinical information, but still very well-presented--the book to get is "Kluge." But for examples, anecdotes, dizzy turns of phrase and witty asides, this is the book.

Am I learning a lot? Meh. Not so much, probably. A lot of the facts within this book I have seen elsewhere, and usually with more supporting "primary source" material. But if you like the style of, say, "Mental Floss" magazine, you should enjoy this book.

I was intrigued that it was written by a mother/son team, too. I mean, I love my mom and all, but if we tried to write a book like this, there would be tears, and not implausibly, blood. I'm glad they get along so well; the balance of experience and jokey vigor strikes a magical tone.

My only complaint is that the book can feel pretty exhausting at times. The way to read it is probably similar to the way one might best approach a Whitman Sampler. Don't try to sit down and eat the whole box. Take a piece at a time. "Bozo" can be thought of as a heap of treats rather than a balanced and nutritious meal. And as my girlfried and I discovered on a Saturday at a coffee shop, there is material to talk about within "Bozos" for many, many hours.

I can imagine some people hating the book because they find it too unsubstantial, but for fun facts junkies, it's total catnip.