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To err, we hear, is human. But if that is true, then why do we take erring so hard? This is the question Kathryn Schultz tries to get at in her book, Being Wrong. The first section analyzes error by recounting what philosophers, psychologists and others have thought about what it is and why it happens. Next, we examines the factors that lead us to err: senses deceive us, reason is easily influenced by extra-rational factors, we trust experts we like instead of those who may be telling the truth, etc. The third section explores what it feels like to be wrong: we may get embarrassed, defensive, heartbroken, mystified, angry. And lastly, the author reveals why it is she believes error should be seen not as a gaffe to be avoided, but a gaffe that should be embraced and accepted as an an inevitable part of being a finite and dynamic human.
First, I must say something I very rarely do about a book: I never once found this one repetitive or unnecessarily long. Each section, and chapter within it, is about a different aspect of error that was not discussed before, from how philosophers conceive of error, to the social factors that influence error, to our amazing capacity to deny even obvious error. And the real-world examples she chooses to illustrate all of these things are humorous, relateble, and sometimes a bit lamentable.
And what is the author's unique theory about erring? The author writes first that erring is an inevitable part of being human. We are finite animals for whom probability is as close as we can come to certainty (even though certainty is what we want). Since life demands that we make decisions based on what we think will happen in the future, it is simply inevitable that some of these will be wrong.Read more ›
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Illusions are universally loved. The Bell Curve is really a distribution of errors. I was astounded to read that Freud was diagnosing hysteria rather than abdominal cancer and “forgetting” about it. Widely believed truths today may be debunked in the future – that was a good one! The idea that Greenspan’s flawed belief caused half the world's wealth to disappear was a huge oversimplification of what happened with the stock market crash. We are constantly amassing information about our environment and using it to add to or rearrange our model of the world – cool thought! We care about what is probable based on our prior experience - inductive reasoning undergirds virtually all of human cognition. Does our being wrong about things beyond our expertise matter if there are others who have the knowhow? Affirming and later rejecting a belief jeopardizes the whole paradigm of truth – deep! I like the quote “doubt postdates belief.” Our attraction to certainty is really an aversion to uncertainty – true! I like the musical references to Phil Collins, Beyoncé, etc. We don't want to live with our partner's reality, we want them to second our own. Buyer's remorse applies more broadly - crave, acquire and then regret. Our understanding of ourselves can turn out to be in error – but not in my case ;) We are dubious if real change is even possible.
I really like this quote: “I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right to be found otherwise.” Ben Franklin
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206 of 225 people found the following review helpful
One thing is for certain: Kathryn Schulz is a heckuva' writer. Her brilliant interchange between humor and articulation is the stuff of greatness. Moreover - and perhaps a by-product of Schulz' mastery in presentation - there are few (if any) wasted words in this text. While many books almost goad you into skimming every 2nd or 3rd word, 'Being Wrong' certainly makes every word count. For a guy with the attention span of a billy goat grazing grass, keeping me reading every word is no small feat.
There is a tradeoff in such density in value. 'Being Wrong' tends to see-saw between light analogy to heavy exploration almost without warning, making for a staccato transition between example and execution. The philosophical arguments emerge as bloated at times, the case studies a tad soft and looooong. Word economy clearly has its strengths and weaknesses.
Thus, I echo other reviewers in that this book might've been better served both shorter and as a potential essay. Amen.
Going deeper down the content rabbit hole, it's hard to ignore Schulz' near-frequent lapses into political examples dripping with sarcasm favoring a particular perspective only. Perhaps I'm a stickler, but there something grossly unfit about an advertised objective analysis of 'wrong' justified through political opinion. After the fifth instance of this justification, I admittedly began to question the overarching arguments contained in the book. (I could care less about who you vote/d for; just don't put square peg into round hole to get the point across, ad nauseum.Read more ›
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This item: Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error
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