Why We Make Mistakes

Reference
Why We Make Mistakes
- Joe Hallinan

Summary
Hallinan discussed thoroughly the many reasons for why humans make mistakes.  Inexperience with subject matter can cause people to miss things.  The ones who are more experienced will be more sensitive to minute changes and will therefore be able to pick up on more.  Another problem is that humans connect information to meaning.  We need to for distinct enough meanings to things otherwise we can expect to forget it at some point.  Our tendencies to make snap judgments also causes many problems for us.  We think we know the whole picture when, in fact, we usually do not at the blink of an eye.

While being familiar with something can be a great asset, we can skip over certain details because we assume they will be there.  This is a common source for foolish errors and missing seemingly obvious details.  One more important source of mistakes the lack of constraint that we put on ourselves.  He explains how constraints drastically deplete the probability for error by removing sources for common errors.  Many don’t learn from their mistakes, because they did not properly find the source of it.  Similarly, removing complexity and adding constraints can greatly improve the effectiveness of a design.

One of the main points Hallinan wanted the reader to leave with was to think small.  It is the tiniest things that can make the largest impact on a person’s behavior.  He also added that attitude has a large effect on many things, like how we view life.  We need to keep the right things in perspective if we ever expect to decrease our rate of making mistakes.

Discussion
This book was a great discussion on the numerous causes of mistakes.  I know there were quite a few that I am guilty of doing myself.  One of the main ones is overlooking obvious things because I am too tied up in thinking I know everything in a certain subject.  As soon as you make mistakes in a situation like this, you immediately wonder how something so simple could have been missed.  Now that kind of stuff makes  a little more sense than it did before.  Something I will try to keep in mind is thinking small.  I think as a whole, humans like to overcomplicate things.  When something seems nearly impossible, we’re most likely looking at it the wrong way.  By breaking things down and thinking in the simplest terms, this can certainly help in resolving this issue.

Book Reading 50 – Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 12 – We Don’t Constrain Ourselves
Summary
The importance of constraints was discussed in this chapter.  Constraints drastically deplete the probability for error by removing sources for common errors.  Many don’t learn from their mistakes, because they did not properly find the source of it.  Hallinan also adds how removing complexity and adding constraints can greatly improve designs.

Discussion
This chapter reminded me a little of The Design of Everyday Things.  This was a broader discussion though.  The discussion about medical errors was kind of startling.  I know it was there to make his point clear, but hearing things like that can make you worry about having any surgery done.

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Chapter 13 – The Grass Does Look Greener
Summary
People tend to have inaccurate views on things when they don’t have the full picture.  Hallinan quotes someone as saying, “we tend to zero in on things that are easily observed and give too much attention to those.”  This tends to be the main source for misjudgments.  Learning to concentrate more on the big picture by taking in as many details as possible can solve this.

Discussion
It was interesting hear about the pole regarding living locations.  California does seem like a great place to live when you concentrate on the weather.  However, there is a lot of congestion there and finding the right place to live is extremely important.  I’m honestly just fine living in the northeast somewhere.

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Conclusion
Summary
A major point Hallinan makes is to think small.  It is the tiniest things that can make the largest impact on a person’s behavior.  He also added that attitude has a large effect on many things, like how we view life.  While this may be simple, he explains that many people forget this.  The last message he gives is how our living location is not what makes us happy, but how we use our time.

Discussion
The last part about how we use our time seems like a huge concept to me.  It’s not complicated, but it’s just so important.  A lame bar is only a lame bar if you decide to do nothing about it.  For me, the people you are with define the level of enjoyment about a place.  So just as Hallinan explained, it is definitely not the location you are in.  It’s the way you decide to spend your time that matters the most and defines your life.

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Book Reading 49 – Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 10 – We All Think We’re Above Average
Summary
In general, people feel they are above average and this overestimate causes them to make mistakes.  A major downside to this is that companies can and will take advantage of this mindset to net them a profit.  Due to lack of feedback though, most people never change their thoughts on the matter.  As tasks get more difficult, overconfidence also increases.

Discussion
I can definitely see how companies can easily take advantage of this above-average notion that people tend to have.  Any time an ad on TV mentions that someone deserves a specific product, this is just catering to people wanting to think they are above average.  I have also experienced a boost in confidence when faced with a daunting task.  I think this can sometimes be a good thing, but it can definitely hurt you as well.

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Chapter 11 – We’d Rather Wing It
Summary
Hallinan explains the differences between novices and experts.  The main difference he points out is the level of commitment being an expert requires.  To become an expert, intense practice is required to implant memory of many different motors functions and actions pertaining to the subject.  There needs to be a great deal of built-in knowledge ready to be accessed on the fly.  Many average people would like to think they are experts, but all they are doing is simple winging it, as the title would suggest.  Instructions are usually ignored and people will just try and figure it out on their own.

Discussion
I’m definitely guilty of abandoning instructions, but it is usually to try and discover something on my own if it seems plausible.  If not, I have no issues following an instruction manual.  This is one of the best ways to learn how to do something.  Then you can build off of this method and improve it.  Honestly, I would never consider myself a true expert in anything because I don’t put forth the effort to practice any crafts.  I might know a decent amount of knowledge, but I always feel like I am constantly in a state of learning for a lot of different interests of mine.

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Book Reading 47 – Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 8 – We Like Things Tidy
Summary
This chapter dealt with misinformation as created by the human mind.  The title refers to details being omitted so it is easier to recall stories and information.  The main downside of this is exaggeration and our own interpretations take the place of fact in some cases.  A good example of this is writing a letter of recommendation.  What this letter contains might not be fictional, but exaggeration and fact adjustment may happen.  In a test, many people could not accurately recall what they wrote in these.

Discussion
I am pretty sure I exaggerate quite a bit when recommending someone.  But by quite a bit, I mean it’s still modest.  I don’t make up stories about someone, but I am fairly certain I have exaggerated for their sake.  I don’t feel this is necessarily wrong though.  It can happen on the fly, and usually this is done so others who don’t know the person can feel a level of excitement about them that is equivalent to that of someone who has known them for years.

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Chapter 9 – Men Shoot First
Summary
This chapter discussed heavily the various differences between men and women.  Both sexes handle the same situations very differently.  The overall consensus seems to be that men possess a higher level of confidence on themselves than women do of themselves.  Men seem to have a stronger need of exploration than women.

Discussion
This was a really cool chapter.  It was interesting to hear a more technical and in depth discussion about the differences between men and women.  It certainly wasn’t saying men are better than women.  But the whole confidence thing makes sense.  In the situation of not asking for directions, it’s not solely based on ego.  Men simply don’t believe they are lost, or don’t want to.  I usually want to figure things out for myself instead of reading directions.  I know when to throw in the towel, but now this makes sense.  I probably just believe I know what I am doing.  I might not, but my confidence in learning it by doing is high enough that I like giving it a try.

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Book Reading 46 – Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 6 – We’re in the Wrong Frame of Mind
Summary
Manipulating people psychologically is apparently not that difficult to do.  It is also quite common as the author explains.  Part of this has to do with a person’s state of mind, such as French music boosting the sales of French wine and German music lowering them.  Another example is a store with many items on sale could bring in a large crowd.  Even if the other items in the store might be higher than other places, people enjoy the prospect of a sale too much to pay attention to this.

Discussion
This is another area that seems to be plagued by preconceptions and bias.  I definitely look out for sales, but I don’t know if I would be as vulnerable as to flock to a store that had them and then not pay attention to what other items are priced as.  I do believe this happens though.  Convincing people that they are getting a great deal tends to could their judgment on other things.

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Chapter 7 – We Skim
Summary
Skimming is a handy tool, but Hallinan points out what its major problems are.  When we become familiar with something, we feel as though we can skim over it because we know what the activity or action is all about.  However, this is when small errors can get overlooked.  We assume things are as they should be since we assume we know what we are doing.  We might, but this is when foolish errors can be made.

Discussion
Skimming for reading can be quite handy.  But, important details can still be missed.  One interesting situation that I have found myself in a few times happens whenever I need to move my computer.  Sometimes, it just won’t turn on after I have everything hooked up.  One thought is that something extremely technical has broken.  Then I look at the back of the tower and realize the power cable isn’t plugged in.  This doesn’t happen to me all the time, but probably a 3 or 4 times over the years.  I have gotten better at checking for this, but sometimes I’m in a rush with something I have done quite a bit.  This is when such a minor detail gets overlooked.

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Book Reading 44 – Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 4 – We Wear Rose Colored Glasses
Summary
This chapter is referencing the idea how people tend to look at themselves in a more positive light than what the reality of the situation might be.  When asked to recall grades, most people remembered getting A’s, even though this was not always true.  Also, people don’t tend to acknowledge the presence of a bias even though this happens far more often than not.

Discussion
I’d like to think I am pretty honest about myself, but I am sure I have been guilty of misrepresenting myself in the past.  For me though, I find it humorous whenever I make a mistake.  This is especially true when I’m with friends and I say something terribly stupid.  I’m usually the first one to notice it, or at least the first one to point it out if it’s truly ridiculous.

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Chapter 5 – We Can Walk and Chew Gum - but Not Much Else
Summary
This chapter discusses how true multitasking is a myth for the human mind.  Multicore CPU’s are one of the devices that can truly multitask, but humans cannot.  We can only switch between tasks very quickly to give the illusion of multitasking.  But in all reality, we are straining our concentration over too many things, and work quality suffers as well as the rate of forgetfulness increasing with the more tasks we try to handle.

Discussion
Using my computer is the only time I actually feel like I am multitasking.  I am not necessarily an easily distracted person, but I don’t fare well when I need to do multiple things at once without the aid of a computer.  When I am texting, I will usually tell a friend to hold on so I don’t miss what they are saying.  If I try to listen to them, not only will I not get everything they are saying, but I might make a mistake with my text message.  So, I always choose to do one or the other so I don’t blow off a conversation.

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Book Reading 41 – Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 2 – We All Search for Meaning
Summary
This chapter explained how things can be hard to remember if they don’t have a clear meaning behind them.  When we remember, we are trying to recall meaning of information instead of factual information.  This comes into play when recalling a person’s face by associating an emotional trait with the face.

Discussion
I, like many people, have a lot of trouble remembering someone’s name, but remembering a face is quite easy.  I usually have to associate some feeling with the person or some event to remember the name past the initial meeting.  This chapter did a great job of explaining this kind of thing.

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Chapter 3 – We Connect the Dots
Summary
This chapter explained how humans make inferences and snap judgments on many thing in our lives.  One example was judging a politician within seconds solely based on the look of their face.  Another example was the increased level of pleasure people got from drinking wine out of a nicer looking bottle than a cheaper looking one.

Discussion
It would seem we largely operate off of our snap judgments that are almost always incorrect from the start.  Some of this is instinct, but getting less pleasure out of cheaper wine is way more psychological than anything.  Both nicer and cheaper wine would yield the same feeling from the alcohol.  It’s just the preconceptions that are getting in the way here of the reality of the situation.

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Book Reading 39 – Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 0 – Introduction
Summary
Hallinan gave a brief outline for what he wants to accomplish with his book.  He went over various kinds of mistakes and the reasoning behind them.  Many mistakes are made simply because of how humans are and how the mind operates, but he says there are certain way people can act in order to decrease mistake tendency and help to overcome it.

Discussion
While this almost seems to have a similar vibe to Norman’s books, I am pretty excited to see what Hallinan has to say.  The perspective is interesting in looking at the reasons behind mistakes.  I enjoyed learning the reasons behind a design is terrible, so it should be just as intriguing to learn about why mistakes happen.

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Chapter 1 – We Look but Don’t Always See
Summary
The reasons behind why people miss certain key details was discussed.  Sometimes this can be from inexperience with the subject of the details like with skills in golf.  Another instance is the frequency of something occurring.  If an object appears more often, then people have a higher chance of realizing when it is and isn’t there.

Discussion
This chapter gave a lot of insight into why visual mistakes are made.  The frequency of an object affecting how often it is noticed was particularly interesting to me.  Most of the things he spoke about I had not thought about before, so hearing about them was beneficial.

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