There is a great book titled "The Invisible Gorilla", that I think everyone should read. In fact, I think it would be a great book to be mandatory reading in high school.
The book is about how our minds work, and illusions about how our minds work that are almost universally shared.
There are six illusions and one myth discussed in the book.
The six illusions are:
Illusion of Attention
Illusion of Memory
Illusion of Confidence
Illusion of Knowledge
Illusion of Cause
Illusion of Potential
The myth is the Myth of Intuition.
The reason I think the book is so important is that these illusions can lead to us making terrible mistakes. After reading the book, I realized that many arguments and disagreements I have had were a result of illusions I held about attention, memory and knowledge.
I believe that the more we know about ourselves, the more successfully we can manage our lives. And after reading this book, I realized I didn't know half of what I thought I did. And while paging through the book in preparation for this post, I realize I need to read it again.
Understanding these illusions will help you see the world more clearly, and to understand your limitations better. And understanding your limitations will allow you to put safeguards in to prevent your limitations from having negative consequences.
I'm certain that some people could read the book and think that all of it is hooey. And that is their right, but also their loss. One of the greatest weapons that can be used against us is our own ignorance and the illusion that we have more knowledge than we do.
I hope that those of you reading this post who have read "The Invisible Gorilla" pull your copy off the shelf and read it again. I hope those of you that have never read the book get a copy. I think you will be glad you did.
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