Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

In this amazing book, Daniel Kahneman displays contradictory realities. First, the workings of our minds are seamless, efficient and resourceful. On the other hand, they routinely trick us. Even when we know ahead of time that we are experiencing an illusion, it's hard to fight our natural tendency to believe in it. One of the things this explains is how psychopaths get away with manipulating people, in particular, trained psychologists.

One professor tells his students in no uncertain terms about a red-light warning. When a client reports a history of failed treatments from several therapists, and makes a statement something like "I can already tell you will understand me," the new psychologist should not be fooled into agreeing with the prospective patient's assessment. This therapeutic relationship is going nowhere; instead of succumbing to the fellow's flattery, the practitioner should "throw him out of the office."

On a lighter note, Kahneman describes an apparently easy logic puzzle that 50% of Harvard undergraduates get wrong. He also discusses an astonishing film that must be seen to be believed.

Another amazing section of the book discusses priming: familiarity alone enhances unconscious trust -- think of the implications of that. This is not to mention the issues of cognitive ease, the mental shotgun, the framing effect, the halo effect, loss aversion, and the delusion that What you see is all there is.

In summarizing his well-supported claims, Kahneman quotes Jonathan Haidt, who said, "The emotional tail wags the rational dog." This book is an altogether surprising and fascinating read.