Cognitive biases – further reading

One of the iron rules of cognitive bias mitigation is: read more than one book. The following give a useful, alternative view of the cognitive bias problem.

Daniel Kahneman is one of the giants in the field of cognitive biases. His book, Thinking Fast and Slow, is a highly readable insight into the research he conducted with another of the greats, Amos Tversky. As a bonus, their original research paper, Judgement Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases, is included at the back of the book. If you read nothing else on cognitive biases, read that.


Philip Tetlock’s book Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction is a must read if you are involved in strategic thinking.


Dylan Evans’ book, Risk Intelligence – how to live with uncertainty, is a practical and fun introduction to the concept of risk intelligence and how you can improve your understanding of it. This is highly recommended for all leaders – not just those working at the strategic level.


Dan Ariely’s book, Predictably Irrational, contains some useful insights and details some interesting, elegant experiments – others less so. It inadvertently provides a good example of the dangers of over-using college students for psychological testing and research. Worth skimming.


While not specifically about cognitive biases, Angela Duckworth’s work on grit as a desirable characteristic is thought provoking. Her grit questionnaire can be a useful development tool for up-and-coming leaders. Her book is GRIT The power of Passion and Perseverence – good material, yet in danger of lapsing, in my view, into the trite of the self help genre. Like Ariely’s book, it is worth dipping into.