How We Reason
Categories: Science & Math
Cognitive scientist P. N. Johnson-Laird explains how people reason, and why they so often make mistakes. Drawing on decades of research, he argues that we reason by building mental models of possibilities rather than by applying formal rules of logic. Using examples from everyday life, science, history and disasters, he shows how this approach explains both our successes and our errors, and how reasoning can be improved.
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- Shane Parrish: “Good reasoning can lead to success; bad reasoning can lead to catastrophe. Yet, it’s not obvious how we reason, and why we make mistakes – so much of our mental life goes on outside our awareness. In recent years huge strides have been made into developing a scientific understanding of reasoning.”