The Influential Mind: What the Brain Reveals About Our Power to Change Others Hardcover – September 19, 2017

Tali Sharot is a cognitive neuroscientist. “I work at the intersection between psychology and neuroscience.” And what an interesting workplace it is. It’s a place reinforced by data and studies and experiments, but which still provides a view of the surrounding landscape we call the human experience.As the title suggests, this is a book about influence. What is it and how does it work? Some of the answers are logically obvious, but understanding the why behind the what always contributes to better understanding and more effective application. Much of it, however, is counter-intuitive, although here Dr. Sharot puts the knowledge in context, which has the effect of making the counter-intuitive inherently intuitive. It’s our perspective, not the reality, which causes the initial misrepresentation.I can’t say whether the book did a better job of expanding the understanding necessary to influence others or better understanding the way in which I myself am influenced. And that, in the end, is a testament to the overall structure of the book. It’s comprehensive and even-handed, a balance that is often lacking in this kind of work.Dr. Sharot’s philosopher-self also chimes into the discussion from time to time. “There is no single truth we all agree on.” It is a timeless observation that has, perhaps, never been more timely or appropriate.One example that could only be found at the intersection of psychology and neuroscience is: “It is important, then, to be mindful that we are altering people’s emotions simply by experiencing feelings ourselves.” Emotion is a two-headed arrow—a dichotomy; much like a lot of life.In turns out that influence is a little subtler than we might have come to believe. The right strategy requires the right context. It’s another reminder that no behavior exists in a vacuum. Before we can figure out what to do, we must know where we are. It makes sense to me.One of the money lines for me was: “It’s not magic; nor is it wisdom. It’s math.” (The middle four words are the treasure.) In this case Dr. Sharot is talking about external and systematic bias, perhaps the greatest challenge we face in the computational age of digital rankings and the super-sized influence of digital virality. (Would be writers and artists, in particular, will find some much needed shelter in her analysis in this area. I know I did.)She also reinforces the duality of the human convention of language, which, she notes has existed in the written form for only 5,200 years, a blink of the eye on the human timeline. It has, she insightfully observes, opened new doors to knowledge and pathways of influence that lead both to understanding and misinformation. (Fake news is not new; technology has simply empowered it.)All told this is a very solid book that almost everyone will get something out of. The writing is fluid and the author shows a sense of wit and good humor not always found in books built on scientific research.I honestly can’t explain why I didn’t give this book a five star rating. It is definitely worth your time. Whatever the reason I suspect it had something to do with influence. Most things do.

I don’t watch a lot of news. That doesn’t mean I am not informed, I just get my news from other forms. I don’t watch news of television because most of the time I only see a lot of debating. Now there is nothing specifically wrong with debating, in fact I believe when I debate a topic I learn more about that topic. However, here is one thing you never see at the end of a debate: someone changing their mind or someone telling their opponent they are right.Why?The simple answer: it takes a lot for us to change our mind. Now that doesn’t me we are not gullible or easily fooled or manipulated. That actually happens all the time, but takes a handful of factors to influence our brains.For example, if you have a strong conviction on gun control (or the lack thereof), there is no journal article or set of data I can give you the will convince you otherwise. There is just more to us humans that cold facts. We are controlled by our prior beliefs, emotions, incentives, independence, curiosity, well-being and others.I like to think of myself as a rational, education man, but when time and time again I give way to superstitions, habits, and internet ads; not because I am weak, but because I am human.The Influential Mind covers all these aspects of influence. This is not the best book concerning this concept, but it is still pretty good. I picked this book up after hearing the author speak on a few podcasts. If you have read other books concerning choice or human influential behavior, then you probably have heard of this book already.

Though none o the readers of the won’t immediately become mind alterers they may suffer far less on communicating their ideas.A concrete and essential guide to our basic mental mechanisms.

Reads more like a collection of articles than a holistic book. I wish it was more fleshed out with additional real world examples, more chapters and commentary on the replicability crisis. It is still worth reading despite those flaws and significant overlaps with many other social science/psychology books. With nine distinct topics I expect most people will find something new here. The short length makes for a quick read and even familiar content can be useful with additional detail and framing.Explanations for Donald Trump's popularity, the anti-vaxx movement, using yourself for crowd wisdom and other interesting topics are covered. Exploration of the science behind fear as a motivator is another topic I found interesting. If any of that sounds interesting to you I recommend the book.

In this frightening period of political spin doctoring, it is important to understand the brain science behind what we think and believe. As facts battle with values, we shake our heads in disbelief over what others can still believe, and this is running our democracy in the US (or failure of it).While I wish the author had applied her chapter themes a little more to current political events, it was still worthwhile reading for anyone who wants to avoid being unconsciously influenced, and consciously influencing people with views that really do serve the people. I do find myself referring to the book often in conversation. That I remark about it so often means it is, well, remarkable.

Conceptually, provides great insight and the premises are supported by statistically significant science. This book had such an impact that I myself referenced it in one of my own presentations! The first half is very compelling though it does lose a bit of steam in the second half. Does a good job of using specific examples to apply the concepts that are developed ( which may alienate readers already suffering from "confirmation bias"!) but application of using those concepts to apply proactively in one's own life situation and experience is not quite as gratifying.

El libro te lleva por un viaje por la mente, desde la persuasión hasta la psicóloga de las masas. Recomendado.

In the beginning the reading is nice and enthralling, and after that it becomes a little tedious with the description of a lot of research and experiments that sound like a "filling", a beat about the bush kind of thing.

A very useful book which explains convincingly that for changing a donkey's (and also peoples') minds a carrot works much better than a stick. The book also describes what seeds to choose, how to make them grow, how to pull the carrot out of the ground and how to prepare it. Then it addresses the problem of the stick. All is presented as if the human brain was completely understood and if it matters for the argument. This means that one is likely to ready the end of the book four times faster than the beginning...but also that your friends will probably like talking with you a little more. Have a go.

英語の勉強になる事は勿論として、内容が新鮮で示唆に富む。心理と脳の関係が特に面白く、最後まで持続して読めた。

This book describes interesting psychology insights in a plain and easy to understand way. I enjoyed reading this.I understand why people are more polarized when there is more information and SNS, but it also looks difficult to get out of this polarized situation due to our human mind constraints.Let me state that the three ways to get out of a polarized/biased way of thinking, reading several books on psychology including this book, and through my own experiences.1) Listening to people who bet their money and life, ignoring people just claiming without betting.Most media were wrong about the U.S. presidential election while betting services correctly predict the probabilities."Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts" is a great book to read.https://www.amazon.com.au/Thinking-Bets-Making-Smarter-Decisions-ebook/dp/B074DG9LQF2) Listening more to people who have changed their opinions, listening less to people who have not changed their opinions.This is what I learned from this book and my experiences in the COVID-19 pandemic. People who don't change their opinion may be right from the beginning but they are more likely to be biassed towards one way of thinking. People who change their opinions during the course are the ones who are less likely to be biassed.3) Listening more to people who think their own opinion and view the public opinion differently.People who think their opinion and view the public opinion differently are more likely to be calm and independent from group thinking bias."Surprisingly popular vote" mentioned in this book can be one way to fix our group thinking bias.I hope these three ways help people to live in a better world.