Rationality
by Steven Pinker
A course in reasoning: logic, probability, Bayes, expected utility, signal detection, game theory, correlation and causation, and why smart people believe foolish things. Pinker's most useful book for daily thinking.
Read it if…
you want a single course in how to reason.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you have studied statistics and decision theory.
Try instead: Algorithms to Live By →
Three things you will actually use
- Update on evidence.
- Base rates matter.
- Motivated reasoning is the enemy.
Do this first
Read the Bayes chapter and apply it to one belief.
Our verdict
A course in reasoning.
See the book →
Compare with other Focus books
Algorithms to Live By
Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths · Focus
Decision rules from computer science.
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