Thinking, Fast and Slow

This novel was a solid read but was slightly let down by its long-winded commentary on unrelated topics and the insistence that economics expects rationality from humans. Yes, I got it the first time!
It is striking how much even slightly-well-off people will argue about the irrationality of the masses and how much ‘thinking' instead of ‘feeling' they are - only to expose themselves as hypocrites in the next five minutes of conversation. Thinking, Fast and Slow tells us why. It is heartening to find that it's possible to improve these facets of our personality to the point where we're not dictated solely by our intuition. In good news for pedants everywhere, Kahneman concludes that it's difficult, albeit doable, to spot yourself slipping into a hasty decision - but you can ask others to check if you're doing so.
The analogy of system 1 (‘gut feeling') vs system 2 (rational, but lazy) and the experiencing self vs remembering self were remarkable psychological constructions, and I could see how Kahneman got his Nobel. All in all, this is not just a read for economists and psychologists - it should be essential reading for everyone if you can get past the verbiage.

This book contains endless knowledge and significant psychological experiments you definitely should read about.

Making decisions is complex, but trying to write a book about it seems even more so. But Kahneman executed it perfectly. His witful writing style got me to finish this (long-ass) book. I had a hard time getting through the third chapter because it was very technical, but the fourth chapter made everything right again. Great book, I recommend it to people who are interested in psychology (how we think and how we make decisions) and behavioural economics.

- PS: The Dutch translation isn't quite good, so I'd recommend the English book for Dutch speaking people.