Undoing Project (Lewis) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Undoing Project...then take off on your own:

1. Talk about the two men at the center of Michael Lewis's book: Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. How alike were they and how different—in temperament, personality, and background? What effect did their past(s) have on their work together? Consider, for example, their service in the Israeli military.

2. Follow-up to Question 1: Consider the unusually close collaboration between the two men—how it worked and what made it possible. What does it mean, as one of them said, "we were sharing a mind"?

3. What happened to dislodge their trust in and cooperation with one another? Given their differences, was their breakup inevitable? Is one more at fault than the other?

4. In what way do our minds constantly fool us? What are the rules of thumb that often lead us astray? What, for instance, is the "halo effect"? What is "representativeness"? Can you think of instances in your own life when your mind fooled you?

5. Talk about the spillover that the psychologist's work has had into ... economics ... medical diagnostics ... eating habits ... even cellphone use by drivers.

6. Can you identify examples in your own life of Tversky's theory of socializing? Because, say, behaving generously makes us happier, we should, therefore, surround ourselves with generous people.

7. How has Kahneman and Tversky's work affected team sports? Talk about Theo Epstein and the Boston Red Sox or Chicago Cubs.

8. How does this book controvert most of our longest held beliefs regarding data and observation? In reading The Undoing Project, what surprised you most? Are you skeptical of some of the findings Lewis writes about? Do you see the effects of our knew understanding in your own life?

9. Have you read Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011)? Have you read other books by Michael Lewis? If so, how does this compare?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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