The strength of Risk Savvy: How to Make Good Decisions are in the examples Gerd Gigerenzer provides to interpreting medical information. His discussion of the PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) test to detect prostate cancer should be required reading. The same for interpreting the risks of breast cancer from mammogram results. I also found the data on investing in the Stock Market useful. If you’re interested in making better decisions, it starts with understanding the information affecting the decision. Risk Savvy includes plenty of practical examples and advice to help improve decision making. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Part I The Psychology of Risk p. ix
1 Are People Stupid? p. 1
2 Certainty Is an Illusion p. 17
3 Defensive Decision Making p. 43
4 Why Do We Fear What’s Unlikely to Kill Us? p. 67
Part II Getting Risk Savvy p. 83
5 Mind Your Money p. 85
6 Leadership and Intuition p. 106
7 Fun and Games p. 125
8 Getting to the Heart of Romance p. 142
9 What Doctors Need to Know p. 159
10 Health Care: No Decision About Me Without Me p. 187
11 Banks, Cows, and Other Dangerous Things p. 225
Part III Start Early p. 243
12 Revolutionize School p. 245
Acknowledgments p. 263
Glossary p. 265
Notes p. 279
References p. 297
Index p. 311
Phil just had his prostate removed. I’d be afraid to read it now.
Patti, hope Phil is recovering swiftly! My Dad had his prostate removed, too. By doing a lot of walking, he bounced back quickly.
Chapter 1 – Are People Stupid?
For two many in this country (look at the recent election) I’m afraid the answer is yes.
Patti, hope Phil is doing well. Both my father and father-in-law would probably have been better off had they had their prostates removed when they had problems rather than the choices they made.
Jeff, I don’t think most people are stupid, but I do think they’re ignorant. Most of my students haven’t read a book in 2014. Sure, they text and tweet, but we both know that’s not READING!
George, while i’m tempted to read this book, I avoid reading too much about health issues, especially since the front pages of Indian newspapers are filled with depressing news about the high incidence of one disease or the other and how Indians are more susceptible to certain illnesses. Obviously, the pharma lobby is working overtime with all this scaremongering. Our parents and grandparents lived their lives without ado about this, that and the other.
Prashant, precisely the impact of Big Pharma on health issues makes RISK SAVVY relevant to health decisions. Gerd Gigerenzer describes ways to interpret medical tests and data to help make better decisions.
We saw a radiologist and a surgeon but based on all the other men we know (five in Phil’s department alone) we decided 8 wks of daily doses was not the way to go. He is out walking now and in less than a week seems almost recovered. Although I am sure that’s not exactly true. Hopefully this will be the end of it. But yesterday my brother fell off his roof and fractured his spine in three places and broke his hand. So the year of bad times continues. In a brace from neck to waist.
Patti, sorry to hear about your brother. During the Snow Event here, people were shoveling feet of snow off their roofs. Many fell and ended up in your brother’s situation. I’m not a fan of heights so I’d just pay someone to shovel off my roof if it needed it.
No one in our age bracket should be climbing around on a roof. Hope your brother’s recovery is a good one, Patti. And glad it wasn’t worse.