The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli: Summary & Notes
by Rolf Dobelli
In One Sentence
We are predictably irrational—understanding the 99 cognitive biases that distort our thinking is the first step to making better decisions.
Key Takeaways
- Survivorship bias makes us overestimate success by focusing only on winners, not the many who failed
- The sunk cost fallacy keeps us invested in losing propositions because of past investments
- Confirmation bias leads us to seek and remember only information that confirms our existing beliefs
- The availability heuristic makes us overweight vivid, recent, or emotional information
- Social proof can lead entire groups astray—just because everyone believes something doesn't make it true
- Most biases served evolutionary purposes but misfire in modern contexts
Summary
A fantastic book summarizing a variety of biases that affect our thinking and decision-making. Dobelli leans heavily on people like Kahneman, Taleb, and others to build this extensive list (99 items!) of things to watch out for. Well worth the read, and will likely require revisiting when making decisions.
Who Should Read This Book
- Decision-makers in business, investing, or leadership roles
- Anyone who wants to think more rationally and avoid common mental traps
- Readers who enjoyed Thinking, Fast and Slow but want a quicker, more practical guide
- Students and professionals preparing for high-stakes decisions
FAQ
What are the 99 cognitive biases in The Art of Thinking Clearly?
The book covers 99 biases including: Survivorship bias, Sunk cost fallacy, Confirmation bias, Availability heuristic, Hindsight bias, Overconfidence effect, Social proof, Authority bias, Contrast effect, Anchoring, Halo effect, Clustering illusion, and many more. Each is explained with real-world examples.
What is survivorship bias?
Survivorship bias is the tendency to focus on successes while ignoring failures. For example, we study successful entrepreneurs without considering the thousands who failed using similar strategies. This distorts our understanding of what actually leads to success.
How is The Art of Thinking Clearly different from Thinking, Fast and Slow?
While both cover cognitive biases, Dobelli's book is shorter and more practical—99 brief chapters that can be read independently. Kahneman's is more academic and theoretical. Dobelli focuses on actionable recognition of biases; Kahneman explains the underlying psychology.
Click to expand comprehensive chapter-by-chapter breakdown (~15-20 min read)
