This book makes you stop and think about what you're doing and why. Good points about questioning, well, everything. Are you deferring to "experts" and not considering what is best for you? Are you acting on the advice of someone who has ulterior motives? I will say it's more long-winded than necessary, but a good reminder to think for ourselves.

Thanks to Harvard Business Review Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Great book, shows a plethora of ways to think for yourself, would highly recommend, Can't wait for more books from this author.

This book is a godsend in our age of uncritical thinking and lack of perspective. Mansharamani has compiled an edifying and entertaining roadmap to navigate our endlessly diverting and suspiciously shallow world. This book is a breath of fresh air.

I really enjoyed reading the ideas put forth by Vikram. Took longer for me to read as I had to sit with the ideas for a bit before moving on, but that is a good thing.

THINK FOR YOURSELF

Vikram Mansharamani opens his book Think for Yourself: Restoring Common Sense in an Age of Experts and Artificial Intelligence with the following tongue-in-cheek observation: “You may not realize it, but you’ve lost your mind.”

It’s an amusing and eye-catching statement, for sure; but it’s also true. How frequently do we “mindlessly” accept information thrown our way because it can from the mouths of experts, or we saw it on television, or—¡que horror!—we read it on the internet? How often are our purchase decisions made on the basis of a recommendation by an invisible algorithm? How likely is it that we just go with the flow or stick with the default because there are just too many things competing for our attention?

This, in a nutshell, is what Think for Yourself is all about: it is a book that calls on us to reclaim common sense amid the dangers of “outsourcing” our decisions to algorithms and experts.

As Mansharamani notes throughout the book in example after example, those dangers are real. Experts, we are often reminded, have been shown to be no better (and in some cases are even worse) than amateurs at forecasting in certain domains. Likewise, algorithms are opaque black boxes whose functioning may sometimes run contrary to the intended outcome. In spite of this, we have come to rely on such things to help cope with the fire hose of information that threatens to drown us out. Unfortunately, far too often we do so uncritically; it’s about time we take back control.

Ultimately Think for Yourself is a book about exercising judgment. Mansharamani does not pooh-pooh the expert opinion nor the power of the algorithm; he merely asks that we pause to question our acquiescence towards them. As he rightly points out, there used to be a time when intelligence and even wisdom were associated with the breadth rather than depth of one’s knowledge. These days the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction, with extremely specialized and siloed knowledge held in high esteem. Hence, we need to be reminded to exercise better judgment by finding the balance between depth of knowledge and breadth of perspective in any given context.

Certainly, other books have argued the same points as those in Think for Yourself. But Mansharamani does so in a cogent and concise package, with the self-aware prescription to question any advice you may receive—even his.

It's a well written book that makes you reflect and question yourself.
I loved it and I think it's a useful and interesting read.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Looking at the overall scheme of things I ponder while reading, I am thankful for the ideas shared by Dr. Vikram Mansharamani in this book. It is not easy for me nowadays to pause and question what our experts are telling the world. My default assumption is that our experts knew their domain well and already considered things through from multiple lenses before providing advice. While it maybe true for the first one, it is not necessarily so for the second.

In this book Vikram discusses how many experts are living inside the bubble of their specializations and failing to consider other aspects of certain situations, thereby resulting to unintended consequences like death.

My journey in this book was not easy only because I kept on stopping every now and then to debate and ask question why Vikram said this and that. Eventually my questions were answered as I went through all the chapters. I guess thinking for oneself is a great mental workout.

I also appreciate the way less formal style of writing as well as the funny punch lines from time to time (drum roll please..)

Of course not all readers will agree with the premises (or maybe the conclusions) written this book. But if you read this book, finish it until the end. You may not agree but at least you are thinking for yourself. This book somehow feels like a novel, you’ll get to understand its essence once you read the whole.

This book is, of course, written before the Covid-19 pandemic, which has really brought experts out in masses. Doctors, who want to save as many lives as possible, are now directing a destruction of our society in order to stop a relatively mild illness. Not necessarily mild for the affected, but for society in general. We should do the right things, not everything.
The book is very comprehensive, and is a "must read" for everyone. The writing is very good, with quite a few funny points, and it's well organized. Some of the examples or anecdotes may be a little too long, but this isn't a book you read in one sitting, and you get more for your money.