On a scale of Homer to Spock, I’d say I’m about a George W. Bush.  Clearly a smart guy (and no I never voted for the man), W would often rely on his personal heuristics and biases (not racial or socioeconomic per se) to help him with his decisions.

We all do this to some extent, otherwise it would be extremely difficult to get almost anything done.  Rather than think every decision through, we rely on rules of thumb to guide us on our way.  This works really well for us on tasks that we do all the time – things like driving, purchasing food, and engaging in conversations.  Where we typically struggle is with tasks that we don’t do very often – things like buying houses, deciding on our education, and writing blog posts.

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Ok, so I first was given this book by my dad when I was a 17 or so. If only I hadn’t read the cover of the book at that point, I would have saved myself tons of heartache over the years. Instead, I read the title, and thought to myself, “I don’t want any part in a book that teaches you how to manipulate people into being your friend, and doing stuff for you.” I really have to tell you now, that this is a terrible title, because inside is life-changing advice for how to live and interact with people, and it has nothing.

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