Mistakes Were Made (but Not by Me) - Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts

by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson

Honestly, I picked this book up because I loved the title.

If you haven’t familiarized yourself with what cognitive dissonance is, this is definitely a great introduction the concept.

Why do people believe things that are obviously false? Why do people justify decisions that clearly didn’t work out, and hold two completely opposed views?

Pros:

  • Fascinating coverage of the history of the evolution of how science understands human memory
  • Great thought exercises and very human examples
  • Cites studies and research in a way that is consumable by non-academics and not patronizing

Cons:

  • The heavy handed political examples made it hard to follow some of the points they were trying to make. I don’t even disagree with the politics! (I read the third edition)

Absolutely something to read if you want to be a better human. Understanding how your brain works, and how receptive it is to what it hears, can help you get yourself out of a hole before you dig yourself further down. It also teaches you to recognize when your brain tells itself something to make itself feel better, and thus keeping you from throwing away things that are valuable.