The Intelligence Trap

Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes

By: David Robson

Narrated by: Simon Slater

An eye-opening examination of the stupid things smart people do - and how to cultivate skills to protect ourselves from error.

"As a rule, I have found that the greater brain a man has, and the better he is educated, the easier it has been to mystify him" (Harry Houdini to Arthur Conan Doyle).

Smart people are not only just as prone to making mistakes as everyone else - they may be even more susceptible to them. This is the "intelligence trap", the subject of David Robson's fascinating and provocative book.

The Intelligence Trap explores cutting-edge ideas in our understanding of intelligence and expertise, including "strategic ignorance", "meta-forgetfulness", and "functional stupidity." Robson reveals the surprising ways that even the brightest minds and most talented organizations can go wrong - from some of Thomas Edison's worst ideas to failures at NASA, Nokia, and the FBI. And he offers practical advice to avoid mistakes based on the timeless lessons of Benjamin Franklin, Richard Feynman, and Daniel Kahneman.

©2019 David Robson (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Interesting

Not sure I agree with every premise the author proposes, but the book is worthy of a listen and careful consideration. Parts are surprising and most of it is thought-provoking. The writing is good and the narrator performs well.

Surprisingly insightful

Surprisingly insightful and doesn't end up as a dull book of facts. Great examples and stories. Good narration.

But really, what IS smart?

(As posted in GoodReads)
It points out the fact that there are different aspects of and kinds of "smartness", and the fact that individually they DON'T necessarily preclude dumb actions or ideas or the commission of "dumb things". It specifically mentions some well-known idiotic actions and beliefs of people who are generally considered smart but aren't "above" dwelling on their own individual concern regardless of their knowledge or background (to me the most obvious example it is the Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling who decided to push vitamin C as a cure-all – including being a cure for cancer, despite the fact that that was not even vaguely related to his celebrated research. (I believe he ended up dying of cancer…)
Anyway, there is a difference between being "smart" and being able to demonstrate proficiency in absolutely everything that you address. Only one of those is conceivable, but I'm getting off point. The point is, WHY smart people do dumb things, and the book suggests several reasons. Primarily, it's important to refine our meaning of smart.
I found the last two chapters that old and long, and I need to skim the end, but overall good things and techniques were examined.

Could have been much better

The subject matter was interesting but the way it was handled was so boring. It was incredibly formal with boring examples that I could not care about. I finally just quit listening.

We’re all More Biased than we Think

While there is a lot of helpful information in this book, I found the execution to be a bit ironic. The author offers several helpful tips into “practical wisdom”, repeatedly encouraging listeners to avoid using bias, being willing to frequently challenge their assumptions, etc. However, his underlying bias becomes quickly and unabashedly apparent.

I found myself checking out occasionally as he lectures us against the dangers of dogmatism, then turns around and expects his listeners to accept various positions as fact. Regardless of what the author’s bias may be, the book loses much of its impact due to these repeated dogmatic statements. I think it’s still worth a listen, but it’s helpful to have this in mind before you commit several hours.