Lecture: Richard E. Nesbitt

Literati is the bookseller for this installment of “Exploring the Mind: Community Talks by University of Michigan Psychology Faculty.” Dr. Richard E. Nesbitt, the author of Intelligence and How to Get It and Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking will take on the question, “Can college make you smarter? (Or just teach you stuff?)”

Scientific and philosophical concepts can change the way we solve problems by helping us to think more effectively about our behavior and our world. Surprisingly, despite their utility, many of these tools remain unknown to most of us. In Mindware, the world-renowned psychologist Richard E. Nisbett presents these ideas in clear and accessible detail. Nisbett has made a distinguished career of studying and teaching such powerful problem-solving concepts as the law of large numbers, statistical regression, cost-benefit analysis, sunk costs and opportunity costs, and causation and correlation, probing the best methods for teaching others how to use them effectively in their daily lives. In this groundbreaking book, Nisbett shows us how to frame common problems in such a way that these scientific and statistical principles can be applied to them. The result is an enlightening and practical guide to the most essential tools of reasoning ever developed-tools that can easily be used to make better professional, business, and personal decisions.

“The most influential thinker, in my life, has been the psychologist Richard Nisbett. He basically gave me my view of the world.” – Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times Book Review