The Undoing Project

“The Undoing Project” offers a revealing look at how two psychologists, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, redefined the way we interpret human judgment. Their groundbreaking work on cognitive biases and heuristics overturned traditional economic models, showing that people don’t always act rationally—even highly trained experts. By following their unlikely friendship, readers get a behind-the-scenes view of how personal experiences can spark brilliant insights into our everyday thinking.

Michael Lewis weaves biography and behavioral economics into one accessible narrative. The book explains how ideas like prospect theory and loss aversion reshaped fields ranging from policy to medicine. At its core, this story highlights the power of collaboration and the random paths that lead to transformative discoveries in psychology research. For anyone curious about why we make the decisions we do, this book offers a fresh perspective on the hidden forces that guide us.

Lewis excels at painting an intimate portrait of Kahneman and Tversky’s partnership, showing how each brought distinct perspectives into their experiments on human behavior. One of the book’s main strengths is its clarity in explaining complex theories—so even readers without a psychology background can understand how mental shortcuts operate and where they can go wrong. These insights have real-world applications in disciplines like finance and policy-making, reminding us to watch out for pitfalls such as overconfidence and framing effects.

The writing style is vivid but avoids technical jargon, relying on stories and anecdotes to illustrate findings. Readers gain practical takeaways, such as being more aware of small sample sizes and the way emotions can distort rational choices. Though the narrative focuses on academics, it never feels dry, making it accessible to a wide audience interested in decision-making. Overall, “The Undoing Project” comes highly recommended to anyone who wants a deeper appreciation of how human bias shapes everyday judgments.