
The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 374 ratings
Price: 18.8
Last update: 01-19-2025
About this item
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.
Top reviews from the United States

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will help you "Know Thyself"
As to its importance: We are classified as Homo Sapiens Sapiens. To me, Homo means almost hairless bipedal primate. To me, Sapiens means thinking. The second Sapiens means we are primates able to think about how we think. The daily news proves many powerful people and voters do not. And that failure also contributes to extreme polarization.
As to the writing: One important insight in the book is the counter-intuitive notion that fluency can decrease the depth of understanding achieved and the retention of learning. Example: At one point, the author mentions research he says reveals six important concepts. Then, in a rambling way, he says something about each of the six. It was hard for me to distinguish the concepts from the descriptors since each could be used as a noun or an adjective. I wished he had simply made a numbered or bullet list. He was forcing me into what is called “productive struggle.” It’s the mental equivalent of “no pain; no gain” of physical training.
Also, the author spreads the description of some psychological research across many chapters forcing one to try to recall details of the testing repeatedly. That’s called “chunking,” another proven but counter-intuitive beneficial approach to teaching. This author practices what he teaches.
As to visible liberal bias: I’m conservative; the bias makes the book more useful for me. I’ve tried to engage liberal acquaintances in friendly truth-seeking dialogue for decades and find very few willing to. Several conservative friends have the same experience. I plan to use this book to encourage my liberal relatives and friends to dialogue. I can say to them, “here is a book by an author more like you than like me. You will like its tone and examples. And it will be helpful to us both as we explore issues. Reading it was humbling; I’ve fallen into every trap it describes.” To my, let’s say, dogmatic conservative friends I can say, “this book’s liberal bias will be great practice for you. If you can read it without a blood pressure spike, you are ready for calm dialogue.”
I particularly liked this author’s extensive use of Richard P. Feynman as an exemplar of well-rounded thinking excellence. And for we structured readers, towards the end, the author includes bullet lists and a convenient glossary of key terms.
Face it. None of us has flawless thinking. The best chance to detect flaws is open honest truth-seeking dialogue with someone different from yourself. This book will help you have it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good constructive advice on how to make fewer mistakes

4.0 out of 5 stars Even Smart People Do Dumb Things
Very helpful and interesting is his taxonomy of stupidity and wisdom at the end of the book. It’s a handy reference to the ways (described throughout the book) in which people can do stupid or smart things. As far as I know, he coined the word “dysrationalia,” defined in the taxonomy as “The mismatch between intelligence and rationality.” He uses the word throughout the text.
I was surprised to learn that my lifelong habit of reading books of all kinds is actually giving me
a dose of dopamine every time I read one!
Now to my one quibble with the book.
Michael Shermer (pp. 159-162) is not the crusader for open-mindedness that he would like us to think he is and convinced Robson that he is. He's great if he is debunking diet fads, astrology, bogus health claims, other people's
religion (he wrote a column in the Scientific America last Easter attackingthe Resurrection), but he will not exhibit
the same open-mindedness in other areas. For example, apparently he is not skeptical of the warnings associated with climate change but of those who are skeptical (158). In other words, climate change problems are a given and not subject to critical analysis. Not the J.S, Mill or Karl Popper approach to open mindedness.
Shermer’s book DENYING HISTORY is a passionate defense of some truly absurd claims, which should be subject to the same critical scrutiny that he practices with everybody else's absurd claims. If he is true to his role as
professional skeptic, he should be prepared to evaluate his own beliefs as assiduously as he evaluates the beliefs of others—and allow others to do so as well.. Not the case. “ Shermer emphasizes the importance of keeping an open mind” 161). Not when it comes to what he believes.
Read his book DENYING HISTORY and decide if It’s not full of absurd claims.
