Good to understand cognitive dissidence, and we are all susceptible to it. I hope I remember this when I justify my actions in future.

Overall, I liked this book. I’m fascinated by cognitive dissonance and I loved finding a book that takes such a deep dive into it.
I was not a huge fan of the last section of the book. (I think it’s just in the latest edition.) I understand the authors wanting to pull from real-life examples, but having so much of the book focus on one person (in the case Donald Trump) seemed unnecessary, and honestly, inconsistent with the rest of the book. It ended the book on a very weird note.

Overall, there were some gems and many lessons to take away from reading this book. The tone of the text was condescending at times, and the work could have been through another round of edits - on page 64, "more than three-fourths of all drugs between 1989 and 2079..." and on page 71, "measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2086." Though the pyramid metaphor could at times be repetitive, this book definitely raised awareness in me of how to handle mistakes in my life as well as how I see the mistakes of others.

Very well researched and insightful! I liked how the psychological concepts were coupled with several real-life examples. It made it easy to digest and learn. It was a little doomsday at times but the authors include some helpful information to keep in mind when faced with the opportunity to admit you made a mistake.

This was a really fun and informative read, and one of those books that opens up a pandora's box as you are reading. I was already aware of some of this research, and I often try to mitigate my behaviour when I recognise what I am doing. However, once I started reading this book, I become almost painfully aware of how frequently cognitive dissonance pops up...and how easy it is to use self-justification to soothe the pain! I would highly recommend reading The Invisible Gorilla as well as this book, and between the two you will have several tools to better understand yourself and others. My only criticism is that I would have enjoyed more information about how to protect yourself. The last chapter is largely dedicated to this topic, but I think the book would have benefited from expanding on this more. It's a highly readable and entertaining book, and a rather quick read as a result.

البدايات القاسية تزيد من حب العضو للمجموعة!!
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مثال مذهل على تبرير الجهد المبذول في الحياة الواقعية جاء من دراسة قائمة على الملاحظة أجريت في دولة موريشيوس متعددة الثقافات. حيث يتضمن المهرجان الهندوسي السنوي لتايبوسام نوعين من الطقوس: طقوس منخفضة الشدة تتضمن الغناء والصلاة الجماعية ، وطقوس قاسية.

طقوس عادية تسمى kavadi. وطقوس"حادة" مبالغ بها : يُثقب المشاركون بالإبر والأسياخ ، ويحملون حزمًا ثقيلة ، وعربات جر متصلة بجلدهم بخطافات لأكثر من أربع ساعات. ثم يتسلقون جبلاً حافيي القدمين للوصول إلى معبد موروجان. بعد ذلك ، أعطى الباحثون للمشاركين في المحنة المنخفضة والمشاركين المحنة الشديدة الفرصة للتبرع بالمال دون الكشف عن هويتهم للمعبد. أنتجت طقوس المحنة الشديدة تبرعات أعلى بكثير من طقوس المحنة المنخفضة. كلما زاد ألم الناس ، زاد التزامهم بقوانين المعبد.

هذه النتائج لا تعني أن الناس يستمتعون بتجارب مؤلمة أو أنهم يستمتعون بالأشياء لأنها مرتبطة بالألم. ما يقصدونه هو أنه إذا مر الشخص طوعًا بتجربة صعبة أو مؤلمة من أجل تحقيق هدف أو شيء ما ، فإن هذا الهدف أو الشيء يصبح أكثر جاذبية. إذا كنت في طريقك للانضمام إلى مجموعة مناقشة ، وسقط وعاء زهور من النافذة المفتوحة لمبنى سكني ، على رأسك ، فلن يزداد تعلقك بمجموعة المناقشة . ولكن إذا تطوعت لتلقي ضربة على رأسك بوعاء زهور لتصبح عضوًا في المجموعة ، فأنت بالتأكيد ستتعلق بالمجموعة أكثر.
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Carol Tavris
Mistakes Were Made
Translated By #Maher_Razouk