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This book is a marvelous piece of work — inspiring, life changing even — and premised on a simple notion: cognitive dissonance, and the lengths to which humans will go to equilibrate it. The authors make a compelling case that cognitive dissonance — trying to balance two diametrically opposed beliefs — is at the heart of most of our problems. Humans, they argue, are wired to cognitively justify their actions and choices as we move through life, while at the same time blindly, almost willfully, spitefully, making horrible and ever-worsening decisions. As a result, we devote an enormous amount of energy, and neural pathways, to creating and maintaining false constructs designed to preserve a sense of individual exceptionalism.
Worse, this pattern of backward justifying occurs for societies as well.
Plumbing the news, case studies and anecdotal accounts, they build a compelling case for how we never, ever seem capable of admitting culpability, much less acknowledging that we made an actual mistake.
Caught cheating on your partner? Clearly, she was withholding affections and any rational person would be forced to seek satisfaction elsewhere. Sent an innocent person to prison? They were probably guilty of something else so what’s the big deal. Invaded a country to seize nonexistent WMDs? Obviously, they moved them, and anyway, the real reason we invaded was to bring Democracy to freedom-starved people.
It’s a truly fascinating lens through which to consider challenges of interpersonal and political interactions, the limits of the justice system, the blind spots of the health care system, barriers to advancing scientific knowledge and much more.
Not only did I find this a revolutionary way to think about the world and my role and responsibility in it, they enhanced it with a strong, simple visual representation of how we can transition from relatively decent human being to a failure standing knee deep in scandal and flailing about for any justification, no matter how farfetched. They envision a pyramid atop which we stand — at the pinnacle, we are morally upright creatures with no pesky dissonance. At the base, way down at the bottom, is a swamp of moral decay. The journey from the top to the bottom is rarely a headlong much less intentional rush, but rather a series of tiny, almost imperceptibly small steps into ever-greyer territory. We ratchet up the balancing act to deal with the increasing dissonance, using retroactive justification and the sometime wholesale rewriting of history, until we are mired in our own moral waste and bewildered as to how we got there.
Political scandals, medical malpractice and divorce proceedings are all perfect examples. No one — well, hardly any one — enters noble careers thinking they will be cheats or act immorally, hide evidence that could free an innocent person or fudge results to preserve theories, etc., but a thousand tiny decisions reinforced by cultural and organizational pressures, begin luring them down the pyramid and, eventually, the gravity of their initially innocent actions pulls them irreversibly into the muck.
Likewise, the hatred and vitriol and vile unearthed in many divorces stand in stark contrast to the relatively happy memories of many relationships, at least early on when love and romance brought two people together. Where does it come from? They posit that cognitive dissonance is to blame, associated with trying to maintain a sense of individual exceptionalism in difficult circumstances. “I’m a good person and good people aren’t to blame for the dissolution of marriages. Therefore, my partner must be a terrible person. Now let me set about prospecting for memories that can back-justify that belief.” Down the pyramid they go.
It’s a frightening and liberating paradigm that, once articulated, seems 'unputbackable.' It cautions us to always think about the cognitions we hold, and how they might be shaping our actions and responses, and blinding us to better courses of action. It warns us to pause and reflect before we act. It underscores the need for oversight of and transparency into our systems and organizations to ensure those in positions of power aren’t inadvertently, blinded by dissonance and therefore acting against the best inters of society.
The book is a bit dated, at 7 years old, but the concepts are sound and important. I would love to see this topic addressed again with a more current treatment of advances in neuroscience. But short of that, given how strongly it resonated with me, and the solid, engaging writing style, I highly recommend.
This line captures the essence of the book well: “The brain is designed with blind spots, optical and psychological, and one of its cleverest tricks is to confer on us the comforting delusion that we, personally, do not have any.”
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Customers say
Customers find this book insightful and well-researched, with one noting it's particularly useful for understanding cognitive dissonance. Moreover, the book is easy to read, well-written, and packed with interesting examples, with one customer highlighting its extensive use of political case studies. However, the political focus receives mixed reactions, with some appreciating its political content while others find it too biased. Additionally, the pacing receives criticism, with one customer noting it goes off on tangents for long periods.
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125 customers mention content, 108 positive, 17 negative
Great book!lots of insights and examples of human behavior. Definitely worth reading.ends with an analysis of Trump and his behavior.Read more
This is an excellent book, with lots of thought-provoking insight to human behavior and how we jettison reason and facts in order to justify the...Read more
A great read and hits at the core issues that often cause us all problems in work, love and life.Read more
...all fall into the trap of justifying the dissonance in our lives, A good read.Read more
70 customers mention informative, 67 positive, 3 negative
I read the Kindle edition using the iPad app. The book is terrific -- insightful and well written as you can see from other reviews....Read more
...The notes are extensive, thorough, and informative. It would have been nice to have a bibliography.Read more
Very educational book. Read it to learn critical thinking skills.Read more
A real eye-opener, demonstrating that we shouldn't be so sure about what we take for granted. ......Read more
19 customers mention readability, 15 positive, 4 negative
...Good anecdotes and a very quick and easy read. I'm sorry this book wasn't longer and that I didn't read it sooner. A definite must read.Read more
This was an amazing book. It was able to remain clear and concise without underselling the complexity of the subject matter....Read more
Recommended to anyone. A thoughtful book, well written and easy to read, in which the writers demonstrate an effort to think of the questions a...Read more
This should be required reading for humans. It’s hard to read, not because it’s poorly written (it’s actually great) but because it sheds a light on...Read more
15 customers mention writing style, 12 positive, 3 negative
...The book is terrific -- insightful and well written as you can see from other reviews. The Kindle edition is, however, really pathetic....Read more
...This explains the craziness of people! This book was very well written and is a valuable new resource for me!Read more
...that, given how strongly it resonated with me, and the solid, engaging writing style, I highly recommend....Read more
...It’s hard to read, not because it’s poorly written (it’s actually great) but because it sheds a light on how we justify our monstrous behavior and...Read more
12 customers mention examples, 11 positive, 1 negative
...a well articulated book, thoroughly explaining it's thesis, with numerous examples.Read more
Excellent book. Well written, organized. Provides real world examples.Read more
...While the examples were great, often many more examples than necessary were used to hammer home a point.Read more
...It explains, with many examples, why we shirk responsibility when things go awry. Fascinating look at the weird world of cognitive dissonance.Read more
7 customers mention interesting content, 7 positive, 0 negative
The premise of this book is great -- we all find ways to convince ourselves that we haven't made a mistake....Read more
...Outside of the political foolishness, the book was good. The topic is fascinating and they author covers it well. Easy reading.Read more
Many interesting ideas and helped me to review how we can all fall into the trap of justifying the dissonance in our lives, A good read.Read more
...a friend referenced it and the title sounded fun and the concept interesting....Read more
9 customers mention political focus, 6 positive, 3 negative
...Easy to read. Interesting examples from current events, politics, etc...Read more
The book started off a little too political for me but as I continued to read the political sniping diminished, although it never completely faded....Read more
Mistakes Were Made was a provocative book, and we can take away knowledge from it and apply it to our everyday lives....Read more
...to help us understand such diverse topics as torture, mass murder, political lies, war and divorce to name a few....Read more
7 customers mention pacing, 0 positive, 7 negative
Couldn't finish this book. Quit about a third of the way through....Read more
...And that has all but been proven. I will admit I think ends poorly, and the book could have done well to have a better "all encompassing summary"...Read more
...The book, however, takes an odd detour at the end with a chapter about Donald Trump that was very out of place in what was otherwise a more serious,...Read more
I found it went off on tangents for long periods on what must have been the author's pet peeves that had nothing to do with main theme.Read more
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- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on January 12, 2025
Fantastic book
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- TCReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2026
A gem, and not without humour
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- Amazon CustomerReviewed in India on November 15, 2025
Awesome book
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