The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone by Steven Sloman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A book about ignorance, focusing on a lack of personal mindfulness in making everyday decisions and the appraisal of hive-mentality (trusting communal knowledge). The main concept of the book is based on all of us thinking we know more than we do and an importance of trusting expertise of a wider community instead of trying to solve every problem individually.

In my opinion, the book is a bit too descriptive; it presents a case study after a case study of the same ideas without a deeper analysis or conclusion; authors don't offer much of an advice on how to be more focused and mindful, nor do they explore different cultures beyond the western world (I would argue, that the hive-mentality is something worth investigating in a context of Asia and other places); and there is almost no mention of individual responsibility and a negative side of hive-mentality (beyond one paragraph in the end of the book, which felt more like ticking off the box rather than making a serious point).

Some chapters better than others, and the second half of the book more interesting than the first one, which felt like a very long and repetitive introduction. Didn't experience any deeply enlightening moments while reading this one, except of the last two pages opening the door to the good side of living in an illusion of knowledge – these final thoughts by authors seemed like an idea for a better book than the one they've written.

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