We don’t think the way we think

Manuel Kiessling

Talk: 60 minutes

Summary

When thinking about ‘How much is 2 + 2?’, you are using a completely different think system than when thinking about ‘How much is 23 x 59?’.

And, when calculating how many animals of each species Moses took with him in the ark, you might come up with a very quick answer of ’2′, but also, you might have been fooled by one of your think systems, because it was Noah who built the ark, not Moses.

As we will learn, there are a lot more – and often much more profound – failures caused by the properties of and the interplay between both systems.

Over the last years, these have been at the centre of several important research projects in cognitive psychology, and their findings tell us a lot about how and why humans actually arrive at the decisions they make.

Knowing the psychological basis for reactions, judgments, recognition, choices, conclusions, and much more, is a key factor in succeeding when building and leading agile teams and introducing change in the overall organization – this talk will equip you with the knowledge and mental tools you need.

Short Bio

Manuel Kiessling is a software architect, test driven software developer, and agilist who helps introducing Scrum and XP into organizations. He currently works as an IT team lead in Cologne, Germany.