How Unconscious Mind Defines Us

Very catchy title! The book is of the psychology genre exploring how our mind works.

Subliminal means below threshold or below the surface. The book references lots of studies using fMRI - an electromagnetic technology. With advent of technology we now analyze brains structure, which neural pathways light-up during activities etc instead of talking about abstract things like Id and ego. 

There are two distinct tracks of mental action happening simultaneously - consciously and unconsciously. Our mind subconsciously categorizes/stereotypes people to make sense. It is its way of sorting through things. Also, on an unconscious level, touch seems to impart a subliminal sense of cooling and affection. That's why often salesperson gently pats on your arm while talking. 

I liked learning about the Fluency Effect - If form of info is difficult to assimilate that affects our judgement about the substance of that info.  

Similarly, Munsterberg theory - 

• People have a good memory of general gist of events but a bad one for the details. When pressed for details, even well-intentioned people in order to be accurate will inadvertently fill in gaps by making things up.  
• And people forget the details cause for them to remember the details - it has to register in our conscious mind. Disparity with what we see and what we register is the reason.

There was a beautiful line summarizing it - 

"Moments in time maybe forever forgotten, or viewed through a hazy or distorting lens, yet something of them nonetheless survives within us, permeating our conscious."

It also raises an interesting point about if there is a connection between brainpower and the number of members in a social network? I didn't get that fully.

The book shines light into various biases we hold too - like there's a subconscious bias to favor in-groups over doing something for the greater good. Encountering difficulties together removes in-group /out-group feeling. And makes one feel good.

Similarly, the concept of motivated reasoning is well relatable. I really liked the analogy to that effect : we normally work with the worldview of a scientist and an attorney. Human brain is a decent scientist but outstanding lawyer. We poke holes in evidence we dislike and plug holes in evidence we like. We use our preferred conclusion to shape our analysis of data. 

Finally, I found the conclusion of the book powerful. 

"We choose the facts that we want to believe. We also choose our friends, lovers and spouses not just because of the way we perceive them but also because of the way they perceive us. Unlike phenomena in physics, in life, events can often obey one theory or another, and what actually happens can depend largely upon which theory we choose of believe." 

The way I interpret it is - that whatever theory we choose to believe, events supporting that start to happen usually. Thus, an optimistic person will find lucky breakthrough events happening around them and vice-versa. So, careful what theory you choose to believe in!