Take a photo of a barcode or cover
897 reviews for:
A Taste of Irrationality: Sample chapters from Predictably Irrational and Upside of Irrationality
Dan Ariely
3.97 AVERAGE
897 reviews for:
A Taste of Irrationality: Sample chapters from Predictably Irrational and Upside of Irrationality
Dan Ariely
3.97 AVERAGE
A fascinating book that shows us how often what we think are rational choices are, in fact, often influenced or determined by other, irrational factors. That irrational behavior is predictable, which marketeers often use to steer our choices. Everything in the book is based on scientific research, and the chapters are filled to the brim with descriptions of experiments the author conducted with his fellow researchers.
Some of the things I learned:
- how often what we are willing to pay for things depends on what the other offers we are presented with, even though the actual value may not correspond to the value we perceive.
- the placebo effect, and how it can have real benefits, but also confronts us with moral dilemmas: should a doctor prescribe medication he or she knows is ineffective if the patient really seems to experience an improvement from taking it?
- how people often will cheat (a bit) if they can, but when they are reminded of a moral code (like the Ten Commandments or an oath they signed), the cheating completely disappears.
- how peer pressure impacts our choices in a much bigger way then we would like to admit.
I love books like this, because they help you understand your own behavior and challenge you to ask yourself why you do the things you do. This book will help you recognize the many ways in which marketing uses the predictability of our irrational choices to try to influence our consumption behavior. Recommended!
Some of the things I learned:
- how often what we are willing to pay for things depends on what the other offers we are presented with, even though the actual value may not correspond to the value we perceive.
- the placebo effect, and how it can have real benefits, but also confronts us with moral dilemmas: should a doctor prescribe medication he or she knows is ineffective if the patient really seems to experience an improvement from taking it?
- how people often will cheat (a bit) if they can, but when they are reminded of a moral code (like the Ten Commandments or an oath they signed), the cheating completely disappears.
- how peer pressure impacts our choices in a much bigger way then we would like to admit.
I love books like this, because they help you understand your own behavior and challenge you to ask yourself why you do the things you do. This book will help you recognize the many ways in which marketing uses the predictability of our irrational choices to try to influence our consumption behavior. Recommended!
We are fallible, regardless of what the traditional economists say. That's the book in a nutshell, but Ariely's experiments on the different facets of our fallibility are fascinating. Having read "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Kahneman, I knew a great deal already about some of our issues with being completely rational. Still, Ariely's style is incredibly readable and compelling. Get this book.
Interesting discussion of various cognitive biases we're prone to, how we can react to them in a useful manner and their impact on policies (healthcare, corporate regulation, etc.). I want to read more on behavioral economics now.
This is a splendid little book by a MIT behavioral economist. The author did have a lot of fun doing his experiments in showing us how predictably irrational people are.
This book you can think of like Blink, Tipping Point, and Freakonmoics.
Some of the topics that stuck out were people's irrational infatuation with FREE, the differences in decision making for men in "aroused" and "cold" states (I want to see the grant request for that experiment!), people citing the Ten Commandments before a decision makes for a more honest decision, and finally the boundaries between social and market requests.
The way he described the experiments were a little convoluted. And I also wonder how people knowing they are part of an experiment behave differently.
Any person who doesn't understand why people can be so irrational should read this.
Listened and thoroughly enjoyed this. Kudos to the narrator for bringing the author’s content to life.
Behavioral economics is new to me, but I’d recommend the book to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the forces that drive decision-making… particularly when those decisions don’t “make sense.”
Behavioral economics is new to me, but I’d recommend the book to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the forces that drive decision-making… particularly when those decisions don’t “make sense.”
I am an Economist graduate and Behavioral Economics is one of my favorite topics to learn and think about so no wonder I enjoyed reading this book. But I would have enjoyed it more and gave the book a higher rating if I didn't notice subtle misogyny. Anyways, the author writes in a simple and engaging way so that even the general readers can appreciate the book thoroughly.
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
This is a life changing book. Will read it again
Good... but if you're into this one, read Thinking Fast and Slow ("TF&S") instead (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-slow).
Predictably Irrational ("PI") covers some good stuff, but he's VERY repetitive --- reiterating and rephrasing everything 3-4x in an effort to be clear, when probably 1-2 reiterations/rephrases would be sufficient....
TF&S is more comprehensive, more concise, and better written in general. Both the author (winner of Nobel Prize in Economics) and the book itself (National Academy of Science Best Book, etc) are mega award-winners. AND, if it matters to you, the other book has double the ratings, and a better overall rating, than PI on Amazon. ;)
So, go check it out! It's one of my ultimate nonfiction faves:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-slow
Predictably Irrational ("PI") covers some good stuff, but he's VERY repetitive --- reiterating and rephrasing everything 3-4x in an effort to be clear, when probably 1-2 reiterations/rephrases would be sufficient....
TF&S is more comprehensive, more concise, and better written in general. Both the author (winner of Nobel Prize in Economics) and the book itself (National Academy of Science Best Book, etc) are mega award-winners. AND, if it matters to you, the other book has double the ratings, and a better overall rating, than PI on Amazon. ;)
So, go check it out! It's one of my ultimate nonfiction faves:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-slow
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Similar to Freakonomics and Malcolm Gladwell books but nothing that interesting to me.