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65 reviews for:
Alchemy : The Magic of Original Thinking in a World of Mind-Numbing Conformity
Rory Sutherland
4.0 AVERAGE
65 reviews for:
Alchemy : The Magic of Original Thinking in a World of Mind-Numbing Conformity
Rory Sutherland
4.0 AVERAGE
fast-paced
funny
informative
slow-paced
I decided to check this book out of my public library after being intrigued by Rory Sutherland's interview clips on social media. And boy am I glad that I didn't fork out the 20 quid for this book!
This book is honestly a joke or a cash grab. It's just a string of meandering (and repetitive) stories strung together with some loose allusions to science and psychology. Though there are some interesting tidbits of information, they are not presented in any organised manner, and many ideas are proposed without thorough evidence. I think some of his arguments are slightly disingenuous or at least not sufficiently well-argued, such as his suggestion that females primarily spend large amounts of money on make-up because of a 'self-placebo' effect in terms of confidence. There is absolutely no research evidence given to back up this argument, as well as many of his other arguments. It very much seems like Sutherland is cherry-picking anecdotes and perspectives that match his personal theories, and simply not even bothering to address any potential counterarguments.
Further, I'm convinced that this book didn't have a real editor. My 'evidence' of this? There are multiple spelling errors, the book's cover and page layout are atrocious, and the writing is in need of some serious parsing down.
That being said, it was easy to read, and probably would be fun as an audiobook to play in the background while doing some housework/errands. It would be quite similar, I feel, to listening to a podcast with him as a guest. If that's what you're looking for, then definitely give this a try!
But, as a serious piece of non-fiction writing examining behavioural psychology, this book is not good. I don't really have a direct alternative to offer that I've personally read. However, I have read some of Misbehaving by Richard Thaler which looks at behavioural economics. Thaler's book is a much more thorough look at a similar-ish topic, and I would recommend checking it out if you're looking for something that's more rigorously researched and more logically presented.
This book is honestly a joke or a cash grab. It's just a string of meandering (and repetitive) stories strung together with some loose allusions to science and psychology. Though there are some interesting tidbits of information, they are not presented in any organised manner, and many ideas are proposed without thorough evidence. I think some of his arguments are slightly disingenuous or at least not sufficiently well-argued, such as his suggestion that females primarily spend large amounts of money on make-up because of a 'self-placebo' effect in terms of confidence. There is absolutely no research evidence given to back up this argument, as well as many of his other arguments. It very much seems like Sutherland is cherry-picking anecdotes and perspectives that match his personal theories, and simply not even bothering to address any potential counterarguments.
Further, I'm convinced that this book didn't have a real editor. My 'evidence' of this? There are multiple spelling errors, the book's cover and page layout are atrocious, and the writing is in need of some serious parsing down.
That being said, it was easy to read, and probably would be fun as an audiobook to play in the background while doing some housework/errands. It would be quite similar, I feel, to listening to a podcast with him as a guest. If that's what you're looking for, then definitely give this a try!
But, as a serious piece of non-fiction writing examining behavioural psychology, this book is not good. I don't really have a direct alternative to offer that I've personally read. However, I have read some of Misbehaving by Richard Thaler which looks at behavioural economics. Thaler's book is a much more thorough look at a similar-ish topic, and I would recommend checking it out if you're looking for something that's more rigorously researched and more logically presented.
This was the first audiobook I’ve ever listened to (so I feel a little guilty about adding it to GoodReads) and I throughly enjoyed. The arguments made in this book for psycho-logical thinking and investigation are persuasive and eye-opening. I shall definitely be trying to incorporate the lessons taught into my own fields of work.
There’s something to be said for Sutherland’s delivery too. Engaging and friendly, with some spot on humour at points. This was a very enjoyable listen - possibly more so than if I read it. His voice is just… yum.
There’s something to be said for Sutherland’s delivery too. Engaging and friendly, with some spot on humour at points. This was a very enjoyable listen - possibly more so than if I read it. His voice is just… yum.
Have you ever dropped a book because of one sentence? The tag line of this book is that Redbull is successful because they did something opposite to Coca Cola and tried making an awful tasting drink. "They did the opposite and succeeded! In this book we will show you the world of the irrational and how marketing always needs some magic to work out!
Sure, I haven't tried Redbull myself, and I don't want to try to test that out, energy drinks could easily give me panic attacks. But that's the thing, its an energy drink, people drink it because of the energy, just like beer that tastes awful, but people try it because of the alcohol so they drink it cold to avoid feeling the taste.
And then I said okay that's sussy but, let's go on. The whole preface is trying to convince you about the world of the absurd and why people choose things irrationally by something he calls psycho logic, and I was getting a little bored, the author spends 3044 words saying "hey GPS, they are so logical, am I right? They are so logical, they don't understand when we are going to refuel!" Really? Is that an example we have to spend time with? I bet most people know that, because you know the GPS is... a machine, but then I finally got to chapter 1.
And it was the same thing all over again! Countless of examples of why people do things in a way that is not rational. Like yes, I get it, people are emotional, move on.
And then the author said this "Imagine you came home to find a dog turd on the floor of your kitchen; you would find it repellent, and would remove it immediately. Having disposed of it, you would wipe the floor with water and detergent, and if I asked you why you were doing those things, you would answer 'be- cause it's unhygienic, of course; it's a source of germs'. But here's the thing; an early Victorian would have experienced exactly the same emotions and performed exactly the same actions. but they didn't know about germs. They were, technically speaking, irrational in their dislike of faeces, which was 'purely emotional'."
And I said, stop, stop right there.
That's a lie.
That's a big damn lie.
Victorian era people knew about infections and stuff like that even if they didn't know about germs. Then he said the same thing about burials and cemeteries being an emotional, irrational thing, just because germs weren't found out until the last century.
And I said, this book is weird. This book is really weird, weird, and sketchy. Then I looked at the chapters and chapter 2 seemed to be the same damn thing, looking at the titles, however, I saw some good arguments in chapter 4 like how a ring despite not being practical or useful at all is a symbol that someone intends a relationship to last.
But I couldn't keep going. I lost all the trust in the book. Like, all of it. I don't want to read any more of it at all. It feels to me that this book is filled with... fluff. Like there is this idea that seems clever or insightful and then the writer just keeps hammering it over and over but it just oversimplifies reality, and then when he starts lying, with the germs things, it just makes my alarm sense tick.
And yes I know why the writer might be doing the fluff approach. "It's because if I make an useful but dry book people will get bored, while if I make an entertaining one people will stick in just for the anecdotes and learn something along the way." I know how you think! I got it reading the preface! But why are you lying? Don't be weird, don't lie. When someone starts to oversimplify things to sell you in this whimsical idea of the world they want to give you, I feel like... I feel weird things.
This book just feels like pop-psych fluff—entertaining if you are into weak analogies, but not necessarily enlightening. I bet it has some good stuff around the end or whatever, but I'm clocking out. I'm out.
I don't know, I don't trust this book, and I don't want to read it anymore.
It's weird.
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
Interesting book, about unconventional thinking that leads to solutions where conventional (logic) doesn't work, or leads to lesser solutions. Interesting concept, and many (oh so many) examples. The book could easily have been half as long. Cool concept though.
Surprisingly good
I came to this book via a recommendation. I usually find recommendation to be less than advertised. Not so here - a well written book with a different (at least compared to my usual fare) point of view.
I came to this book via a recommendation. I usually find recommendation to be less than advertised. Not so here - a well written book with a different (at least compared to my usual fare) point of view.
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
informative
slow-paced