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#5 Platform - Predictably Irrational
Nov. 13th, 2008 11:58 pmI'll at least agree with the predictable part.
Book #41: Predictably Irrational
Author: Dan Ariely
Provenance: Bought at the Chapters on Ste. Catharine
I don't think anyone would argue with the claim that people aren't totally rational. Even in areas where we should be looking after our own interests, we don't always do so. There are probably interesting ways to look at this, and I think this book does a decent job of it. The problem is that it only does it about half of the time, and the rest, it just seems obvious.
For example, things I was surprised by included how much difference it makes for something to be free, rather than just a penny, or the influence that a decoy offer can have on one's decision making process. Even the portion on the costs people pay to keep options open was enlightening. Others among the studies just seemed like the sorts of things we already knew, and they're just going ahead and proving it. So things like people thinking differently when they're very emotional than when they're not, or that foreknowledge and expectations can lead to people experiencing things differently, doesn't really come as a shock.
Still, the book is fairly nice and breezily written, and Ariely's a clever guy. The experiments he comes up with are usually fairly interesting, even if the points they're proving aren't always. I'd have liked it better if he'd stuck with about half the book, and left out the more obvious bits, but it's still a good read, and it won't take you long. I'd wait for the paperback, though, if you're going to buy it.
Next up: Heaven's Net is Wide. Again, I'm done with it; just need to get up the review.
Book #41: Predictably Irrational
Author: Dan Ariely
Provenance: Bought at the Chapters on Ste. Catharine
I don't think anyone would argue with the claim that people aren't totally rational. Even in areas where we should be looking after our own interests, we don't always do so. There are probably interesting ways to look at this, and I think this book does a decent job of it. The problem is that it only does it about half of the time, and the rest, it just seems obvious.
For example, things I was surprised by included how much difference it makes for something to be free, rather than just a penny, or the influence that a decoy offer can have on one's decision making process. Even the portion on the costs people pay to keep options open was enlightening. Others among the studies just seemed like the sorts of things we already knew, and they're just going ahead and proving it. So things like people thinking differently when they're very emotional than when they're not, or that foreknowledge and expectations can lead to people experiencing things differently, doesn't really come as a shock.
Still, the book is fairly nice and breezily written, and Ariely's a clever guy. The experiments he comes up with are usually fairly interesting, even if the points they're proving aren't always. I'd have liked it better if he'd stuck with about half the book, and left out the more obvious bits, but it's still a good read, and it won't take you long. I'd wait for the paperback, though, if you're going to buy it.
Next up: Heaven's Net is Wide. Again, I'm done with it; just need to get up the review.
