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Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness 131 reviews
Richard H. Thaler, Prof. Cass R. Sunstein
Yale University Press, 2008
Interesting
At first I squirmed at the authors' idea of "libertarian paternalism." But they made a compelling case about how government, when it designs systems, affects people's choices and why not do it in a way that makes people better off. I think there is less argument on what makes people better than ...
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Why Choose This Book?: How We Make Decisions 18 reviews
Read Montague
Dutton Adult, 2006
I really love this book. It is technical in parts, but well worth the effort!
+ The science of "what was he thinking?!"
This is quite an unassuming book at first blush. With all the other books out there that deal with human decision-making, this one is by far the most advanced. There are lots of pop-psychology books in this genre (Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, Nudge: Improving Decisions About ...
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The Ape in the Corner Office: Understanding the Workplace Beast in All of Us
Richard Conniff
Cyan Books, 2008
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Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking1158 reviews
Malcolm Gladwell
Back Bay Books, 2007
Excellent survey of social psychology
+ An enjoyable, thought-provoking and interesting read
+ Great collection of well told stories
+ Loved the concept!
+ blink:the power of thinking without thinking
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Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences87 reviews
John Allen Paulos
Hill and Wang, 2001
Good quick read, great examples, well done
+ "Innumeracy" motivated to create an online game!
+ Now a fan of John Allen Paulos
Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos is a book that shows the reader how being unable to use logic and reason for mathematical purposes correctly has become a huge problem and danger in today's society. He proves how innumeracy can be just as brutal as illiteracy. Numbers are used to find solutions to ...
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A Mathematician Plays The Stock Market86 reviews
John Allen Paulos
Basic Books, 2004
Informative and Humorous
+ A technical analysis bias
+ Well written, witty
This book is excellent. Part mathematics, part common sense and humor. The author explains many ideas and concepts in simple and understandable language. Good for non-finance people and younger students learning about math and the stock market. Enjoyable
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The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics41 reviews
Michael Shermer
Times Books, 2007
Cooperation as an evolved survival skill
+ Economics, Psychology, and Evolution
+ Not really what I expected
+ Evolutionary Explanation
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The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule36 reviews
Michael Shermer
Holt Paperbacks, 2005
A reasonable morality for a reasonable species.
+ shermer
+ A Good (and long) Arugment
+ Eastern similarity
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Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive 120 reviews
Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, ...
Free Press, 2008
Fascinating, Applicable Business Ideas
+ GOOD INSIGHTS
+ Great
I picked up Yes! at an airport bookstore before a long flight. I read it cover to cover on the flight out, and read it again, this time with highlighter, on the way home. The short chapters, each on a different facet of human social behavior, backed up with empirical evidence and focused on ...
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Stumbling on Happiness272 reviews
Daniel Gilbert
Vintage, 2007
Must read...what a perspective on our thought process!
+ Worth the read... if you don't mind your assumptions being challenged
+ Stumble through the book ... You'll be happy you did.
+ Little less enthusiastic compared to initial interviews
+ Brain research reading made fun! Believe it!
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Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science173 reviews
Charles Wheelan
W. W. Norton & Company, 2003
Great Introduction to Economics
+ Excellent!
+ Good book
+ Keeping Me Up At Night
+ the textbook you actually want to read
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Did You Spot the Gorilla?2 reviews
Richard Wiseman
ARROW (RAND), 2004
Gorilla hunting for beginners
Here is a title to make you stop and think. Based on an experiment where viewers of a video clip are asked to count the number of passes a three-a-side basketball team make, an astonishing 80% fail to see the gorilla-costumed intruder. This can be because we are too focussed - we don't see what we ...
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Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking41 reviews
Thomas E. Kida
Prometheus Books, 2006
Outstanding! Buy this book!
+ Critical Thinking 101
+ Critical thinking
+ Excellent
+ REQUIRED READING for EVERYONE!!!
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Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things22 reviews
Richard Wiseman
Basic Books, 2007
Similar to Freakonomics, but 1 billion times better! Highly recommended!
+ Good for ideas about experimental design. More detail in other topics would have been nice.
+ Very interesting
+ The most interesting and innovative behavioural psychology book I had read
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Blind Spots: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things21 reviews
Madeleine L. Van Hecke
Prometheus Books, 2007
Readable / relatable book
+ Easily Understood
+ Optimize your business tune your mind
As a business person who has worked in corporate leadership and talent acquisition for more than 15 years, I found Blind Spots to be an insightful exploration of why smart people do "dumb" things. It is a valuable tool for technical professionals seeking to understand and improve their softer ...
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Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind78 reviews
Gary Marcus
Houghton Mifflin Co, 2008
engaging, clear, and thought provoking bible for the armchair evolutionary psychologist
+ Excellent read for everyone
+ Redesigning the human mind
As someone who's fairly well-read but not (as several other reviewers of this book) well-versed in the specialty of evolutionary biology, I found this book to be engaging, clear, and thought-provoking. I'd recommend this particularly to those interested in philosophy, psychology, computer ...
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Natural Selections: Selfish Altruists, Honest Liars, and Other Realities of Evolution 1 review
David P. Barash
Bellevue Literary Press, 2007
A matter-of-fact accounting that does not excuse or justify immoral behavior
Professor of psychology and proponent of sociobiology David P. Barash presents Natural Selections, a matter-of-fact look at how human biology and evolution affect human behavior, and what this has to say about both practical and ethical dilemmas in today's world. Written in plain terms accessible ...
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The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference1121 reviews
Malcolm Gladwell
Back Bay Books, 2002
Tipping Point is no little thing
+ People are not linear and it matters
+ The Power of Small
Gladwell has a unique writing style that keeps you reading from start to finish. Erudite is the word that comes to mind. No one ever writes about the things that intrigue him, yet once you begin reading you become intrigued also. He's a master of trivia that is never trevial. I've read several of ...
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The Social Atom: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught, and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You19 reviews
Mark Buchanan
Bloomsbury USA, 2007
Finally, a path from Social alchemy to Social Science!
+ Great easy read
+ Interesting read, but often overreaches
+ loved it
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How We Believe, 2nd Edition: Science, Skepticism, and the Search for God61 reviews
Michael Shermer
Holt Paperbacks, 2003
Rational approach to religion.
+ no problems with the order
+ just read it
Michael Shermer gives a comprehensive review of public opinion regarding religion and religious beliefs. He provides detailed statistics on a number of religious questions and reviews Christian, Jewish, and Muslim beliefs. If you want to know what people think about religion and their personal ...
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