Predictably Irrational — Book Review

The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions

Rating(★★★★★)

About the Author

Dan Ariely is an Israeli-American professor and author. He serves as a James B. Duke Professor of psychology and behavioural economics at Duke University. In 2018, Ariely was named one of the 50 most influential living psychologists in the world.

About the Book

In a series of illuminating and groundbreaking experiments, this book demonstrates how expectations, emotions, social norms and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.

Overview

This book is a collection of research experiments and performed by Dan while working as a professor at MIT. The experiments were designed to observe the activities that are part of our daily routine as if we were an outsider. The sole purpose of the book is to help the reader fundamentally rethink what makes us and the people around us tick. At the end of the day our irrationality happens the same way, again and again.

Favourite Quotes

“But suppose we are nothing more than the sum of our first, naive, random behaviors. What then?”

“That’s a lesson we can all learn: the more we have, the more we want. And the only cure is to break the cycle of relativity.”

“People are willing to work free, and they are willing to work for a reasonable wage; but offer them just a small payment and they will walk away.”

Conclusion

This book is a must read. Each experiment is a chapter and it is so well written that it forces you to complete it in one go. You will truly understand the human behaviour and the factors which influence it after you read the book yourself. The language is very simple and the ideas are presented in an organised manner making it accessible to all.