Spent
A leading evolutionary psychologist probes the hidden instincts behind our working, shopping, and spendingEvolutionary psychologythe compelling science of human naturehas clarified the prehistoric origins of human behavior and influenced many fields ranging from economics to personal relationships. In Spent Geoffrey Miller applies this revolutionary sciences principles to a new domain: the sensual wonderland of marketing and status seeking that we call American consumer culture. Starting with the basic notion that the goods and services we buy unconsciously advertise our biological potential as mates and friends, Miller examines the hidden factors that dictate our choices in everything from lipstick to cars, from the magazines we read to the music we listen to. With humor and insight, Miller analyzes an array of product choices and deciphers what our decisions say about ourselves, giving us access to a new way of understandingand improvingour behaviors. Like Freakonomics or The Tipping Point, Spent is a bold and revelatory book that illuminates the unseen logic behind the chaos of consumerism and suggests new ways we can become happier consumers and more responsible citizens.
Stats for nerds
4recommend
10mentions
6people
2010–2022years
70% recommend30% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- > And of course to show other people that you can afford doing that.
There's an excellent book about that. Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior by Geoffrey Miller.
- May I recommend Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior from Geoffrey Miller? Having a vinyl collection tells something about you...
- True but there is more. To go deeper on this you can check Signalling Theory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_theory
Spent, Geoffrey Millers' book is a fantastically good reading on this subject. You would be surprised on how much that theory can explain and predict. https://www.amazon.com/Spent-Sex-Evolution-Consumer-Behavior...
- 1) Programming in Smalltalk in 1998 2) Having beard 3) Freelancing with multiple tech 4) Understanding Conspicuous Signalling Theory (read Spent from Geoffrey Miller) 5) Since I've got meditation early I'd add trying to master lucid OBEs younger, they are uber cool. Neo mastering The Matrix kind of cool.
- I saw that quote on Spent by Geoffrey Miller. It's about conspicuous consumption. That is something that I stand against, as does he. He provides some sensible alternatives (and some that don't make any sense). I still recommend the book.
- Great book. If you like that (or really, even if you don't), I'd also recommend "Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior" by Geoffrey Miller.
It goes into the more general evolutionary psychology behind why anyone buys anything. I particularly enjoyed his early anecdote about what early humans would think if you tried to explain to them our concepts of 'money' and 'shopping'.
http://www.amazon.com/Spent-Sex-Evolution-Consumer-Behavior/...
*Caveat: I haven't read many other books about consumer behavior, so I can't say how good this is relatively speaking.
