Name: Predictably irrational by Dan Ariely
ISBN: 9781785671463

Predictably irrational by Dan Ariely

2015

In today's fast-paced world, it's tough to find the time to read. But with Joosr guides, you can get the key insights from bestselling non-fiction titles in less than 20 minutes. Whether you want to gain knowledge on the go or find the books you'll love, Joosr's brief and accessible eBook summaries fit into your life. Find out more at joosr.com. As logical as we think we are, we've all made completely irrational decisions. Most of us make at least one every day. Discover the predictable patterns behind irrationality and put your rational mind back in charge. Every day, thousands of decisions-both big and small-make up our daily lives. We may think we make the most rational decisions, but in reality our brain frames our options in completely irrational ways before we even make a choice. In Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely reveals that this irrational decision-making is actually based on predictable patterns, and by recognizing these patterns we can all make better decisions in every aspect of our lives. You will learn: ʺ Why comparing options leads to bad decisions ʺ Why a free gift might end up costing you more than you ever planned to spend ʺ How marketers use your brain's irrational thought patterns to manipulate you, and how you can fight back.

What Hacker News says

DrNosferatuFeb 2025

There are several books with the word “Zombie” on the title that can specifically teach you exactly about that!

Some of them actually authored by Economics Nobel Prize winners ;)

Here:

"Arguing with Zombies: Economics, Politics, and the Fight for a Better Future" by Paul Krugman (2020)

"Zombie Economics: How Dead Ideas Still Walk Among Us" by John Quiggin (2010)

Bonus:

"Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely - 2008

"The Myth of the Rational Market" by Justin Fox - 2009

"The Black Swan" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - 2007

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yborisNov 2022

I read many books in field of psychology focusing on rationality / irrationality. I think some of the best are:

Mindware by Richard Nisbett - a researcher focusing on this for decades distills his best insight in a recent book.

https://www.amazon.com/Mindware-Tools-Thinking-Richard-Nisbe...

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely - a classic book in the field.

https://www.amazon.com/Predictably-Irrational-Revised-Expand...

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engineerDaveApr 2022

I never have had a project fail due to it's tech. In my experience, projects rarely fail due to the tech, they fail due to the team and management.

If you get to the point you're referring to, e.g. Twitter having fail whale issues because they built entirely on mostly vanilla Rails, is a good problem to have and one you'll be able to get resources to fix once you get there.

Maybe it's just me but IMO your time would be better spent reading something like Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely or brushing up on your psych 101 concepts. Learn to deal with the irrationality of your team, your customers, and your boss and your life will be a lot less stressful.

Good luck!

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sloakenAug 2019

Try reading 'Predictably Irrational' by Dan Ariely. He explains a lot.

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bboygravityAug 2019

Because real estate agents are marketing / sales people. And sales people (unlike other non-sales professions) have figured out that a photo on a business card is a smart thing to do?

I also do this as an EE (Europe area). It just seems very intuitive[0] to me that people would be more likely to remember a face than just a name on a card after whatever brief meeting (especially in a market where this is not a common thing to do). I sure do. I'm horrible with names anyway.

[0]to be totally fair: I have read quite a few business, marketing and sales books. My favorite is probably the classic "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert B. Cialdini. Second would be "Predictably irrational" by Dan Ariely.

Main take away: influencing / selling and getting hired have surprisingly little to do with knowledge, education and IQ. It is more (all?) about human social dynamics and "predictably irrational" human psychology. Case in point: Trump. Think about it.

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liquidcoolFeb 2019

"Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini

This explains so much of human behavior, but I hesitate to recommend it to people because it is so easily weaponized. To borrow from Harry Potter, it's the closest thing I've seen to a book of charm spells, but was written as a defense against the dark arts. Better everyone read it rather than just the marketers.

What I really love about this book is how much of politics it has explained for me, including the downfall of the USSR and the American civil rights movements, but also newer events like Schwarzenegger's poltiical career.

If you like this, I'd also recommend:

"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg

All are in a similar vein. For more focused book on human behavior, I recommend first time team leads/managers read:

"Switch" by Dan and Chip Heath

A solid guide to changing organizational behavior.

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