Name: Pierre's review of Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
Item: Predictably Irrational
Rating: 2
Author: Pierre

Dan Ariely

Cuts to the heart of our strange behaviour, demonstrating how irrationality often supplants rational thought and that the reason for this is embedded in the very structure of our minds.

The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions

Predictably Irrational

Pratyay Banerjee

Pierre

The tone of the book is rather pedantic. Also it sounds like the concepts are overly explained without there being a great payoff. In the end it sounded to me like scientists proving what your aunt or my grandmother always knew. Sorta.
A book that enlightened me slightly more (I read it more than 10 years ago though) was Petit traité de manipulation à l'usage des honnêtes gens. A pity this has not been translated to english AFAIK.

Matthew Royal

Overall, this is a useful book. There's quite a bit of overlap conceptually with David Graeber's "Debt" and Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking Fast and Slow," but this one predates them by 3 years.

Social vs market norms. Similar to David Graeber's book about Debt. Social norms shouldn't be translated into market norms, or you destroy them. This book uses them to explain relationship costs in a useful way. Men paying for dinner on a date, if complaining that he always has to pay, converts it into a market norm. This therefore turns the possible sexual relationship from social to market, implying the date can be bought, which is a social insult. I think this is why so many people on the autism spectrum sound like incels: they view social norms in relationships as a financial exchange and therefore women as manipulators of value.

This construct of Ideas of "free/gift" crossing market and social norms in weird but predictable ways is a useful analytical tool. It's easy once you get going to classify every interaction in one of these 2 categories, and consider what would happen if it crossed into the other norm. Much more fruitful than Graeber's formulation.

 People are willing to work for free, and they're willing to work for money, but if you offer them a small amount of money, they'll walk away.
Telling someone how much a gift costs puts it back into the market mode, and could be perceived as tasteless or offensive.

One of the other great ideas he has is bundling healthcare tests and common procedures like immunizations into regular, predictably priced service events, like with an auto dealership. However, if higher prices for drugs and healthcare are as positively correlated with satisfaction and pain relief as he says, then the US healthcare system must be the most satisfying one in the world. Since it is clearly not, this placebo effect is overstated.

Mati Goldberg

I read the book after watching Prof. Ariely and Prof. Kariv's debate in my college. Very interesting and makes you think about the daily decisions you take.

Carolina Lopes

Dan Ariely is phenomenal. If you're into psychology, economics or marketing, you'll probably have a great time with this one.

Adam

A look into what motivates us and how our hidden desires contribute to our behavior.

Ilyas Gaifullin

Why do our headaches persist after we take a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a fifty-cent aspirin? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup? When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we? In this newly revised and expanded edition of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational.

The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition

Lindsey Barnett

Hemanth Soni

Why do smart people make irrational decisions every day? The answers will surprise you. Predictably Irrational is an intriguing, witty and utterly original look at why we all make illogical decisions.

Pratyay Banerjee &
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

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Pratyay Banerjee &Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

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Pratyay Banerjee &
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely