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| Author: Dan Ariely
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $15.73
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Avg. Customer Rating:  120 reviews
Sales Rank: 97
Format: Roughcut
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.4
ISBN: 006135323X
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.83
EAN: 9780061353239
ASIN: 006135323X
Publication Date: February 19, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sometimes shallow, sometimes wrong June 1, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
First, the good points.
The author turns our attention to some important things in human behavior. The comparison between 'social norms' (where people help each other and do good things for free) and the 'market behavior' is very interesting. Social norms in the work-place and social norms in education are very positive things.
Another very important point is the observation that young people can not make correct decisions when aroused. Thus, "Just Say No!" is really the right answer!
The negatives.
Well, many experiments and observations lack depth and scope. Most are done with students in prominent universities and therefore, can not be spread on the entire society. Young students often live in a special world of their own.
Next, the author sometimes extrapolates quite wrongly. For instance, in Chapter 11 where he discusses honesty/dishonesty in society, on pp. 214-215 the author writes:
"Adam Smith reminded us that honesty really is the best policy, especially in business. To get a glimpse at the other side of this realization - at the downside, in a society without trust - you can take a look at several countries. In China the word of one person in one region rarely carries to another region...Iran is another example of a nation stricken by distrust. An Iranian student at MIT told me that business there lacks a platform of trust".
OK, in the June 2008 issue of Scientific American there is a research article on the neurobiology of trust. On page 95 in that article we see a table 'National Trust' showing the trust levels in different countries. In this list of 30 countries the highest level of trust is found in Norway (above 60%), while China comes third (above 50%) and Iran fourth (50%), way above many European countries.
So, just because "An Iranian student at MIT told me", the author branded Iran as a nation "stricken by distrust" - and this in found in the chapter on honesty! What about the scientific method?
 Tedious at times June 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I purchased the book not simply because I was interested in the subject, but was fascinated by the author's story of having battled the pain of a severe burn injury. After the first chapter, that part of the author's story recedes into the background.
I enjoyed reading the book, but the variations of experimental design described by the author became tedious for me. I would have preferred a generalized description of the design and the results, not the modifications the experimenters made to refine their data as they went along. Divulging the results in "real-time" wasn't that exciting.
Readers can make their own judgments about how feasible some of the author's social engineering solutions are. The practical policy decisions which flow from the insights in the book are minimal, it seems to me.
Finally, I could have done without a full chapter of the who's who in author's research community and academic life.
Interesting, but somewhat impractical and I think you'll wind up skimming significant sections of the book.
 Amazing view of the human condition, really amazing! May 24, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
If you have an interest in why we do the things we do that show little to no logic over and over again, this book will provide superior insight.
It tells us how and why choices (and too many of them) skews our vision and leads us to irrational behavior from lovers to purchasing decisions. It reveals how we anchor our thoughts based on a particular experience and how we may never change our core thoughts (anchor) for the rest of our lives.
There is so much value understanding our behavior if we want to change our reality.
If you are curious about why good people make seemingly irrational decisions about their lives, this will be a real eye-opener. If I am wise, this book will change my life.
Don't wait, buy this book today! You will be entertained and enlightened, I promise.
Please send feedback.
Outstanding! Funny and great insight to human nature May 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. It is well written, funny, and easy to understand. It tells why we make decisions and why crazy decisions are predictable. It is a humorous psychology book. It explains ethics and why people think it is o.k. to steal certain items and why they think it is wrong to steal other things.
I really like this author and will buy any books he might write.
Dan Ariely has written a strong argument supporting the "cost effectiveness" of being honest. May 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I must say that I was not overly impressed with "Predictably Irrational" at first. But when I reached the sections in which the author explains the value of honesty, the book really became interesting! Read the last three chapters, it would be well worth your time. "Predictably Irrational", is an easy read. I gave it five stars because I have not read an argument like Ariely's before. You have probably heard that 'honesty is the best policy'. Dan Ariely makes a good case for being honest! Being honest not because it is the morally correct choice, but because it is cost effective!
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