Here’s a Good Read

I just finished Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. The book has to be one of my most favorite non-fiction reads. I have to admit that Mr. Ariely had me engaged from the first page of the introduction.

Here's the premise; we believe we make perfectly informed decisions, but truth be told we are a product of our nature. That nature makes decisions that are irrational; not only are our decisions irrational, but they are irrational in a consist manner. Through over a dozen chapters supported by controlled experiment, Ariely makes his point that our choices are behavioral.

Do you know why we so often promise ourselves to diet and exercise, only to have the thought vanish when the dessert cart rolls by?

Do you know why we sometimes find ourselves excitedly buying things we don't really need?

Do you know why we still have a headache after taking a five-cent aspirin, but why that same headache vanishes when the aspirin costs 50 cents?

Do you know why people who have been asked to recall the Ten Commandments tend to be more honest (at least immediately afterward) than those who haven't? Or why honor codes actually do reduce dishonesty in the workplace?

By the end of this book, you'll know the answers to these and many other questions that have implications for your personal life, for your business life, and for the way you look at the world. As a bonus you will also learn how much fun social science can be, and how to see more clearly the causes for our everyday behaviors, including the many cases in which we are predictably irrational.
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I stumbled across the book while browsing "What We're Reading" on Slate. Check it out. In the meantime, I think I'll pay more attention to the books reviewed at Slate.

Middlesex

I recently finished the book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. The book is a Pulitzer Prize winner and Opra Book Club award winner. It is a well narrated but strange tale of a hermaphite exploring the roots of his condition.

It's hard to compare the story to another book. It spans three generation like many classic "come to America" novels. The subject matter will make some people uncomfortable, with its' thread of incest and gender confusion. In some ways I liken it to Running with Scissors, except that it is much more coherent and expertly told. Running with Scissor is more of a collection of oddball short stories written in a style of a middle-schooler.

I found myself drawn to the time period and location of the story. The narrator is my age, and grows up in the same metropolitan area as I did. References to Detroit places and events brought back memories of my own formative years.

Once started, I found the book hard to put down. I recommend it.