Coming soon · Book Profile
Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition
A behavioral economist demonstrates through clever experiments that human irrationality is not random but systematic and predictable, shaping the decisions we make about money, relationships, honesty, and happiness.
A profile of this book is on the way.
What it’s about
Why do we still have a headache after taking a one-cent aspirin, but feel relief when the same pill costs 50 cents? Why do we grab for things just because they are FREE, even when they aren't what we want? Why do we cheat a little when nobody is looking but stop completely when reminded of the Ten Commandments? In Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely combines wit, personal stories, and a wide range of ingenious experiments to reveal the hidden forces that shape our decisions. Drawing on the emerging field of behavioral economics, he shows that we are far less rational than standard economic theory assumes, yet our deviations from rationality follow consistent, predictable patterns. By understanding when and where we go wrong, Ariely argues, we can become more vigilant, redesign our environments, and ultimately make better choices in our personal lives, businesses, and public policy.
The through-line
- Who it’s for
- A curious reader who wants to make better decisions in their personal, professional, and financial life and to understand what truly drives their behavior.
- The problem
- They repeatedly make decisions that work against their own interests—overpaying, overspending, procrastinating, overvaluing what they own, and being manipulated by marketers. They feel confused and frustrated that despite good intentions and intelligence, they keep falling into the same traps and can't fully trust their own judgment.
- The plan
- Read each chapter and learn the specific force (relativity, anchoring, FREE, social norms, arousal, etc.) that shapes your behavior.
- Pause to consider how each principle applies to your own life and what you could do differently.
- Become aware of your vulnerabilities and question your repeated behaviors and first decisions.
- Use concrete tools—precommitment, moral reminders, keeping cash visible, separating social and market norms—to improve your choices.
- The payoff
- You recognize when and where you are likely to err and act more vigilantly. · You make wiser decisions about money, relationships, health, and time. · You protect your relationships by keeping social and market norms appropriately separate.
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Additional reading
- Diseases of Workers · Bernardo Ramazzini
Cited as the foundational text of occupational medicine, written in the early 1700s, which describes many occupationally related diseases observed in farm patients that are still recognized today.
- The Triple Bottom Line · Andrew Savitz
Introduces the concept of sustainability resting on three pillars: profit, planet, and people. The book uses this to argue that the 'people' component (human capital/worker health) is often dangerously neglected in agriculture.
- The Omnivore's Dilemma · Michael Pollan
Referenced as an example of popular literature that reflects and advocates for the rising consumer voice and public scrutiny concerning sustainable food systems, which is a major trend impacting modern agriculture.
- Silent Spring · Rachel Carson
Cited as the landmark 1962 book that launched the modern environmental movement and fundamentally shifted public and governmental attention toward the potential harms of pesticides, shaping decades of regulation and risk perception.
- Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies · Charles Perrow
The book's theory of 'system accidents' and 'tight coupling' is used by Gonzales to explain how cascading failures, like the Mount Hood climbing disaster, are inevitable features of certain complex systems.
- The Emotional Brain & The Synaptic Self · Joseph LeDoux
LeDoux's neuroscience research on the amygdala's role in fear and memory forms the scientific backbone of Gonzales's argument about how emotion can hijack reason in a crisis.
- The Survivor Personality · Al Siebert
Gonzales cites Siebert's psychological research on the traits of survivors, such as their use of playfulness and humor to stay in contact with reality and manage threats.
- Touching the Void · Joe Simpson
This book provides one of the primary and most detailed case studies Gonzales analyzes to illustrate the psychology of a survivor, including managing pain, using patterns, and the will to live.
- Adrift: Seventy-six Days Lost at Sea · Steven Callahan
Callahan's story serves as a textbook example of the ideal survivor mindset in action, demonstrating nearly all of the '12 Rules' Gonzales outlines, such as maintaining routine, finding beauty, and surrendering without giving up.
- All Quiet on the Western Front · Erich Maria Remarque
Gonzales quotes Remarque's novel to illustrate the development of instinctual, life-saving secondary emotions in soldiers, a key concept in how experience rewires the brain for survival.