The logic of life
Tim Harford / Little Brown
You might have found yourself asking why why certain things that seems absolutely unfair or irrational are actually happening. Rationale decisions don’t necessarily imply fairness and, in many cases, they lead to unfair outcomes. The point is, when single men behave in a rational way, the outcome might not necessarily be a good outcome for the community. Even worse, in many cases bad outcomes reinforce themselves in a vicious spiral.
Tim tries to brilliantly uncover the rational motivations that stand behind many surprising outcomes, like gambling and addition, marriage, work, neighbourhood, elections and many other cases. Most outcomes that seem odd or irrational are actually based on a series of rational decisions, the challenge is unveiling them! Without knowledge of such reasons, any effort to change an outcome for the better is doomed to fail.
The book is inspiring and intriguing, and a little bit addictive too. While in many cases the presented cause and effect relationships are as one would expect (but the author contributes supporting evidence), in many others what Tim presents shocks you, but makes complete sense after his brilliant explanation.
Tim does not pretend that every single human being is completely driven by rationality in any possible decision, but he definitely has a point in that there is always a sort of “rational bias” or justification to things in life. Definitely worth reading, lots of thinking, and lots of fun.
Sphere: Related ContentDid you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment