Book: Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
Author(s): Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman
Grade: B+
Assuming you're anything like I am, you spend more time than advisable obsessing over why you did X, Y or Z despite its obvious insanity. Alas! This, my friend, book is for you!
Drawing from cutting edge research from "social psychology, behavioral economics and organizational behavior," the Brafman brothers examine everything from what makes love sick college freshmen stay in doomed relationships to why asking the audience is the least effective "life line" to use on France's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" (apparently the audience is highly uninclined to want to help)
This highly readable page turner is will make you re-think what you think.. again and again. I actually cringed over a couple points where highly irrational behavior resulted in disaster (ex: the Space Shuttle Challenger was launched despite the recommendation launch be delayed due to technical concerns), but was relieved and somewhat solaced by the explanations behind these decisions.
In my opinion, this should be required reading for the entire human race - none of us are immune from this craziness. At a mere 180 pages with large print, there isn't any excuse... Or at least any rational excuse :)
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