What an interesting and different look at economics. It actually goes way beyond what we think of as economics and explores so many human behaviors. It really makes you think about why we do what we do. Fascinating experiments. ( )

This is a book explaining how our opinions and actions are unwittingly influenced by different conditions. The author, a professor of behavioral economics at MIT uses experiments to prove his theories. He deals with such topics as the placebo effect, how cost affects our expectations of items we use, and how doing things for free feels more valuable to us than paid labor. A useful outcome of reading this book is becoming more aware of how outside forces influence our thoughts and actions so that we can take more full control of choices we make.

This is a quick read, written in an informal manner, which is both fun and interesting. ( )

This was a quick read, especially since I was already familiar with Professor Arieli's research. It's depressing to realize just how irrational people are, especially since I've seen this behavior in myself. The important thing is to recognize these shortcomings in yourself and others and to compensate accordingly. ( )

This book was recommended by one of my business mentors as a way to gain greater insight into why people do what they do. I picked it up because I wanted to understand, from a marketing perspective, how we decide to buy -- or not buy -- a product or service. I got exactly what I was after in the first couple of chapters. Then I found myself pleasantly engrossed in Ariely's subsequent experiments, which dealt with everything from the power of arousal to human beings' tendency toward dishonesty.

I appreciated Ariely's accessible writing style and his limited use of jargon. This could have been a dense, dull read, but it wasn't. My interest in behavioral economics continues to grow, and PREDICTABLY IRRATIONAL is an excellent addition to my library. ( )

http://pro-libertate.net/node/37 ( )