Hey guys what is up welcome back to my blog I’m so thankful that you guys took the time out of your day to read my blog post. Hope you all are safe from the COVID-19. Boredom in the corona Virus has caused me to start reading a lot more so the last week I finished up reading Predictably Irrational By Dan Ariely and I was fascinated and I felt the need to share this with all of you.
The book consists of Experiments conducted by Professor Dan at MIT to find out about the brain and is it is rational or irrational and if so is it predictable and he does a good job at simplifying the economics that otherwise seems so heavy and daunting at times. The introduction is an account of his own life where suffered from burns and he had to be in recovery where bandages had to be pulled off him by nurses and then redressed. The way he describes his condition at that time and moany others make the book feel more open and welcome as opposed to just another textbook. He describes the pain felt in the ripping of bandages and how he thought about if he thought that it would be better if they were ripped slowly and not at once. After recovering Dan urged on by a professor sets out to experiment and collect information as to which method of removing bandages is more effective and less painful and imagine his horror when he finds out that it is less painful overall to remove the bandages slowly and hence he was caused pain all during his treatment. He submitted his report to a medical board and did not cause any major changes but then he met a nurse who treated him at his time at the hospital and discussed his finding with her and her answer shocks him to find that ripping out bandages fast was for the nurses themselves so they don’t have to feel the pain of their patient suffering. This incident ignites a fire inside our professor to find out the workings of the brain and how much do we actually know about the brain.
Teaming up with many of his fellow colleagues and conducting experiments with his students as the participants at MIT Dan finds out that what separates behavioural economics from basic economics is the study of the brain and how we are not as rational as everyone thinks we are but we are irrational and more to that we are predictably irrational which is used by Companies to exploit us in buying subscriptions and much more. The research collected is not limited to just business it is related to dating, medicine and even stealing. The questions asked in the book make sense and will make you wonder why you never asked them before like why does expensive medicine work better and why people steal a pen but not money. After picking up the book I was certain before reading it that I was not as irrational as everyone else but in the end we see that even our beloved professor is predictably irrational is like everyone else what to speak of me.
The thing about this book is that you do not need to read it in an orderly fashion but you can just choose which chapter appeals most to you and read it. This approach is best for inconsistent readers who tend to read a lot of books at a time and forget the story. My favourite chapter was the one on cheating and how a simple oath or sentiment can make people act differently. This was an experiment to see whether people would cheat when given the opportunity and if so by how much (And the students of MIT are considered the best and brightest) and whether them reciting a simple oath or signing it or reciting the 10 commandments would make a difference. The results you’ll have to find out by reading the book.
In the end the conclusion is the book is a must read whether you want dating tips or tips on how to stop using your credit card and start saving this book has something for everyone and even if you find just one chapter that you like it will be worth it. Get it on audiobook or Kindle because Corona time and please read it I promise it will change your outlook on how to handle the brain.
So that is it for this post guys hope you got some value from this. Thank you guys for reading to the end hit me up on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn with your thoughts and if you have any ideas which I should write about. Stay safe from the COVID-19. Thank you again and I’ll see you all next week.
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