P. D. Griffith's P.O.V.

Now, I would not consider myself a “business book aficionado,” but in this book I found 247 pages of unfathomable realizations concerning my own irrational behavior and eye-opening stories of marketing  genius.

As early as the introduction, Dan Ariely provides what can only be described as a long-winded research abstract mixed with a little light-hearted, nerdy humor and some autobiographical rationalization of his research. In addition, within the introduction, Ariely provides a little snippet of advice that you realize must be adhered to as soon as the first  chapter. “My suggestion to you is to pause at the end of each chapter and consider whether the principles revealed in the experiments might make your life better or worse, and more importantly what you can do differently, given your new understanding of human nature.”

At the heart of this book, amidst some absolutely GENIUS experiments, Ariely provides a sort of argumentative essay concerning the emerging field of behavior economics and how it takes into consideration a part of human behavior that makes classical economics obsolete and almost worthless. This idea that humans behave irrationally without any conscious thought astounds me. Throughout the book Ariely continues to throw punches until one is on the floor, knocked out by their own irrational behaviors of their past. One almost feels cheated by themselves for making decision that don’t make sense. When the words, “free shipping,” make you wonder if you are quasi-retarded and cause the actual expulsion of “uhh,” Ariely has uncovered something serious.

Rating: A-