Predictably Irrational : The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Author: Dan Ariely

Synopsis by Faisal Quaiyyum Inan

Purchase Availability: 
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[Customization available at Pustoq, The Book Basement, Booktique]

Price Range: 
BDT 300 - BDT 2000 

Synopsis:

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely precisely shows how the interactions of cognitive psychology and economics play a vital role in our everyday decision-making. Throughout the book, the writer challenges one of the most fundamental principles of economics - the rationality of an economic entity while decision-making by incorporating everyday experience with groundbreaking research. Ariely also argues that these irrationalities, caused by crooking our reasoning abilities through expectations, emotions, social norms, and other apparently illogical, invisible factors, are not random and fitful, rather structured, predictable and repetitive.

In his personal blog, Ariely said, "From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They’re systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational."

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The book is very fun to read since the readers can relate so many things to themselves while reading this book, making this book more vivid and interesting. In one part of the book, Ariely refutes the classical law of demand by taking into consideration the fact that an economic entity is not a rational being. The book has the essence to capture readers' concentration. 

No preconditioned knowledge in psychology and economics is needed to understand this book since Ariely mostly tries his best to describe the necessary theoretical parts in order to make the applications and contents sensible. Nonetheless, knacks in the fundamentals of microeconomics and macroeconomics would be a great help for better understanding.