| Irrationality |  | Author: Stuart Sutherland
Publisher: Pinter & Martin Ltd.
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
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Seller: UKPaperbackshop
Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 492
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd Revised edition
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 1905177070
Dewey Decimal Number: 150
EAN: 9781905177073
Publication Date: January 10, 2007
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
 A must-read March 11, 2010
ozdemir Mahir sinan
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is one of the best books I have ever had the chance of reading. A must-read for everybody, showing very clearly how fallible and folly we can be when it comes to thinking and deriving rational conclusions. That sort of books should be taught at school where we are doctrinated how to think irrationally.
 Is it rational to buy this book based on this review? February 17, 2010
Sir Bob
Or when combined with any of the others for this book? What can you tell from what is 'helpful', what a 4 or 5 star rating might tell you and what value is ascribed to the reviews. (How rational is it I review this anyway)
That's the thinking this book is dealing with and lumme! it deals with it all right. Some people have said this is 'too' detailed but I think the detail is required because each subject is presented with theories, examples, and conclusions, something some popular science books forget these days. You are left with the feeling that the topic has been explained fully and completely which points to good jounalistic and scientific practice from the author.
The book presents the story of rationality from initial discussions of what is rational anyway and then each chapter takes us in to a new area where either rationality can be shown to be markedly absent much of the time or explores one of the causes of irrationality.
I did find that book started off with a positive and enthusiastic attitude but towards the end I almost felt as if the author was getting exasperated with the human race. It's unkind but there were a few places where the tone slipped from one of amused observation and turned to annoyance that people behave in such ways. Sometimes it's difficult for people to beleive humans will act against human nature when provided with logical reasoning. I get annoyed by that myself but it's an annoying trait and should be kept out of any study of this kind.
I dived in to this and loved the first half of the book and then had serious trouble to continue as I felt the author talking down to me. If you can get over that hurdle then this is a lively, funny in parts, and accurate study of one of the most baffling parts of human psychology.
 Irrational Exuberance February 5, 2010
R. McCarthy (London)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I seem to find myself with a minority opinion here. There has been a deluge of science based books published in the last few reads... some great, some not. This book falls into the latter category.
My main criticism is that I didn't find the majority of facts, experiments or observations that new or interesting. I always had the feeling I had read something similar before. But for all that, it is well written and an easy read but there are far better books out there.....Freakenomics,Quirkology,Predictably Irrational
Riveting read & oh, how absolutely true February 3, 2010
A. R. V. Riding
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wonderful book, really opens ones eyes to what is going on and how people make decisions or take actions - including oneself. For a long time I have wondered why most people act in such silly and irrational ways, well, now I know. As the book was first written nearly 20 years ago, some of the examples seem a bit dated, but that is no problem, people haven't changed much in the past 20 years and you can just look around you and read/view the news to see that people around the world are still making the same mistakes time & time again. It will also help me understand my own actions better and assist in making my own decisions/actions more rational. Should be compulsory reading for anyone in public life or with decision making responsibilities.
What is rational anyway? November 24, 2009
Dick Chuckens (Sussex, UK)
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book goes some way towards identifying some of the ways people make apparently bad decisions but it contains some pitfalls itself. I became irritated that it does not clearly explain how the rational choice in a situation was decided upon before any experiment was conducted. This omission gives a sense that Professor Sutherland is rather smug about his own rationality.
Science has often rightly been criticised for oversimplifications due to a reductionist approach. The same is true for some of the supposed rational decisions Prof Sutherland claims. Humans are social animals so what may appear to be an irrational decision for an individual or group of individuals can be quite rational for a social group.
There seems to be a further reductionist error when the results of small group studies are extrapolated into a wider social context. There are interesting theories arising from looking at how people respond to rewards in some of the experiments this book describes, for example. However without further experiments that look at the more complex situation of workplace psychology it is simply wrong to say, as Sutherland does, that payment degrades peoples' motivation to do a good job. Sadly he repeatedly makes this kind of mistake.
There is much good work covered in this book. Stanley Milgram's work on obedience is outstanding and salutory. Unfortunately not all of the works this book desribes, or the conclusions arising from them, are as good.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 38
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