Grrrreat GIFT IDEAS!
PetPix STAR of 2008!
REBEL from Scotland PetPix PORTAL
Pawsitive FEEDBACK!
Gift CERTIFICATES?
|
The Amazon Store at MillionDollarPetPix.com ( In association with Amazon.com )The Logic of Life: The Rational Economics of an Irrational Worldby: Tim Harford  List Price: $25.00 Amazon.com's Price: $16.50 You Save: $8.50 (34%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 339 EAN: 9781400066421 Edition: 1 ISBN: 1400066425 Label: Random House Manufacturer: Random House Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 272 Publication Date: January 15, 2008 Publisher: Random House Release Date: January 15, 2008 Studio: Random House Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: A Message to Amazon Readers from Author Tim Harford Give yourself a pat on the back. You're not as stupid as everyone says you are, and now there's a book that proves it. When I first conceived of The Logic of Life, my aim was to show that a world full of smart people--people like you, that is--doesnÂ’t necessarily look logical on the surface. We eat too much and worry about being fat; drink too much and cringe when we remember; spend too much at Christmas and worry about the bills in New Year. And thatÂ’s just the small stuff: what about crime, racial segregation, divorce, big-money politics? And yet underneath it all there is a hidden logic. It isnÂ’t always pretty, but itÂ’s there if you know how to see it. That is what The Logic of Life is all about. But when I'd finished the first draft, my editor told me that he didn't think that people were as logical as I'd said. He wanted me to prove my point. At first, I thought it was my editor thinks people are illogical because he works in the publishing business. Of course life looks illogical if you do that. (In fact, life looks crazy in most offices: see "Why Your Boss is Overpaid," chapter four.) But then I realised he was right. I'd left the most important step out. So I went back and made sure that I laid out all the amazing evidence. I looked at single women hitting the dating scene in American cities; I looked at juvenile delinquents across the US; I looked at Mexican prostitutes; I looked at traders at a convention in Disney World; I looked at professional poker players in Las Vegas and professional soccer players in Europe. I looked at violent spouses, alcoholics, and school bullies. In every case I discovered a story of hidden incentives and unexpected logic. And through the process of writing--and living--the book, I discovered that this crazy world of ours makes more sense than you might think. Product Description: Life sometimes seems illogical. Individuals do strange things: take drugs, have unprotected sex, mug each other. Love seems irrational, and so does divorce. On a larger scale, life seems no fairer or easier to fathom: Why do some neighborhoods thrive and others become ghettos? Why is racism so persistent? Why is your idiot boss paid a fortune for sitting behind a mahogany altar? Thorny questions–and you might be surprised to hear the answers coming from an economist. But Tim Harford, award-winning journalist and author of the bestseller The Undercover Economist, likes to spring surprises. In this deftly reasoned book, Harford argues that life is logical after all. Under the surface of everyday insanity, hidden incentives are at work, and Harford shows these incentives emerging in the most unlikely places. Using tools ranging from animal experiments to supercomputer simulations, an ambitious new breed of economist is trying to unlock the secrets of society. The Logic of Life is the first book to map out the astonishing insights and frustrating blind spots of this new economics in a way that anyone can enjoy. The Logic of Life presents an X-ray image of human life, stripping away the surface to show us a picture that is revealing, enthralling, and sometimes disturbing. The stories that emerge are not about data or equations but about people: the athlete who survived a shocking murder attempt, the computer geek who beat the hard-bitten poker pros, the economist who defied Henry Kissinger and faked an invasion of Berlin, the king who tried to buy off a revolution. Once you’ve read this quotable and addictive book, life will never look the same again. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Insubstantial fillerI agree with everything Gertrude Whitman said, but I won't be able to say it as well as her. If you've read anything at all about behavioral economics before, there is nothing for you in this book. I bought it because it was on The Economist's list of best books and I often like their recommendations, but I was quite disappointed. Flipping through it, I found myself saying over and over "Heard that before ... read that on a blog months and months ago... Don't see why that's supposed to be illogical ... Read More Rating:  - Engaging and thought-provokingThis book is Harford's second contribution to that lucrative contemporary genre of pop-economics inaugurated by Levitt and Dubner's megabestseller Freakonomics and by Harford's excellent debut, The Undercover Economist. The goal of this book, like its predecessors, is to apply rational choice theory and evidence-based economic analysis to all kinds of conundrums and social forces that are familiar from everyday life. This time, the topics tackled include divorce, teenage sex, gambling, racism, ... Read More Rating: - Welcome to The Service of the Free.Swing from a branch on an irrational tree? Yes, I think you might, but should you? Ah, Now you see. You will and you will probably actually enjoy it. Truer words? -Jane Stevens Tao Cycle Therapy: Natural Happiness via Self Directed Cure for Chronic Anxiety & Depression Rating:  - Well written, but contentiousI enjoyed 'Freakanomics' & Harford's earlier book, 'The Undercover Economist'. This was an enjoyable read with topics including poker tournaments, divorce, workplace politics, neighbourhood effects, racism, geographic agglomeration, voting and long-term economic growth. I have some queries about the racism section though, and Harford's query "Why bother to get a degree or work experience if you are young, gifted, and black?". Bryan Caplan has looked at this and wrote: "I ... Read More Rating: - Logic and Rationality is Not Really What This book is AboutThe book is interesting and worthwhile to read, because it reveals studies and statistics (mostly by others) that illuminate why individuals and why society behave like they do. For example, it was surprising to learn how conclusive are the data supporting the idea that criminals actually are deterred by the severity of punishments specified by law. So we learn that criminals are more rational than many expert criminologists who argue for shorter jail sentences and condemn the irrationality of the death penalty. ... Read More 
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
