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Misbehaving

Richard H. Thaler

432 pages

A witty, eye-opening tour through the delightfully irrational quirks of human decision-making.

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What it feels like

Reading this book feels like sitting at a bar with a brilliant, slightly mischievous professor who is gleefully dismantling the rigid rules of his own discipline. The pace is brisk, carried by a conversational and often hilarious prose style that makes complex economic theory feel like a series of entertaining anecdotes about human folly. The mood is illuminating and lighthearted, inviting the reader to laugh at their own predictable irrationality while absorbing profound insights into market behavior. It is an intellectual underdog story wrapped in accessible science. This will thoroughly delight anyone who enjoys pop-psychology, behavioral economics, and the satisfying click of finally understanding why we make the strange, illogical choices we do every single day.

Mood
  • illuminating
  • curious
  • lighthearted
  • amused
Tone
  • wry
  • conversational
  • irreverent
  • humorous
  • intellectual
Pace
brisk
Themes
human irrationality · academic rebellion · challenging the status quo · quirks of decision-making
The writing
Accessible, witty, and anecdotal, translating dense academic theories into engaging, everyday stories.
The arc
Moves from an amused skepticism of rigid traditional models to a satisfying, enlightened appreciation for human imperfection.
Who it's for
Curious minds who love understanding the hidden psychological forces behind everyday human behavior.

About the book

Nobel laureate Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans―predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth―and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.

Traditional economics assumes rational actors. Early in his research, Thaler realized these Spock-like automatons were nothing like real people. Whether buying a clock radio, selling basketball tickets, or applying for a mortgage, we all succumb to biases and make decisions that deviate from the standards of rationality assumed by economists. In other words, we misbehave. More importantly, our misbehavior has serious consequences. Dismissed at first by economists as an amusing sideshow, the study of human miscalculations and their effects on markets now drives efforts to make better decisions in our lives, our businesses, and our governments.

Coupling recent discoveries in human psychology with a practical understanding of incentives and market behavior, Thaler enlightens readers about how to make smarter decisions in an increasingly mystifying world. He reveals how behavioral economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building, to TV game shows, the NFL draft, and businesses like Uber.

Laced with antic stories of Thaler’s spirited battles with the bastions of traditional economic thinking, Misbehaving is a singular look into profound human foibles. When economics meets psychology, the implications for individuals, managers, and policy makers are both profound and entertaining.

Description from Open Library.

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