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mchester24's review against another edition
5.0
I had this book on my kindle for a while and kept pushing it aside for other things to read first, and now I'm really mad it took me so long to get to it! Thaler takes the reader chronologically on his own journey in the generation of 'behavioral economics' field-- from helping to create the field to now seeing it being used by governments across the country and being accepted by the previously stone-walled general field of economics.
The crux of the book, and behavioral economics generally, is that it is foolish to assume everyone has all the data and makes the best choices for their desired goals, they get influenced by outside factors, framing, mental shortcuts, etc. That is what makes them human, as opposed to an 'econ'-- the term for how a person would behave if they were 100% rational. Thaler does a great job breaking down this concept with various examples and studies, to the point that I ended up finding plenty of examples of my own 'misbehaving' as a human everyday (and isn't that really what you want in these type of pop-sci books?).
I loved this book, and it definitely provided me with some new tools to observe the world. I was thrilled to hear while I was almost done the news that Thaler received this year's Nobel Prize in Economics, and hopefully that will lead to this book reaching more people's bookshelves.
The crux of the book, and behavioral economics generally, is that it is foolish to assume everyone has all the data and makes the best choices for their desired goals, they get influenced by outside factors, framing, mental shortcuts, etc. That is what makes them human, as opposed to an 'econ'-- the term for how a person would behave if they were 100% rational. Thaler does a great job breaking down this concept with various examples and studies, to the point that I ended up finding plenty of examples of my own 'misbehaving' as a human everyday (and isn't that really what you want in these type of pop-sci books?).
I loved this book, and it definitely provided me with some new tools to observe the world. I was thrilled to hear while I was almost done the news that Thaler received this year's Nobel Prize in Economics, and hopefully that will lead to this book reaching more people's bookshelves.
s166harth's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
wintrovia's review against another edition
4.0
I studied economics when I was fifteen and haven’t had much to do with it since. This book is far more interesting than Mr Sykes’ long monologues about supply and demand but still falls somewhat short of being genuinely entertaining.
The book goes through Thaler’s career in chronological order and covers a lot of his studies, theories and publications. It also features some of the spats he had with rival academics which I suppose are added in for conflict but I felt they were a bit tedious and felt a bit like he was using the platform of the book to settle scores.
There are some genuinely insightful moments in the book and I feel like I’ve got a better grasp of behavioural economics now but it’s not always a gripping read. There’s possibly too much emphasis on the specifics of studies and the explanations are a bit laboured at times.
I felt like I wanted to skip ahead in some sections, as the point is often quite clear early on but more and more evidence is paraded out to really hammer home how right his theories are. This was particularly true of the sections about the stock market, which dominated the second half of the book.
The area which I found most interesting was the section about nudge theory, having already read Thaler’s book on this specific area. It was interesting to hear about how his theories had been applied by politicians and the strange meetings he had with members of the Conservative party in the UK.
I didn’t dislike this book but I didn’t feel compelled to keep reading it and found myself coming back to it with more a sense of duty than relish. There’s some interesting stuff but it feels like a thorough edit could knock a hundred and fifty pages off and make it a better book.
The book goes through Thaler’s career in chronological order and covers a lot of his studies, theories and publications. It also features some of the spats he had with rival academics which I suppose are added in for conflict but I felt they were a bit tedious and felt a bit like he was using the platform of the book to settle scores.
There are some genuinely insightful moments in the book and I feel like I’ve got a better grasp of behavioural economics now but it’s not always a gripping read. There’s possibly too much emphasis on the specifics of studies and the explanations are a bit laboured at times.
I felt like I wanted to skip ahead in some sections, as the point is often quite clear early on but more and more evidence is paraded out to really hammer home how right his theories are. This was particularly true of the sections about the stock market, which dominated the second half of the book.
The area which I found most interesting was the section about nudge theory, having already read Thaler’s book on this specific area. It was interesting to hear about how his theories had been applied by politicians and the strange meetings he had with members of the Conservative party in the UK.
I didn’t dislike this book but I didn’t feel compelled to keep reading it and found myself coming back to it with more a sense of duty than relish. There’s some interesting stuff but it feels like a thorough edit could knock a hundred and fifty pages off and make it a better book.
drapoco's review against another edition
5.0
Misbehaving is a tale of Behavioral Economics. The book outlines important people and cases without becoming overly complex. This is a feat since it is a book about the clash between of fields.
The book begins in the seventies and ends in the 10s. By having a chronological thread Misbehaving has a steady flow and introduces people, books, and places as they appear through the arc of the story. Sometimes it feels like a lot of namedropping. the Richard Thaler is not to blame for when things happen because that is when they happened.
Misbehaving is not hard read but it should be read consistently and in small chunks if you want most of the nutriment provided. I had numerous contemplations and talks based on every single chapter of Misbehaving and it will shape my future thinking.
This is my second sitting with Misbehaving, and I still learned new things and relearned things that I had forgotten. Therefore, Misbehaving is put on my list of books that I will re-read.
Overall, Misbehaving is an inspiring book that should be read by everybody who wants to know why we do as we do. This could be a fine companion if you read books on marketing, business management or self-improvement. Just to name a few of the fields where Misbehaving could be a nifty fit.
The book begins in the seventies and ends in the 10s. By having a chronological thread Misbehaving has a steady flow and introduces people, books, and places as they appear through the arc of the story. Sometimes it feels like a lot of namedropping. the Richard Thaler is not to blame for when things happen because that is when they happened.
Misbehaving is not hard read but it should be read consistently and in small chunks if you want most of the nutriment provided. I had numerous contemplations and talks based on every single chapter of Misbehaving and it will shape my future thinking.
This is my second sitting with Misbehaving, and I still learned new things and relearned things that I had forgotten. Therefore, Misbehaving is put on my list of books that I will re-read.
Overall, Misbehaving is an inspiring book that should be read by everybody who wants to know why we do as we do. This could be a fine companion if you read books on marketing, business management or self-improvement. Just to name a few of the fields where Misbehaving could be a nifty fit.
pashtet31's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book about behavioral economics/finance as well about people doing it. Good overview of the field evolution from the inside.
branch_c's review against another edition
4.0
Maybe surprisingly, for a book about economics, this is a solid four plus. Thaler has a talent for clearly conveying information while also writing in a way that’s thoroughly entertaining, possibly rivaling Steven Pinker in this ability.
I’m guessing he could do it regardless of the inherent quality of the subject matter, but in this case the topic is actually interesting, at least to me: the transition in economics starting in the 70s that took the field away from the conventional wisdom about “rational” human behavior toward the understanding that people often don’t behave in the expected ways.
Thaler structures the book with anecdotes from his academic career, and since he played a significant part in the development of the emerging paradigm of behavioral economics, this turns out to be a great way to present the topic to the reader to give a sense of what happened.
In hindsight, it probably shouldn’t be surprising that people are not necessarily rational, and rely on “supposedly irrelevant factors” when making decisions. But the studies described here not only demonstrate this, but also characterize and even predict behavior. The more these ideas are understood, the more likely they are to inform changes to society that can potentially make the world a better place.
So, the book is nicely done; an enjoyable and informative read for anyone interested in economics, psychology, or really human behavior in general.
I’m guessing he could do it regardless of the inherent quality of the subject matter, but in this case the topic is actually interesting, at least to me: the transition in economics starting in the 70s that took the field away from the conventional wisdom about “rational” human behavior toward the understanding that people often don’t behave in the expected ways.
Thaler structures the book with anecdotes from his academic career, and since he played a significant part in the development of the emerging paradigm of behavioral economics, this turns out to be a great way to present the topic to the reader to give a sense of what happened.
In hindsight, it probably shouldn’t be surprising that people are not necessarily rational, and rely on “supposedly irrelevant factors” when making decisions. But the studies described here not only demonstrate this, but also characterize and even predict behavior. The more these ideas are understood, the more likely they are to inform changes to society that can potentially make the world a better place.
So, the book is nicely done; an enjoyable and informative read for anyone interested in economics, psychology, or really human behavior in general.