September 16, 2013

Quick Reads: “The Rational Animal” by Douglas T. Kenrick and Vladas Griskevicius


 

The Rational Animal

By Douglas T. Kenrick and Vladas Griskevicius

BASIC BOOKS

The science of irrationality is getting pretty sophisticated. Not only have researchers identified human foibles from loss aversion to hindsight bias, now they’re poised to explain why we’re so weird. We “are born to be biased,” write coauthors Douglas T. Kenrick and Vladas Griskevicius, “and for good reason.” The Rational Animal is a fun romp through the comedy of human errors. Again and again, the authors find, evolutionary urges and hardwired brains explain behaviors rational economists cannot. Humans just don’t make sense, it seems, unless you expect them not to.

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