

Dan Ariely, the New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational , and illustrator Matt R. Trower present a playful graphic novel guide to better decision-making, based on the author’s groundbreaking research in behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology. The internationally renowned author Dan Ariely is known for his incisive investigations into the messy business of decision-making. Now, in Amazing Decisions , his unique perspective―informed by behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology―comes alive in the graphic form. The illustrator Matt R. Trower’s playful and expressive artwork captures the lessons of Ariely’s groundbreaking research as they explore the essential question: How can we make better decisions? Amazing Decisions follows the narrator, Adam, as he faces the daily barrage of choices and deliberations. He juggles two overlapping―and often contradictory―sets of norms: social norms and market norms. These norms inform our thinking in ways we often don’t notice, just as Adam is shadowed by the “market fairy” and the “social fairy,” each compelling him to act in certain ways. Good decision-making, Ariely argues, requires us to identify and evaluate the forces at play under different circumstances, leading to an optimal outcome. Amazing Decisions is a fascinating and entertaining guide to developing skills that will prove invaluable in personal and professional life. Review: As a Fundraiser, I Love It! - As a fundraiser I love this book. The illustrated nature makes it so accessible. I recommend it to everyone. Review: Makes learning fun! - I really really enjoyed this and is a topic about business and decision-making that I have been wanting to learn more about for a long time but have a block to long tedious books so this was the ideal perfect blend of pics, humor, fun and accessibility to make learning extra enjoyable, and delightful while being good for me. I got my family a copy too :)
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,042,083 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,446 in Business Decision Making #1,809 in Popular Social Psychology & Interactions #2,057 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 159 Reviews |
L**Y
As a Fundraiser, I Love It!
As a fundraiser I love this book. The illustrated nature makes it so accessible. I recommend it to everyone.
M**Y
Makes learning fun!
I really really enjoyed this and is a topic about business and decision-making that I have been wanting to learn more about for a long time but have a block to long tedious books so this was the ideal perfect blend of pics, humor, fun and accessibility to make learning extra enjoyable, and delightful while being good for me. I got my family a copy too :)
J**R
A little biased but interesting
Adam has a lot of tricky problems. He wants to make other people happy but doesn't always make the best decisions to improve his relationships. He gives a friend a ride to work and tries to charge him for the mileage. He gets his mom a ten dollar gift card for Starbucks when she'd rather he come visit. He has a birthday party and doesn't know what to do with the random gifts he gets. He has a lot of struggles. Luckily, he has Dan Ariely to help him out. The author is a character in his own book! The story quickly switches into a discussion of two sets of norms--market norms and social norms. The two sets overlap because people deal with both. But the norms don't work together well without a lot of thought and careful application. Giving a neighbor a ride to work or a basket of tomatoes from their garden is great. But charging for the ride or showing appreciation by giving money for the tomatoes backfires for Adam (as they probably would for everyone else). The expectations of social interactions usually has nothing to do with cash value. Gratitude, trust, and loyalty are what people need. Social norms don't expect one-to-one exchanges. They are more ambiguous and longer-term. Market norms are typically monetary and business-like. Money is exchanged for goods or labor. The people you deal with are more like commodity conduits than people. Ariely argues that applying social norms to work situations can make jobs and exchanges more rewarding. Cash bonuses at work are nice, but more loyalty and enthusiasm can be gained through gifts and praise, even when those have the same monetary value as the cash that would have been offered. Ariely persuasively backs up his arguments with studies he's conducted through the years. The book is entertainingly written and explains the ideas through the example of the fictional Adam's life. The advice is valuable though Ariely clearly favors social norms over market norms for guiding almost all one's actions. That's probably the best way to go, since that makes you treat people like people, a result definitely needed in human society. Recommended.
D**L
Written as Cartoons
I have read all of Dan's books. This book doesn't contain much new material and just a rehash of his past writings. That said, many new followers to Dan's subject matter will find this a much easier method of learning very unique material.
B**N
Well-written comic book on decisions
This is a well-written book on decisions comic format. Dan Ariely makes simple a complex matter developing two sets of norms: market norms and social norms, so you can read the book (as the author says) to improve business deals and family meals, emphasizing that social norms are more valuable than market norms, Dan also stresses how to mix both of them.
R**E
Excellent read for life skills, appropriate for many ages!
This book is excellent for lots of reasons. For homeschool families, for adults who feel like they miss something when in social situations, those with social anxiety, those with ASD or ADHD! My 11 yr old son has read it many times.
R**G
It's funny and real
This book is relatable, and a bit easy to be understood especially when I was teaching my son (10yrs.) about having a growth mindset. Overall it's a good addition to our growing motivational books collection
R**E
Excellent Illustrations, But Proceed Cautiously with Ariely's Work -- They Are Not Widely Replicated
I loved the illustration in this book. I think the illustrator did great work and I especially loved their use of the character "Dana" to include Dr. Ariely in a way that quietly plays with gender. Overall though, I'd hesitate to recommend this book to anyone because it presents a lot of Dan Ariely's work. Dr. Ariely has come under fire in the last year (2021) for the publication of apparently falsified data, and has also been swept up in the larger replicability crisis that is affecting the social sciences at-large. If you do chose to read this book, read defensively. I noticed at least one bar graph (p. 184) where the y-axis had been manipulated to overstate the differences between the variant and control. If I sound like I'm sending mixed messages here, it's because I think Ariely has theories that seem intuitive and, frankly, correct, but I also see that he has a lot of work to do better defending those theories with hard, replicable scientific data derived from some cohort other than privileged college students. This is especially true for studies about how money influences human behavior, given that the socioeconomic status and lifestyle of college students is importantly different than that of working parents, retirees, etc. Can we really extend the conclusions of (often unreplicated) studies of college student behavior to make general claims about market and social norms? I'm dubious that we can, even if I do see the merit of this way of thinking about human incentives.
M**A
Good book poor illustration
The message of the book is good but I kept finding Myself disinterested. The illustrations are bland , boring and fittingly in black and white as if not to offend anyone. Too bad the message gets whitewashed in these poor quality graphics.
C**S
Revelador
De uma forma lúdica explica como tomamos decisões. Impressionante! O autor é um gênio. Deveria ser traduzido para o português e para todos os idiomas. Todo mundo precisa ler esse livro para se conhecer e se entender melhor. Vale 1 ano de terapia.
D**R
Insightful and resourceful
- Easy to understand and apply. - Use of common sense and humour. - Balanced and useful. - Highly recommended.
E**O
non funziona il download dal kindle del pc
non funziona il download dal kindle del pc
S**.
Como novela gráfica, mal lograda
El contenido no es malo, pues resultan interesantes los resultados de los estudios de comportamiento y de ciencias sociales en general. Pero quizá el medio no es el correcto. Las novelas gráficas buscan complementar texto con dibujos para complementarse y crear un ritmo y tono especial de lectura y transmisión de información. Aquí no es el caso. Los dibujos, en el mejor de los casos, son clichés o complementos visuales adicionales que tratan de ayudarnos a digerir la informacion; pero la mayoría de las veces terminan por enrredar más la narración o explicación.
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