Irrationality – Stuart Sutherland
All humans are inherently irrational. ‘Except me!’ I hear you cry ‘I am completely rational. It’s everyone else who is irrational’. According to Stuart Sutherland, as much as you might like this assumption, that is all it is. As humans, we are all irrational and science has now proved it.
This is an interesting examination of the irrationality of the human psyche. Sutherland covers a multitude of different aspects of human behaviour which are bizarrely irrational. With chapters on The Wrong Impression, Conformity, Obedience and Distorting the Evidence the author takes you through an eerie path of your own behaviours. And the worst thing is, no matter how rational we think we are, we are all guilty of these things at some time. In many situations, the behaviour is driven by the group around you – for instance, when Sutherland talks about conformity, he discusses how irrational our behaviour can become when the need to conform becomes overwhelming. Even in a situation where we know we are being irrational, it is like we don’t have the ability to behave in any other way without great discomfort.
So does that make us predictable or creatures of habit? After reading this book, I was thinking that perhaps it does, particularly in a social environment. Social science is a fascinating subject, and Sutherland captures it well, lacing it with economic theory, pure science, psychological study, and injecting with a good dose of humour. His morals at the end of each chapter always raise a smile, and provide some excellent advice, including beware of stockbrokers who claim to predict the future, and if you have a choice, work in a nuclear reactor rather than on a North Sea oil rig.
If you really learnt from the studies in this book, you could succeed in living a far more rational life. But to be honest, I don’t think it would be that easy. We are programmed to think for our own survival, and especially during times of stress or heightened emotion – and I suspect (if this book is anything to go by) that means we will probably default to our irrationality. I think the greatest benefit of this book is that it helps you to at least be aware of your behaviour even if you can’t change it. It also helps you laugh about it, which is the most important thing of all.
My complaints would be that there was quite a bit of repetition. It is a densely written book and, although not difficult to read, does delve quite deeply into some of the theories which can slow things down as you read. I think I had expected the pure humour and joy of Quirkology, but this is a different book. It enhances Richard Wiseman’s work – it doesn’t replace it.
I will go back and read it again as I am sure there are parts that I missed. And in the meantime, I will think really hard about whether 5% off makes something really worth buying.
Rating: 7/10
ISBN: 978-1-905177-07-3
Publisher: Pinter & Martin
Year: 2007
Pages: 238
Date Finished: 6th February 2009
