Sunday, September 22, 2013

A Taste of Irrationality


I finally finished reading "A Taste of Irrationality" by Dan Ariely. I say finally because I "read" read it and not listened.  The book is a fascinating book about our decision making skills and the lack of.

Here is an example of how mistrusting we are these days: He set up a booth at a strip shopping center manned by grad students. It consisted of a table, a sign stating "FREE MONEY" and a stack of bills: sometimes 1 dollar stacks, other times $10, $20 or even $50.

They checked the reaction of passers-by.  Here is how it went:

"MAN:(warily approaching the booth and eyeing the $50 bills)  Is this a trick?

Student: (Smiling) Absolutely not.

MAN: Is there something I have to sign?

Student: Nothing to sign.

MAN: There is a catch.

Student: No.

MAN: Is this for real?

Student: Yes. Help yourself! One to a customer.

Reassured, the man would look around and help himself to a bill. He would then hold it up for a second, as if waiting for something to happen. Then, he would turn around and begin to walk away. His pace would eventually pick up, and he would disappear around the corner."

 When $1 was offered, only 1 percent of those who passed by even stopped.
But even when they offered $50 only 19% of passers-by took a bill.

19%!

We are a mistrusting lot!

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