How to Predict the Unpredictable: The Art of Outsmarting Almost Everyone

Author(s): William Poundstone

Business Finance Management

We are hard-wired to believe that the world is more predictable than it is. We chase 'winning streaks' that are often just illusions, and we are all too predictable exactly when we try hardest not to be. In the 1970s, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky coined the phrase 'representativeness' to describe the psychology of this behaviour. Since then representativeness has been used by auditors to catch people fiddling their tax returns and by hedge fund managers to reap billions from the emotions of small investors. Now Poundstone for the first time makes these techniques fun, easy, and profitable for everyone, in the everyday situations that matter. You'll learn how to tackle multiple choice tests, what internet passwords to avoid, how to up your odds of winning the office Premier League sweepstakes, and the best ways to invest your money.


Product Information

'Poundstone is a smart thinker, a deft writer and a spinner of engaging tales... enjoyable and original' -- Tim Harford 'Intriguing and immensely useful.' Publishers Weekly 'Ingenious... a delightful addition to the everything-you-thought-you-knew-is-wrong genre.' Kirkus Reviews

General Fields

  • : 9781780744070
  • : Oneworld Publications
  • : Oneworld Publications
  • : 0.24
  • : 01 September 2014
  • : 225mm X 146mm X 21mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : 304
  • : 1
  • : Paperback
  • : William Poundstone