Think Like a Freak

In their bestselling book Think Like a Freak, the authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner explain their title like this:

"The modern world demands that we all think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally; that we think from a different angle, with a different set of muscles, with a different set of expectations; that we think with neither fear nor favor, with neither blind optimism nor sour skepticism. That we think like -- ahem -- a Freak." (p. 7)

Makes sense, but didn't we already know that? Why is it necessary to write a book about that? Well, because...

"A growing body of research suggests that even the smartest people tend to seek out evidence that confirms what they already think, rather than new information that would give them a more robust view of reality." (p. 10)

So if you're a really smart person, you need this book. And if you're not so smart, well, then you really need to read it. Here are some of the things you'll learn:

... what the three hardest words in the English language are (hint: it's not "I love you").
... why Protestants in Germany earn more than their Catholic counterparts.
... why it's a good idea to start thinking like a child.
... what King Solomon and David Lee Roth have in common (besides being Jewish).
... what you can learn from a hot-dog-eating champion or an ulcer detective.
... how to convince people who don't want to be convinced.

A couple of key quotes:
"When people don't pay the true cost of something, they tend to consume it inefficiently." (p. 15)

"The key to learning is feedback. It is nearly impossible to learn anything without it." (p. 34)

"Thinking like a Freak means you should work terribly hard to identify and attack the root cause of problems." p. 65)

As George Bernard Shaw used to say: "Few people think more than two or three times a year. I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week." (p. 10) Trust me though, you don't need to think too much about the decision to get this book. As always, if you'd like to support this blog, you can buy it here or in my bookstore. I appreciate it!

The Power of Habit

Every single day of your life you do things without really thinking about them. The way you get dressed, what you have for breakfast and the route you take to work: for most people, there is no need to think before engaging in these activities - they've become habits. How powerful these and other habits actually are and how we can create new and change old habits is the subject of Charles Duhigg's book The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change.

If you read the book, you will learn...

... how habits work and how they can help combat Alzheimer's.
... how to create new habits, like starting to exercise on a regular basis.
... why some people are able to stop overeating and others aren't.
... which habits matter most and how Starbucks uses good habits.
... how movements like the Saddleback Church and the Montgomery Bus Boycott happen.

And lastly, Duhigg will discuss the question of whether we are responsible for our habits or not. This was one of my favorite chapters in the book, which I highly recommend reading.

Here are a few quotes from the book...

The power of habits:
"Habits are powerful, but delicate. They can emerge outside our consciousness, or can be deliberately designed. They often occur without our permission, but can be reshaped by fiddling with their parts. They shape our lives far more than we realize - they are so strong, in fact, that they cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else, including common sense." (p. 25)

The power of believing:
"Belief was the ingredient that made a reworked habit loop into a permanent behavior." (p. 85)

"But we do know that for habits to permanently change, people must believe that change is feasible. [...] Belief is easier when it occurs within a community." (p. 89)

No one-size-fits-all solution:
"Individuals and habits are all different, and so the specifics of diagnosing and changing the patterns in our lives differ from person to person and behavior to behavior." (p. 275)

Change is possible:
"Change might not be fast and it isn't always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped." (p. 276)

So now that you want to get the book (I know you do ;-)), let me help you out: if you get it here, you will also be supporting this blog. Thanks!

For Soccer Fans Only

As a long-time soccer fan, I especially enjoyed reading Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski's book Soccernomics, an economic analysis of the world's most popular game. They really go into detail and  analyze everything from coaches to players to World Cups to most anything else that has to do with soccer. If you're a true soccer fan, you need to get this book.

You will learn a few secrets of the transfer market:

• A new manager wastes money on transfers; don't let him.
• Stars of recent World Cups or European championships are overvalued; ignore them.
• Certain nationalities are overvalued.
• Sell any player when another club offers more than he is worth.
• Replace your best players even before you sell them.
• Gentlemen prefer blonds (this is a good one ;-))
• including six more secrets that you'll find in the book...

You will also find out...

Cool It! - A Guide To Global Warming

I've just recently read a book that has been a bit of an eye-opener to me: Cool It by Bjorn Lomborg. If you're interested in or worried about global warming, this is a must-read. If you're skeptical about global warming, you need to read it. It is the most balanced account of what is actually happening and what we can/should do about the earth's problems that I have read so far.

Topics include the well-publicized decline of the polar bear population (true?) and the question of how global the warming process really is. Lomborg goes straight to the facts and shows the truth about melting glaciers, rising sea levels, extreme weather events, flooding, water shortages and more. Do we need to fear a new ice age in Europe? He answers this and other questions as well.

Here are a few quotes from the book, so you can get a feel for the content...

When You Were Born Matters....

Why are some people more successful than others? What's the recipe for becoming what some people may call a genius? Are they born or made? If you're willing to believe Malcolm Gladwell, it's a little bit of both -- but not in the way you're probably imagining it. In his bestselling book Outliers. The Story of Success, he makes it clear that success isn't handed to you at birth -- but it can have something to do with the day you were born...

If you look in the dictionary, you'll find the following definition for the term Gladwell chose as his title:

outlier  |ˈaʊtlʌɪə|
noun
1. a person or thing situated away or detached from the main body or system
2. a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample

Early on in the book, the English-Canadian journalist makes it clear that successful people don't come out of nowhere:

People don't rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot. It makes a difference where and when we grew up. The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape the patterns of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine. It's not enough to ask what successful people are like, in other words. It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't. (p. 19)

In his first chapter, entitled "The Matthew Effect", Gladwell tries to make his point by using the example of Canadian ice hockey.

Just Say "I Don't"

You've heard it before.

"If you just believe in it and tell yourself that it will happen, it will eventually happen."

And if you're faced with temptations, it's easiest to resist if you immediately tell yourself that you can't and shouldn't do that. Right? When it comes to self-help through self-talk, things might actually be a bit more complicated than that.

Contrary to self-help lore, there's little evidence that positive self-talk works like magic. Telling yourself you're beautiful, a confident public speaker or a future billionaire won't make you any of those things; if anything, it's liable to have the reverse effect. The true impact of self-talk is more subtle.

This is from a column by Oliver Burkeman of The Guardian, who believes his short article will change your life ;-) For example, according to him it's better to phrase something as a question if you need to motivate yourself for a challenging task. "I will talk to my boss about that promotion" might sound better in your head, but "Will I talk to my boss about that promotion?" will lead to more intrinsic motivation to actually go and have that tough conversation, because it reminds you of all the reasons you have to ask for said promotion.

Stop Wearing Those "Ray-Bans"

Why do we dress the way we do?

If you're willing to believe Dan Ariely, it has a lot to do with how we want other people to perceive us. In his recent book The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty, he writes the following: "Although our current sartorial class system is not as rigid as it was in the past, the desire to signal success and individuality is as strong today as ever." (p. 121) Interestingly enough, we don't just try to signal those things to other people -- we tend to self-signal as well. Ariely gives the example of helping a beggar on the streets. Instead of just walking by or giving him some change, you decide to buy him a sandwich. You now interpret this good deed as proof for your amazing character and believe more intensely in your own benevolence, even though this sole act does not define who you are.

So what happens when we deliberately choose to wear fake products, like the "Rolex" watch you bought for 10 Euros at that Italian beach last summer? We're obviously signaling success and wealth to ourselves and those around us, but does it make us more dishonest people if what we wear is a fake rather than the real deal? Ariely and his friends wanted to find out and decided to conduct an experiment using Chloé designer sunglasses (you can read all about it in the book). The results of the experiment...

Phonebloks - The Future of Smartphones?

We live in a throw-away-world. When your TV stops working you toss it out and get a new one. When your shoes are a few years old, you decide to buy a new pair (even though the old ones are still working just fine). When your smartphone's battery doesn't last as long anymore as it used to, you throw it away and get the latest version. Right?

Well, maybe you won't have to do that anymore in the future. At least if Dave Hakkens gets his way. On his website phonebloks.com, Hakkens presents a new way of thinking about -- and buying smartphones. Instead of throwing yours away when you're not satisfied with its features anymore, you simply upgrade: a new camera, more storage, a longer lasting battery... How will it work? I'll let Dave explain it to you. Go to the website and check out the video he's posted there. Will his idea ever become reality? We don't know and it's way too early to make any predictions about it. But I like it when someone comes up with a concept that would not only make smartphone consumers happy, but also make our world a less "trashier" place. Good stuff, Dave.

Links of the Week XIX

More links for your start into the new week :-)

German:
Man kann nie früh genug anfangen für die Profi-Karriere zu üben.
Wir haben leider Ihr Auto geschmolzen.

English:
Jon Stewart is back (and so are the sounds he makes)...
And you thought you know how to ride a bike ;-)

Links of the Week XVIII (Football Edition)

Special edition of my links this week, to celebrate the start of the European football (aka soccer) and the American football season.

German:
Kaiser Franz erklärt den ersten Spieltag ;-)
Die Pferde, die immer mit Jermaine Jones durchgehen...

English: 
The Manning brothers can do more than just throw the football ;-)
An American Coach in England...trying to understand European Football

Links of the Week XVII

A couple of interesting/funny/insightful/absurd/etc. links for you to start the new week...

German:
Islam ist ein Land und Juden folgen Jesus Christus... noch Fragen?
Sie wollen zahlen? Einmal in die Kamera lächeln, bitte :-)

English:
Ok, South Koreans are geniuses...helping you to park your car
Ok, what's next? Someone in Latin America naming their child Jesus? Oh wait...

Links of the Week XVI

They're back.... and better than ever ;-) Hope you enjoy!

German:
Eine außergewöhnliche Hommage an den sterbenden Nelson Mandela
Ein ungewöhnlicher Versuch die Freundschaft zwischen zwei Ländern zu fördern

English:
The Louvre's statues get a modern makeover
Please don't try this at home!

A Woman's Worth

You may have noticed that my blog is sort of on summer break right now, but the other day I read an article that I just couldn't resist writing about. As a man, I have no problem whatsoever appreciating a woman's worth -- I won't go into any details, but life would simply be very boring without them. ;-)  But one aspect that I had never considered (until now) is a woman's influence on a man's generosity.

According to Adam Grant, men are more generous when women are around. In his article "Why Men need Women" for the New York Times, Grant writes: "The mere presence of female family members -- even infants -- can be enough to nudge men in the generous direction." And cites an interesting study to back up his claim. A couple of researchers found that when chief executives become fathers they often lower their employee's wages, explaining they need more money to take care of their growing family. But there was a twist. This only happened when the newborn child was a boy. Grant's conclusion?

Daughters apparently soften fathers and evoke more caretaking tendencies. The speculation is that as we brush our daughters' hair and take them to dance classes, we become gentler, more empathetic and more other-oriented.

And it's not just daughters. A sister, a wife, a mother... they all can have a "generous" impact on men. Bill Gates says that his wife and his mother always pressed him to do more for others. Today the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation plays a big role in enhancing healthcare and reducing poverty worldwide. It's not just generosity though:

...Professor Van Lange's team pointed to another study showing that the more sisters a father has, the more time he spends raising his own children. After growing up with sisters, men who have opportunities to give are more likely to do so.

It's really starting to look like we desperately need women in our lives if we want to be better men. Ok, let me just think about that for a minute... I don't have any sisters, I don't have a wife. So guess who's to blame if I'm not a generous enough person? ;-) Love you, mom!

Prepaying for Happiness?

A while ago I posted a video by my favorite behavioral economist Dan Ariely about the pain of paying. Now I've come across an article by Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton that is related to said video. In "Happier Spending", they argue that "...we derive greater happiness from goods we pay for immediately, but don't use for some time, than we do from goods we use now but pay for later." Or as I like to call it: prepaying for happiness :-)

There are mainly two reasons for why this works. First of all, it doesn't take away the pain of paying, which helps you to not overspend as you might be tempted to do if you can delay payment until after having used/enjoyed the purchased good/service.

Just as the sensation of burning tells you to pull your hand from the stove, the pain of paying can keep spending in check. This isn't just a metaphor. Paying high prices for goods and services activates the region of the brain associated with the anticipation of actual physical pain.

The World At Our Fingertips, But Far From Our Hearts?

Not too long ago I was browsing the New York Times website when I stumbled upon this interesting article by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's about technology and gadgets and their influence on how (or if) we interact with our fellow human beings. Foer believes that "technology celebrates connectedness, but encourages retreat." And he seems to have the field of psychology on his side regarding this assumption:

Psychologists who study empathy and compassion are finding that unlike our almost instantaneous responses to physical pain, it takes time for the brain to comprehend the psychological and moral dimensions of a situation. The more distracted we become, and the more emphasis we place on speed at the expense of depth, the less likely and able we are to care.

What's The Deal With Fiction?

Some of you may remember that I blogged about the positive influence of fiction almost exactly a year ago. The argument was that fictional stories stories shape us for the better and make us more understanding of other people, since the majority of these tales teach us that crime doesn't pay and that the good guys ultimately win.

But the other day I read an article in the New York Times by Gregory Currie that basically says: "Not so fast. Where's the evidence for that?" Of course we like to tell ourselves that it's true, especially if we count ourselves among those that enjoy reading great literature. Yet Currie makes an interesting and important point regarding the correlation of being a good person and reading good fiction:

Motivate Me!

At the end of his book Drive. The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Dan Pink lists nine things you can do to motivate yourself. Because, as he says, Type I's (intrinsically motivated people) aren't born, they're made...

1. Give Yourself a "Flow Test." Here's how it works: Set a reminder on your cell phone or computer to go off at forty random times in a week. Every time it does, write down what you're doing, how you're doing and whether you're in "flow" or not (check this post for an explanation of the concept of flow). Look at the patterns of your observations and think about how you can incorporate more moments of "flow" into your life. 
2. Ask a Big Question... What is the one sentence that should define your life? To make it easier, here are a few examples: "He preserved the union and freed the slaves" (Abraham Lincoln). "He raised four kids who became healthy and happy adults." "She taught two generations of children how to read". What's your sentence?
3. ...Then Keep Asking a Small Question. To ensure that you're continually improving, ask yourself this every night before you go to bed: Was I better today than yesterday? You don't have to be flawless every day, but try to look for small measures of improvement that show you that you're progressing towards your goal.

So What's The Purpose?

If you've read my recent blog entries, you may remember that the first two "nutrients" of intrinsically motivated behavior are autonomy and mastery. But if you're willing to believe Daniel Pink and his bestselling book Drive. The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, there's one more element that should not be overlooked: Purpose.

Autonomous people working toward mastery perform at very high levels. But those who do so in the service of some greater objective can achieve even more. The most deeply motivated people -- not to mention those who are most productive and satisfied -- hitch their desires to a cause larger than themselves. (p. 133)

One example that Pink uses to prove this is the sharp rise in volunteerism, i.e. ever more people working for free, doing something that gives them purpose. While making money is still important to them, it seems to not be enough to really motivate:

When Brotherly Bonds Become "Brotherly" Bombs

I suscribe to the Freakonomics Podcast and every once in a while an episode comes along which fascinates me so much that I feel the need to share it. That's what I'm doing this week with "Running to Do Evil", an episode about the relationship between brothers, inspired in part by the Boston Marathon bombers and a 14-year old interview with... well, I'll let you find out for yourself.

The Pursuit of Happy... eh, Mastery

Merriam-Webster calls it the "possession or display of great skill or technique." The dictionary on my computer says it's the "comprehensive knowledge or skill in a particular subject or activity." And Daniel H. Pink, in his bestselling book Drive. The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us defines it as "the desire to get better and better at something that matters." According to him it is the second (the first was autonomy) vital element of intrinsically motivated behavior: mastery.

In other words, if you want someone to be motivated about a task or a job, give them a chance to get better and better and better at it. Pursuing perfection, you might call it. But is that really such an important attitude to have? Pink is convinced it is:

Solving complex problems requires an inquiring mind and the willingness to experiment one's way to a fresh solution. Where Motivation 2.0 sought compliance, Motivation 3.0 seeks engagement. Only engagement can produce mastery. And the pursuit of mastery, an important but often dormant part of our third drive, has become essential in making one's way in today's economy. (p. 111)