
The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity
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Narrated by:
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Paul Boehmer
About this listen
"A masterly book." (Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan)
"A classic." (Simon Kuper, Financial Times)
An economist explores the five laws that confirm our worst fears: Stupid people can and do rule the world.
Throughout history, a powerful force has hindered the growth of human welfare and happiness. It is more powerful than the Mafia or the military. It has global catastrophic effects and can be found anywhere from the world's most powerful boardrooms to your local bar.
It is human stupidity.
Carlo M. Cipolla, noted professor of economic history at the UC Berkeley, created this vitally important book in order to detect and neutralize its threat. Both hilarious and dead serious, it will leave you better equipped to confront political realities, unreasonable colleagues, or your next dinner with your in-laws.
The Laws:
- Everyone underestimates the number of stupid individuals among us.
- The probability that a certain person is stupid is independent of any other characteristic of that person.
- A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person while deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses themselves.
- Non-stupid people always underestimate the damaging power of stupid individuals.
- A stupid person is the most dangerous type of person.
This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains the gain and loss graphs from the book.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Carlo M. Cipolla (P)2020 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Cipolla's subtle tongue-in-cheek humor made this book an underground classic in Italy. Today, under current worldwide political trends, it reads more like black humor. Keep in mind: reliable statistical data shows that 98 percent of the people seriously believe that they are far less stupid than the average." (Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics)
"Subtly lacerating." (Publishers Weekly)
“The more you confront actual stupidity in everyday life, the more infuriating it is, whereas the more you contemplate it in the abstract, the more amusing it becomes. Cipolla finds the perfect tone to handle this paradox. On the page, he is arch and slightly annoyed, with a good deal of mock scholarly gravity thrown in.... Cipolla is very droll, and his theories - however deeply he has implanted his tongue in his cheek - have a helpful, clarifying quality.” (Commentary Magazine)
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Story
From the best-selling author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, the co-author of Nudge, and the author of You Are About to Make a Terrible Mistake! comes Noise, a revolutionary exploration of why people make bad judgments, and how to control both noise and cognitive bias.
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Disappointing
- By Z28 on 05-31-21
By: Daniel Kahneman, and others
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The Formula
- The Universal Laws of Success
- By: Albert-László Barabási
- Narrated by: Ryan Vincent Anderson
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Now, based on years of academic research, The Formula finally unveils the ground-breaking discoveries of their pioneering study, not only highlighting the scientific and mathematic principles that underpin success, but also revolutionizing our understanding of: Why performance is necessary but not adequate. Why "experts" are often wrong How to assemble a creative team primed for success. How to most effectively engage our networks.
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Summed up in the first few chapters
- By Amazon Customer on 07-09-19
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Chaos Kings
- How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis
- By: Scott Patterson
- Narrated by: Eric Yang
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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There’s no doubt that our world has gotten more extreme. Pandemics, climate change, superpower rivalries, cyberattacks, political radicalization—virtually, everywhere we look there is mayhem bearing down on us, putting trillions of assets at risk. And at least two factions have formed around how to respond. In Chaos Kings, Scott Patterson depicts how one faction, led by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, bestselling author of The Black Swan, believes humans can never see the big disaster coming.
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So so misleading
- By Pm on 06-12-23
By: Scott Patterson
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All the Worst Humans
- How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians
- By: Phil Elwood
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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After nearly two decades in the Washington PR business, Elwood wants to come clean, by exposing the dark underbelly of the very industry that’s made him so successful. The first step is revealing exactly what he’s been up to for the past twenty years—and it isn’t pretty. Elwood has worked for a murderer’s row of questionable clients, including Gaddafi, Assad, and the government of Qatar. In All the Worst Humans, Elwood unveils how the PR business works, and how the truth gets made, spun, and sold to the public—not shying away from the gritty details of his unlikely career.
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Wow, what a story!
- By DHaston on 07-05-24
By: Phil Elwood
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The Drunkard's Walk
- How Randomness Rules Our Lives
- By: Leonard Mlodinow
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In this irreverent and illuminating audiobook, acclaimed writer and scientist Leonard Mlodinow shows us how randomness, chance, and probability reveal a tremendous amount about our daily lives, and how we misunderstand the significance of everything from a casual conversation to a major financial setback. As a result, successes and failures in life are often attributed to clear and obvious causes, when in actuality they are more profoundly influenced by chance.
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Interested in statistics? This is the book.
- By Robert on 02-21-14
By: Leonard Mlodinow
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The Ascent of Money
- A Financial History of the World
- By: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress.
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A mostly successful and interesting history
- By A reader on 02-24-09
By: Niall Ferguson
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Manias, Panics, and Crashes (Seventh Edition)
- A History of Financial Crises
- By: Robert Z. Aliber, Charles P. Kindleberger
- Narrated by: Alister Austin
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Manias, Panics, and Crashes is a scholarly and entertaining account of the way that mismanagement of money and credit has led to financial explosions over the centuries. This seventh edition of an investment classic has been thoroughly revised and expanded following the latest crises to hit international markets. Renowned economist Robert Z. Aliber introduces the concept that global financial crises in recent years are not independent events, but symptomatic of an inherent instability in the international system.
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Lack of theoretical underpinning
- By Dr. Terence M. Dwyer on 09-20-21
By: Robert Z. Aliber, and others
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The Invisible Gorilla
- And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us
- By: Christopher Chabris, Daniel Simons
- Narrated by: Dan Woren
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Reading this book will make you less sure of yourself - and thats a good thing. In The Invisible Gorilla, Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, creators of one of psychology's most famous experiments, use remarkable stories and counterintuitive scientific findings to demonstrate an important truth: Our minds dont work the way we think they do. We think we see ourselves and the world as they really are, but were actually missing a whole lot.
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What Gorillas Are We Missing?
- By Joshua Kim on 06-10-12
By: Christopher Chabris, and others
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The Success Equation
- Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing
- By: Michael J. Mauboussin
- Narrated by: Wes Talbot
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In most domains of life, skill and luck seem hopelessly entangled. Different levels of skill and varying degrees of good and bad luck are the realities that shape our lives - yet few of us are adept at accurately distinguishing between the two. Imagine what we could accomplish if we were able to tease out these two threads, examine them, and use the resulting knowledge to make better decisions. In this provocative audiobook, Michael Mauboussin helps to untangle these intricate strands.
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Great clarity for sorting efforts and results
- By Philo on 01-16-13
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Surrounded by Idiots
- The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and in Life)
- By: Thomas Erikson
- Narrated by: David John
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Author Thomas Erikson explains that there are four key behavior types that define how we interact with and perceive the people around us. Understanding someone’s pattern of behavior is the key to successful communication. Erikson breaks down the four kinds of behavior types - Reds who are dominant and commanding, Yellows who are social and optimistic, Greens who are laid-back and friendly, and Blues who are analytical and precise - and explains how to identify and interact with each type of person.
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Should be titled "why I hate reds"
- By Dave on 08-24-20
By: Thomas Erikson
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Clear Thinking
- Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results
- By: Shane Parrish
- Narrated by: Will Damron, Shane Parrish
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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You might believe you’re thinking clearly in the moments that matter most. But in all likelihood, when the pressure is on, you won’t be thinking at all. And your subsequent actions will inevitably move you further from the results you ultimately seek—love, belonging, success, wealth, victory. According to Farnam Street founder Shane Parrish, we must get better at recognizing these opportunities for what they are, and deploying our cognitive ability in order to achieve the life we want.
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It Feels Like a Classic - Seven Habits Good
- By Tyler L on 11-02-23
By: Shane Parrish
Defined stupidity
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A must read
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Knowledge is power, and protection.
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Nho Nho Nho Nho
Stupid not to read
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Satire or true wisdom?
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Eye-Opening!
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No allegory just the facts. Thanks
No allegory just the facts. Thanks
No allegory just the facts. Thanks
Ok
Direct and to the point
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Wow!
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it was very interesting.
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The loss of stupidity invite you to think about the world around you, but also invite you to question yourself
An excellent Analysis
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