
The Logic of Life
The Rational Economics of an Irrational World
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Narrated by:
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John Lee
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By:
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Tim Harford
Life sometimes seems illogical. Individuals do strange things: take drugs, have unprotected sex, mug each other. Love seems irrational, and so does divorce. On a larger scale, life seems no fairer or easier to fathom: Why do some neighborhoods thrive and others become ghettos? Why is racism so persistent? Why is your idiot boss paid a fortune for sitting behind a mahogany altar?
Thorny questions - and you might be surprised to learn the answers from an economist. But Tim Harford, award-winning journalist and author, likes to spring surprises. In this deftly reasoned audiobook, Harford argues that life is logical after all. Under the surface of everyday insanity, hidden incentives are at work, and Harford shows these incentives emerging in the most unlikely places.
The Logic of Life is the first book to map out the astonishing insights and frustrating blind spots of a new economics in a way that anyone can enjoy. The Logic of Life presents an X-ray image of human life, stripping away the surface to show us a picture that is revealing, enthralling, and sometimes disturbing. The stories that emerge are not about data or equations but about people. Once you’ve listened to this addictive audiobook, life will never look the same again.
©2008 Tim Harford; 2008 Books on TapeListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
“Charming and informative.” (Newsday)
“This witty, intelligent book will help you see the entire world in a new light.” (Tyler Cowen, author of Discover Your Inner Economist)
“Like Harford’s earlier book, The Undercover Economist - if you haven’t got it, get it–this book uses the basic theory of rational choice to make transparent the logic behind common but important puzzling phenomena. Even a trained economist can enjoy discovering what he didn’t realize he already knew. I did.” (Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics)
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Wonderful Book
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Great
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enlightening & good fun
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Hartford explains a lot of why we do some of the seemingly peculiar things we do. It is well presented, clearly written, and will expose most the reader to many of the most currently accepted ideas in economics. I would recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in markets, people, or economics.
Always Enlightening and Entertaining
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Another Gem
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The first part of the book is full of uninspired insights such as these. If you can make it past them there are some interesting nuggets on "rational" discrimination and how dropping out of school can be seen as a rational response to discrimination in the work place. But, the books central thesis--that our behaviors are best viewed as rational responses to incentives--seems overly simplistic. For example, why am I writing a review of this book? It doesn't seem rational--why do I care if you waste a few hours on a silly book--and I'm sure I will regret writing it in a few minutes when I realize I am going to be late for work. Also, the book basically ignores the research presented in Blink and similar books, which suggest decisions are a mix of rational and instinctive processes. That's unfortunate.
meh
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