Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior | Ori Brafman, Rom Brafman

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior | Ori Brafman, Rom Brafman | Good, but there are some better

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Sway: The Irresist...

	Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior Ori Brafman, Rom Brafman Doubleday Business, 2008 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 52 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Interesting, Fun, Deeply Thought-Provoking

The Brafmans do an excellent job showcasing the irrational behavior all around us. Whether you're a doctor, venture capitalist, teacher, or even a college football coach, there are subtle psychological cues driving you to engage in irrational behaviors that can have a significant negative impact on your life. Reading the anecdotes, one might wonder 'how can anyone ever do that?' The book's close inspection of many different situations shows us that we all do it, and in fact, most of us are guilty of irrationality every single day. 'Sway' lifts the mystery behind these subtleties of irrational thinking and allows us to be more critical of ourselves so we can understand really what is driving the decisions we make day in and day out.

Overall, 'Sway' is a great read. It's very well-written, fast-moving, inherently entertaining, insightful, and just downright fun. It will leave you in a healthy state of self-reflection and critical thinking of the world around you.

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Good, but there are some better

I think it is a bit of a misclassification to compare this to Blink or Freakonomics. Blink is not so much about classifying types of reasoning errors and Freakonomics is really about investigative statistical analysis than pure human thought processes. But there are several other similar books that have emerged in the last year.

If I had to pick one book on this topic I would choose How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business by Hubbard. Although Hubbard deals deals with the even broader topic of measuremeant and estimation he still gives more substantial information on human biases and how they affect our estimates and decisions. After that I place On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not and Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions as near equals on the topic.

Unlike Hubbard, the authors of Sway spend too much time on anecdotes and not enough time on the aggregate facts and statistics. Selected examples are useful for making a point but only if there is measured evidence backing up the claim that the example is somehow representative of a broader population. I would recommend reading at least one or two of the other book's I just mentioned to see the contrast.

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Sway - a Worthy Read

Each chapter of SWAY is a complete thought and a fast read. I could identify myself or others in each one. I do a lot of work with large groups and have found that each group has all the architypes in it... the exemplar who knows too much; the over committed, the labeler; the doubter and dream killers; the visionaries and the engineers. Each of the characters in this book are in any group. I will return to SWAY each time I do another large group event to remind myself to be aware of how the decisions of the group might be getting trapped by some of the habits and assumption mentioned in the book. My work will be better for having read this book.

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Easy Read in the style of The Tipping Point

Have you ever driven through a snowstorm, against all logic, to get to a meeting? Held onto a tanking stock? Passed up a designer bag at a yard sale? Reading Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior may help you understand why. An easy read in the style of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Sway uses anecdotes and popular psychology research to outline some common behavioral pitfalls.

Although the book lacks in-depth analysis and contradictory research to be considered serious academic fair, it gives familiar examples of illogical actions in the face of mounting evidence. Sway explains concepts like loss aversion, commitment, diagnosis bias and value attribution and how they play out in individuals and groups. (For more info on value attribution and designer fashion, read Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster .)

Personally, I appreciated the reminder of how important dissenters are, even if the dissenters are wrong, and how "stay the course" can be the worst option of all.

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"The Praise for Sway is printed in red on the backcover disclaimer!!!"

"Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior", by Ori & Rom Brafman, Doubleday, NY 2008. ISBN: 978-0-385-52438-4, HC 206/181 Notes 13 pgs., Index 6 pgs., 8 ½" x 6".

A short book by two brothers, one a psychologist, written for general consumption. Basically, we are told that hidden mental influences "sway" our decision-making so the writers take great effort to supply those underlying influences, weaving and inter-weaving stories of tragedy, etc., with underlying mechanisms they recite as responsible. Some of their conjectures appear factual or possible, but in others we would have us fantasize at great length to believe their explanations of these mysteries.

All in all, one would have to be swayed excessively to believe these apparent concoctions have verifiable truths; for recounting a couple of interesting psychological clinical studies is not sufficient to make them come true, as that is magical thinking. Their general treatment of psychology is superficial, exuding an excess of simplicity. Both the human mind and behavior are complex and difficult to predict. If simplistic, we would not need to have so many psychologists, psychiatrist and social workers dealing with the populace.

All in all, their writings may have some importance, but the present work is not designed for anything more than entertainment.

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