rachellep's review against another edition
3.0
This book started slow for me but quickly got really interesting specially the fashion section. Dan did a series of study to find out how dishonest people can be. Most of all how we come to believe the lies we tell ourselves. It was a fun read for me but it may not be your cup of tea if you are not in the mood to hear the author go over a bunch of data on this subject. He is clearly very passionate about this subject which kept me interested throughout the book.
ranahabib's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 8/10
Duration: one day, 12 hours
Overview: Ariely explores why individuals cheat/lie
Likes
1. Unique subject
- This is the first time that I've read a book that explores the reasoning behind why individuals cheat and lie. While I appreciate the uniqueness of the book, I can't say that I was all that excited to read it (at least at first). Naturally, some chapters were more intriguing than others (my personal favorites were the fake designer chapter, the chapter that studies the connection between creativity/dishonesty, and the chapter that explores ego depletion). Regardless, the uniqueness of the book kept me on my toes, since I had no clue what to expect.
2. Writing style
- I won't bore you with this one, since I always rave about Ariely's writing style in my reviews. Once again, another charming, humorous, and entertaining book written by Ariely -- surprise, surprise!
3. Use of graphics
- I loved the use of graphics to summarize sub-topics or the entire chapter. As a visual learner, it helped me re-cap the main ideas and points (extra points for this feature).
Dislikes:
1. Some chapters made me lose interest in the book. For example, wasn't a major fan of the "golf" chapter, which explores why people cheat in golf. I personally didn't derive any value from this chapter and I don't think that it was entirely necessary.
Duration: one day, 12 hours
Overview: Ariely explores why individuals cheat/lie
Likes
1. Unique subject
- This is the first time that I've read a book that explores the reasoning behind why individuals cheat and lie. While I appreciate the uniqueness of the book, I can't say that I was all that excited to read it (at least at first). Naturally, some chapters were more intriguing than others (my personal favorites were the fake designer chapter, the chapter that studies the connection between creativity/dishonesty, and the chapter that explores ego depletion). Regardless, the uniqueness of the book kept me on my toes, since I had no clue what to expect.
2. Writing style
- I won't bore you with this one, since I always rave about Ariely's writing style in my reviews. Once again, another charming, humorous, and entertaining book written by Ariely -- surprise, surprise!
3. Use of graphics
- I loved the use of graphics to summarize sub-topics or the entire chapter. As a visual learner, it helped me re-cap the main ideas and points (extra points for this feature).
Dislikes:
1. Some chapters made me lose interest in the book. For example, wasn't a major fan of the "golf" chapter, which explores why people cheat in golf. I personally didn't derive any value from this chapter and I don't think that it was entirely necessary.
catherineabarrett's review against another edition
3.0
I love Dan Ariely and the way he discusses his research, but this book felt rehashed to me. In fairness, I think most of the material felt overly familiar to me because I took his Coursera class which covered many if not all of the studies in this book. It's interesting stuff, but would be way more interesting if it was new to you.
greyhuigris's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting quick little read, but be careful in accepting everything as truth. There were several logic problems or holes in experiments that I believe hurt the boom, but it's still quite fun.
ufuksfk's review against another edition
4.0
I actually listened to the audiobook of it and it was a summary of the book. It took 4 hours to listen to it all.
It has stunning social experiments and results with clear explanations about human behavior.
To summarize in one sentence, we are all liars in different levels and aspects.
It has stunning social experiments and results with clear explanations about human behavior.
To summarize in one sentence, we are all liars in different levels and aspects.
neural_lauren_unreal's review against another edition
2.0
A very disappointing book coming from a much respected writer and researcher. Honestly I don't think he put much effort into writing this book at all, which explains its lack of originality. If you are any familiar with Cialdini and Charlie Munger, don't even bother reading this.
aizataffendi's review against another edition
5.0
Love this book because it takes on such a mundane topic, but is authored in a very light-hearted way that makes it a pleasant, easy-to-follow read. The author managed to share why people cheat, factors that makes us cheat less or more and those that do not have tangible effects on cheating (in the plethora of cognitive-based experiments that he and his team had done), the universality of dishonesty across cultures and how we can go about to curb it with such brevity (I actually don't mind if he had written a bit more)!
chriswoody94's review against another edition
4.0
The basic understanding of why people cheat from an economic perspective is that they have weighed the benefits of cheating and the costs of potentially getting caught and the harshness of the punishment. However, as Dan Ariely asserts, this simple model of rational crime (SMORC) may not be all it's cracked up to be. According to several experiments that Ariely and his colleagues did in this book, strong punishments and the amount that you can stand to gain from cheating actually play a small role in whether or not one is more likely to cheat. What's the main thing, then? How much we can get away with while still being able to call ourselves honest people. From that basic premise, Ariely looks at what can make us more likely to move that line to cheat more (like the distance from physical money, our conflicts of interest, seeing someone else successfully cheat, etc.) or less (like having supervision or reciting the Ten Commandments before a test). This was an interesting look at why people, myself included, cheat in small amounts here and there and are still able to maintain some kind of moral self-image, and how the amount of cheating can be increased for some without sacrificing the same self-image. However, as it turns out, the few who cheat a lot of the time don't cost society as much as the majority of people who cheat in small ways here and there.