Summary of the Book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Summary of the famous book Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.


The predominant view of human nature, largely shared by economists, policy makers, non-professionals and everyone else is that our minds and bodies are capable of amazing acts and we have the ability to reason perfectly for our well-being. These assumptions have found their way into Economics, where the foundation for economic theories, predictions and recommendations is the idea of rationality.


However the relatively new field of Behavioral Economics, which draws on aspects of both psychology and economics, questions the assumption of rationality because the empirical evidence does not support it many a times. The book takes a look at the many ways in which human beings are irrational. 


But the important observation of studying irrationality is that our irrational behavior is neither random nor senseless. Irrationality happens the same way again and again and hence, is predictable. Understanding how we are predictably irrational can help us improve our decision making and change the way we live for the better.


The summary is concise, but covers all the relevant learning from the book.