Alchemy: The Magic of Original Thinking in a World of Mind-Numbing Conformity

(Paperback)

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Description

The hugely anticipated first book from the TED Talks star and advertising legend 'A breakthrough book. Wonderfully applicable to everything in life, and funny as hell.' Nassim Nicholas Taleb Why is Red Bull so popular - even though everyone hates the taste Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste Discover the alchemy behind original thinking, as TED Talk superstar and Ogilvy advertising legend Rory Sutherland reveals why abandoning logic and casting aside rationality is the best way to solve any problem. In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. He shows how economists, businesses and governments have got it all wrong- we are not rational creatures who make logical decisions based on evidence. Instead, the big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by thinking less logically. To be brilliant, you have to be irrational.

Reviews

This is a breakthrough book: Mother Reality makes sense in her own way. She yields her secrets to practitioners, almost never to academics - something psychologists, economists and non-skin in the game people, no matter what they say, are functionally unable to grasp. And the book is funny as hell: I smiled and laughed at every paragraph.
Furthermore, this is the first such treatise written by someone who had true contact with reality via something called a P/L.
And this is wonderfully applicable to about everything in life, from how to announce airplane delays to how to handle unsold opera tickets.
Buy two copies of this book in case one is stolen.

* Nassim Nicholas Taleb, scholar and former trader; author of the Incerto. *
Revelatory and entertaining * The Sunday Times *
Reading Alchemy was, as its title promised, the process of turning paper and print into gold. Veins of wisdom regarding human functioning emerge regularly and brilliantly from the pages. Don't miss this book. * Robert Cialdini, bestselling author of Influence, Yes!, The Small BIG and Pre-suasion *
Deeply original * Robert Trivers, evolutionary biologist and author of Deceit and Self-Deception *
Sutherlands book touches on many facets of life, but all come down to the importance of psycho-logic, or non-rational factors, in how we make decisions and how problems can be solved * CAMPAIGN magazine *

Author Bio

Rory Sutherland is the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK and the founder of the behavioural science practice. He writes the Spectator's 'Wiki Man' column, presents series for BBC Radio 4, serves on the advisory board of The Evolution Institute, and is former President of the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising). The IDM (Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing) awarded Sutherland an Honorary Life Fellowship. His TED talks have over 6.5 million views. He authored a collection of blog posts, interviews, tweets and reference materials, The Wiki-Man, in 2011, and his first book Alchemy was published in 2019.