The Truth Detective: A Poker Player's Guide to a Complex World

(Paperback, Main)

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'Through the lens of her personal experience as a poker player, Alex O'Brien reveals the tricks that can help each of us navigate a world beset with uncertainty and misinformation' ANGELA SAINI

'It's thrilling' PHILIP BALL

'Deserves to be widely read' ALOM SHAHA

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GLOBAL POKER INDEX AWARDS

This is a book about getting to the truth.

At the poker table you need certain skills to win. The more Alex O'Brien played competitively, the more she realised those skills are essential in everyday life too. From reading body language to calculating risk, dealing with uncertainty and separating emotion from facts, her toolkit will help you make better decisions and understand what's happening around you.

Offering insights from the latest psychology, neuroscience, game theory and more, you'll encounter new ideas and ways of thinking from pioneering researchers and experts in their field. With O'Brien as your guide, you'll learn to see clearly, think carefully and cut through the noise of a complex world.

Reviews

'Through the lens of her personal experience as a poker player, Alex O'Brien reveals the tricks that can help each of us navigate a world beset with uncertainty and misinformation. I gleaned such useful advice from this heartfelt book - and came away also wanting to learn how to play poker!' - Angela Saini, journalist and author of 'Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong' and 'The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule'

'The Truth Detective is the kind of timely popular science that captures people's attention and deserves to be widely read' - Alom Shaha, author of Mr Shaha's Marvellous Machines, Mr Shaha's Recipes for Wonder and Why Don't Things Fall Up

'I was gripped from the outset by The Truth Detective. No doubt because, as a competitive poker player, Alex O'Brien has skin in the game, she has made this exploration of how to read and understand human behaviour thrillingly alive. You might not emerge from the book as a poker champ, but you'll be astonished, enthralled, and - who knows - even enriched by what you'll learn.' - Philip Ball, broadcaster and author of Bright Earth, Critical Mass, The Modern Myths and How Life Works

'Now, more than ever, it is vital that we all think critically about the news we're reading, the media we're consuming, and the opinions being easily thrown around. O'Brien's book takes us back to the basics of such critical thinking with the insightful premise of making decisions when clouded by uncertainty. A brilliant poker player, she brings her experience from the game and shows us how to apply this to everyday life. I will definitely be applying some of the lessons I've learnt!' - Roma Agrawal MBE, engineer, broadcaster and author

'[The Truth Detective] got me thinking about the life skills we've acquired through playing games... risk is an important skill to learn in life [and the book] explores how the games rules and strategies help us to better navigate the world and make better choices' - Jessica Creighton

Author Bio

Alex O'Brien is a London based science writer and thinker. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, BBC, New Scientist and The Times. Shortlisted for Best Newcomer in 2016 by the Association of British Science Writers where she is now vice-chair, O'Brien is an advocate for early critical thinking; in 2022 she founded the Young Science Writer Award, aimed at engaging state-educated young people toward a career in STEM related subjects. The Truth Detective is her first book.