Sway

Short.

I expected it to be short, but I didn't expect to be done in less than 3 hours. Nonetheless, as short it was, it was pretty good. This, along with Freakonomics, Stumbling Towards Happiness and Predictably Irrational, are among the recent spate of books that challenges the traditional notion of the rational human being. and in some way, this represents the melding of economics and psychology, and challenges traditional economic thoughts.

Just as with the books above, Sway motivates its various theses with academic examples. The same female grad assistant elicits more responses in front of a swaying bridge 100 feet above ground than in front of a bridge 10 feet above ground because the sense of danger elevates attraction level. This and other experiments show just how susceptible we are to our environments, often to our own detriment, without us consciously knowing it.