The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty : How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves
by: Dan Ariely
An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
ISBN: 978-0-06-218359-0
Based on what I learned from this book, I should be upfront and honest before continuing. I first saw Dan Ariely in a Ted Talk. As a librarian, he piqued my interest and I managed to get my hands on his first book, "Predictably Irrational". I really enjoyed this first book. It kept me interested and, well, I'd like to say that I learned so much that I changed my behavior. Unfortunately, while I did learn a LOT, I haven't really changed my behavior much. However, I have started noticing things more and particularly in the behavior of others. So, when I saw that Dan would be speaking at my conference this past summer, I was excited to go hear him live. Most people might think it odd that I'd intentionally go listen to a person give, what basically amounts to a lecture, on purpose. I'm an academic librarian folks, a GOOD topic with a GOOD speaker is often well worth it to me.
His talk was mostly about cheating and why we cheat and he answered a lot of questions as well. A lot of this is drawn directly from his latest book, "The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty". As a behavioral economist, Dan Ariely has made his career studying human behavior, decision making, why we do some of the things we do and most recently, why we cheat and lie. I find his ability to come up with innovative ways to test these things engaging. His writing style is easy to follow and understand so that I feel like I could carry on an intelligent discussion on this topic. However, based on his findings regarding self deception, I think I'll stick with writing about the book.
This latest work takes the reader on a bit of a ride. We learn about the Simple Model of Rational Crime or SMORC very early on because it will come up several times throughout. Basically put, this model describes how and why people behave by theorizing that their actions are solely based on a cost benefit analysis, or weighing the positives against the negatives. The ride the reader is taken on challenges that idea in very interesting ways. The opening statement of chapter one challenges our thinking, not only about how we are to think of others, but how we must think of ourselves as well. After all, the author starts off the book telling the reader that everyone cheats. If you don't really want to know much about this (you'd prefer to remain in the dark), then don't read this book. It is specifically written to challenge reader with every turn.
The opening statement that everyone cheats might seem like a turnoff, but I challenge those who think that to read through to the end and discover the final conclusion. It too, might surprise many. The author uses many twists and turns in proving we all cheat. For instance, the "fudge factor" or how far away from actual money do we have to get before we start stealing? At least, that was my interpretation of where this went.
I was particularly interested in the investigations into self deception and how we can so easily lie to ourselves in order to justify decisions that satisfy underlying desires we won't consciously admit. The author even describes incidences where he recognized himself going through various self deceiving exercises in order to get a particular outcome. Now, I've started to notice this particular behavior in others. In fact, I saw someone flip a coin over two options, get tails and then they said, best two out of three. I actually told them: "you know, according to this book I'm reading, you really just want the other option, so just pick it". They had to finish their coin exercise rather than listen to me because that is part of the self deception exercise Ariely describes, but they did eventually pick the other option.
The next piece I found interesting was the discussion regarding creativity and lying. This chapter was a bit disturbing, but also very enlightening, in an odd way. This part of the ride illustrates just why creative people are better at thinking outside the box, in my opinion.
Finally, what works at preventing the cheating and lying behaviors is entirely understandable. In fact, I'd say it is not really a surprise at all. The valuable part of this chapter is that we can learn how to mitigate negative behaviors if we can be creative about using what works. Yes, I know that's a bit cryptic, but the author states it much better anyway, so read the book :)
I admit that I've been a fan since I saw the Ted Talk mentioned above, so I am already predisposed to like the book. However, put that aside because the book presents research that is useful in a variety of settings, from corporate offices, universities, and charitable organizations all the way through the spectrum to government institutions. It is of particular usefulness to managers and leaders within organizations who want to better understand the behaviors they do and see done around them. It is concise and well organized and had me thinking things like: I've never done that or I've done that or, by the end, I'd like to think I wouldn't do that. It will make you think, particularly about yourself. Do you like a good ride?
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
The Christian World of The Hobbit
As a Christian and a lover of J.R.R. Tolkien's work, this title caught my attention. I had read both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was in 5th grade. I recently reread The Hobbit and I, of course, saw the Lord of the Rings movies. While I felt they were good, it seems there were significant parts of the story that got lost on the screen. What this author discusses is part of those significant parts.
He opens the book with a quote from the review C.S. Lewis wrote in 1937 of The Hobbit, where he boldly stated the book "may well prove to be a classic". This opening allows the author to discuss the relationship that Tolkien and Lewis had, as well as many other aspects of these two men and their writing. However, the book is really about Tolkien, what he believed, and how he incorporated those beliefs into his writing. The first chapter is all about who Tolkien was. In it, the author brings to the forefront the essential point of his book. That Tolkien essentially placed his faith firmly in the stories he produced. He quotes a letter of Tolkien stating: "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision". This is the essence of what the author wants to prove. That The Hobbit is also an essentially Christian story.
He uses chapters 2-4 to discuss this idea, talking about providence in chapter 2, purpose in 3 and the moral landscape in 4. The arguments were well thought out and convincing. At times, I found some of the points to be repetitive because the author would use the same event in the book to show all three of the religious aspects he's discussing. This didn't affect his overall point, but I found myself wishing there was an additional example whenever I found him repeating one from a previous chapter.
The chapter on providence was the most convincing for me and the chapter on the moral landscape was quite interesting. For me, the chapter discussing purpose was the weakest of the three, but the author was able to make his point convincingly. In making his points, the writer did not rely solely on Tolkien or his stories. He discussed other writers, particularly C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. This is why the relationship between Tolkien and Lewis as discussed in chapter 1 was so important to point out to the reader. Obviously, this author wasn't trying to give a comprehensive biography, but he did show how these writers influenced each other. Therefore, it was interesting that he included portions of these other writers stories and statements in making his point.
Finally, the final chapter discusses the response and legacy of Tolkien's writing. The author points out how the literary world has never fully embraced these works as serious literature even though the world over has loved them for generations. This point may help explain why I can never find Tolkien's work in the literature or classics sections of a bookstore, but only find them in the fantasy section. In addition, he talks about criticism of the works, particularly that they are too scary for children. The author quotes Tolkien, Lewis, and Chesterton on this point, making the argument that a good fantasy story for children must also be good for adults and that whitewashing a story to make sure you don't scare the kids does the children a disservice because having something scary defeated at the end shows the children that evil can be defeated and that there is something greater in control of the world. I hadn't really thought along those lines before, and as a father, I found myself thinking, yeah, that makes sense.
At any rate, I found this book quite interesting. It was easy to read and can appeal to a wide audience. Anyone who loves Tolkien will probably enjoy this book. For a Christian who may not like magic and goblins and dragons, etc., I'd say this book is an essential read, if for no other reason, than to help them understand how Tolkien intended his books to be, not only embraced by a Christian audience but, understood as containing a very Christian perspective on how the world works. For the non Christian who simply enjoys the books, they can gain greater insight into the mind of Tolkien and more appreciation for the world he created without having to read a long biography. For the literary world who has failed to fully embrace these works, the author does not seem to be trying to convince you that you should. It seemed to me that he is simply telling the reader why the literary world has rejected these works without actually going into great detail. I found that I wanted more of this argument in the book.
Perhaps other works have already dealt with this aspect of things, but I couldn't help but feel that I needed more than a few pages, perhaps an additional chapter, just on this topic. I don't fault the author, because that isn't really the point he is trying to make. However, he has piqued my interest in the topic enough to look for additional writings on that particular aspect of things.
He opens the book with a quote from the review C.S. Lewis wrote in 1937 of The Hobbit, where he boldly stated the book "may well prove to be a classic". This opening allows the author to discuss the relationship that Tolkien and Lewis had, as well as many other aspects of these two men and their writing. However, the book is really about Tolkien, what he believed, and how he incorporated those beliefs into his writing. The first chapter is all about who Tolkien was. In it, the author brings to the forefront the essential point of his book. That Tolkien essentially placed his faith firmly in the stories he produced. He quotes a letter of Tolkien stating: "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision". This is the essence of what the author wants to prove. That The Hobbit is also an essentially Christian story.
He uses chapters 2-4 to discuss this idea, talking about providence in chapter 2, purpose in 3 and the moral landscape in 4. The arguments were well thought out and convincing. At times, I found some of the points to be repetitive because the author would use the same event in the book to show all three of the religious aspects he's discussing. This didn't affect his overall point, but I found myself wishing there was an additional example whenever I found him repeating one from a previous chapter.
The chapter on providence was the most convincing for me and the chapter on the moral landscape was quite interesting. For me, the chapter discussing purpose was the weakest of the three, but the author was able to make his point convincingly. In making his points, the writer did not rely solely on Tolkien or his stories. He discussed other writers, particularly C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. This is why the relationship between Tolkien and Lewis as discussed in chapter 1 was so important to point out to the reader. Obviously, this author wasn't trying to give a comprehensive biography, but he did show how these writers influenced each other. Therefore, it was interesting that he included portions of these other writers stories and statements in making his point.
Finally, the final chapter discusses the response and legacy of Tolkien's writing. The author points out how the literary world has never fully embraced these works as serious literature even though the world over has loved them for generations. This point may help explain why I can never find Tolkien's work in the literature or classics sections of a bookstore, but only find them in the fantasy section. In addition, he talks about criticism of the works, particularly that they are too scary for children. The author quotes Tolkien, Lewis, and Chesterton on this point, making the argument that a good fantasy story for children must also be good for adults and that whitewashing a story to make sure you don't scare the kids does the children a disservice because having something scary defeated at the end shows the children that evil can be defeated and that there is something greater in control of the world. I hadn't really thought along those lines before, and as a father, I found myself thinking, yeah, that makes sense.
At any rate, I found this book quite interesting. It was easy to read and can appeal to a wide audience. Anyone who loves Tolkien will probably enjoy this book. For a Christian who may not like magic and goblins and dragons, etc., I'd say this book is an essential read, if for no other reason, than to help them understand how Tolkien intended his books to be, not only embraced by a Christian audience but, understood as containing a very Christian perspective on how the world works. For the non Christian who simply enjoys the books, they can gain greater insight into the mind of Tolkien and more appreciation for the world he created without having to read a long biography. For the literary world who has failed to fully embrace these works, the author does not seem to be trying to convince you that you should. It seemed to me that he is simply telling the reader why the literary world has rejected these works without actually going into great detail. I found that I wanted more of this argument in the book.
Perhaps other works have already dealt with this aspect of things, but I couldn't help but feel that I needed more than a few pages, perhaps an additional chapter, just on this topic. I don't fault the author, because that isn't really the point he is trying to make. However, he has piqued my interest in the topic enough to look for additional writings on that particular aspect of things.
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