DAN ARIELY

Leading Behavioural Economist &
Author of Predictably Irrational

As a behavioural economist, Dan Ariely studies how people actually act in the marketplace, as opposed to how they should or would perform if they were completely rational. His interests span a wide range of daily behaviours such as buying (or not), saving (or not), ordering food in restaurants, pain management, procrastination, dishonesty, and decision making under different emotional states. His experiments are consistently interesting, amusing, and informative, demonstrating profound ideas that fly in the face of common wisdom.

Currently the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, Ariely holds appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, the School of Medicine, and the department of Economics. He is also a visiting professor at MIT’s Program in Media Arts and Sciences, a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight, a fellow at Diamond Management and Technology Consultants, and President of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making.

Ariely is the author of The New York Timesbestseller, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions. His research has been published in leading psychology, economics, and marketing and management research journals, and has been featured occasionally in the popular press (The New York Times, The New Yorker Magazine, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, etc). He is currently working on a new book titled Dining Without Crumbs: The Art of Eating Over the Sink. From time to time, Ariely has provided commentaries for National Public Radio, The New York Times and CNN.

Ariely earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tel Aviv University, his master’s and doctorate degrees in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina, and a doctorate in marketing from Duke University.

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COMMENTS FROM AUDIENCES

"Predictably Irrational is wildly original. It shows why--much more often than we usually care to admit--humans make foolish, and sometimes disastrous, mistakes. Ariely not only gives us a great read; he also makes us much wiser."

George Akerlof
Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2001
Koshland Professor of Economics
University of California at Berkeley

"A marvelous book that is both thought provoking and highly entertaining, ranging from the power of placebos to the pleasures of Pepsi. Ariely unmasks the subtle but powerful tricks that our minds play on us, and shows us how we can prevent being fooled."

Jerome Groopman
Recanati Professor, Harvard Medical School
Author of “How Doctors Think”

"Predictably Irrational is a charmer -- filled with clever experiments, engaging ideas, and delightful anecdotes. Dan Ariely is a wise and amusing guide to the foibles, errors, and bloopers of everyday decision-making."

Daniel Gilbert
Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
Author of “Stumbling on Happiness”

"Predictably Irrational is going to be the most influential, talked-about book in years. It is so full of dazzling insights -- and so engaging -- that once I started reading I couldn’t put it down."

Daniel McFadden
Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2000
Morris Cox Professor of Economics
University of California at Berkeley

"A delightfully brilliant guide to our irrationality – and how to overcome it – in the marketplace and everyplace."

Geoffrey Moore
Author of “Crossing the Chasm”
and “Dealing with Darwin”

"After reading this book, you will understand the decisions you make in an entirely new way."

Nicholas Negroponte
Founder of MIT's Media Lab
Founder and chairman of the One Laptop
per Child non-profit association

"This entertaining yet brilliant book helps us recognize the foibles that underlie the decisions we make in our life -- large and small, profound and banal. More than just pointing our mistakes, Ariely helps us understand and appreciate the complex beauty of human nature. It's nothing less than a witty survival manual for the early 21st century."

David A. Ross
Director emeritus, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Director emeritus, Whitney Museum of American Art

"Dan Ariely is a genius at understanding human behavior: no economist does a better job of uncovering and explaining the hidden reasons for the weird ways we act, in the marketplace and out. Predictably Irrational will reshape the way you see the world, and yourself, for good."

James Surowiecki
Author of “The Wisdom of Crowds”