Don’t Trust Your Gut
Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life
Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
“Big decisions are hard. We consult friends and family, make sense of confusing “expert” advice online, maybe we read a self-help book to guide us. In the end, we usually just do what feels right, pursuing high stakes self-improvement—such as who we marry, how to date, where to live, what makes us happy—based solely on what our gut instinct tells us. But what if our gut is wrong? Biased, unpredictable, and misinformed, our gut, it turns out, is not all that reliable. And data can prove this. In Don’t Trust Your Gut, economist, former Google data scientist, and New York Times bestselling author Seth Stephens-Davidowitz reveals just how wrong we really are when it comes to improving our own lives.”
This is not a business type book that I normally read, but it was really interesting! The introduction is a little long and slow – mostly because it has a lot of sports which I’m not interested in. Once the book starts and gets into it though, the data is really interesting. It’s so hard to trust any data that’s on the internet, so it’s nice to have it in a book and a well presented format that is really accessible for everyone (and hopefully reliable!).
The author is a really good storyteller and uses the data in a presentable format. Although it’s a really interesting book, it doesn’t have anything to really take away and apply to life decisions, despite the cover saying you will “make better choices”. Yes there is data on what makes people happy, but I believe that this is going to change depending on the person.
It’s not a self help book with key takeaways to use everyday but the book is a fascinating and entertaining read. I recommend it – 4 stars from me.
Bloomsbury | 5 July 2022 | AU$29.99 | paperback
