Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense (Hardback)

Rory Sutherland (author)

£20.00

Hardback 384 Pages
Published: 09/05/2019

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Synopsis

To be brilliant, you have to be irrational Why is Red Bull so popular - even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?

We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence. But we aren't, and we don't.

In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd - from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people's choices you have to bypass reason.

The best ideas don't make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think. Rory Sutherland is the Ogilvy advertising legend whose TED Talks have been viewed nearly 7 million times. In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic, on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. The big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by letting go of logic and embracing the irrational.

Publisher: Ebury Publishing
ISBN: 9780753556504
Number of pages: 384
Weight: 645 g
Dimensions: 222 x 162 x 27 mm

MEDIA REVIEWS

'Sutherland is revelatory - and entertaining in his anatomy of apparently paradoxical consumer choice in action.' - The Sunday Times

'This is a breakthrough book: Mother Reality makes sense in her own way. She yields her secrets to practitioners, almost never to academics - something psychologists, economists and non-skin in the game people, no matter what they say, are functionally unable to grasp. And the book is funny as hell: I smiled and laughed at every paragraph. Furthermore, this is the first such treatise written by someone who had true contact with reality via something called a P/L. And this is wonderfully applicable to about everything in life, from how to announce airplane delays to how to handle unsold opera tickets. Buy two copies of this book in case one is stolen.' - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

'Buy this book for the footnotes alone... As a committed devotee of rationalism, who thinks there is not enough of it in this world, I rationally ought to hate this book. Instead I loved it. It's full of great insights.' - Matt Ridley

'Stimulating and funny' - The Times