Episode · People I (Mostly) Admire · 2023-01-21
Books mentioned on Sendhil Mullainathan Thinks Messing Around Is the Best Use of Your Time | Episode 37
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Remembrance of Things Past
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust is a monumental multi-volume modernist novel that explores themes of memory, time, and involuntary recollection sparked by sensory experiences like taste and smell.
Discussed“and it reminds me of I'm not gonna ask if you read it but have you at least pretended to read Marcel pru's remembrance of things past”
Where to get it
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Scarcity
Scarcity by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir is a profound exploration of how having too little time and money profoundly shapes human cognition, decision-making, and behavior.
Discussed“in his book entitled scarcity I saw the title and it's called scarcity and I thought to myself this is so arrogant”
Where to get it
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The evolution of cooperation
The Evolution of Cooperation by Robert M.
Recommended“the first one is a book called The Evolution of cooperation by Robert Axelrod and it is this amazing book on Game Theory”
Where to get it
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The strategy of conflict
The Strategy of Conflict by Thomas C.
Recommended“this book is called conflict and strategy and it is a book of Game Theory with no math”
Where to get it
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Nudge
Nudge by Richard H.
Recommended“if I had to pick one I guess I would say Nudge by Richard thaler and kessenstein and the basic idea is so simple and so obvious”
Where to get it
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Subtract
Subtract by Leidy Klotz is an insightful exploration of why humans consistently overlook the power of subtraction, choosing instead to add elements when solving problems.
Recommended“there's this great book by Lighty clots it's called subtract it just came out it's awesome”
Where to get it
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A Brief History of Time
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking is a landmark popular science book exploring cosmology, black holes, and the origin of the universe.
Discussed“Have I ever told you the story of the Stephen Hawking book A Brief History of Time? No, so this is a book where you see it on everybody's shelf, but nobody's actually read this book, right?”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (3) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“Stephen I've been thinking about a conversation that we had about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn you said you loved that book but you couldn't remember a single thing about it”
“I'm hoping his editor is kind of like thinking fast and slow yeah”
“I'm hoping his editor is kind of like thinking fast and slow yeah”