Eyes Wide Open: How to Make Smart Decisions in a Confusing World is Noreen Hertz's practical, cutting-edge guide to help you cut through the data deluge and make smarter and better choices, based on her highly popular TED talk.
In this eye-opening handbook, the internationally noted speaker, economics expert, and bestselling author of IOU: The Debt Threat and Silent Takeover reveals the extent to which the biggest decisions in our lives are often made on the basis of flawed information, weak assumptions, corrupted data, insufficient scrutiny of others, and a lack of self-knowledge.
To avert such disasters, Hertz persuasively argues, we need to become empowered decision-makers, capable of making high-stakes choices and holding accountable those who advise us.
In Eyes Wide Open, she weaves together scientific research with real-world examples from Hollywood to Harry Potter, NASA to World War Two spies, to construct a path to more astute and empowered decision-making in ten clear steps. With a razor-sharp intellect and an instinct for popular storytelling, she offers counter-intuitive, actionable guidance for making better choices-whether you are a business-person, a professional, a patient, or a parent.
In an age of constant distraction and misinformation, how do you learn to see clearly and think for yourself?
- Actionable Strategies: Learn ten clear, counter-intuitive steps to smarter decision-making, designed to help you cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters.
- Challenge the Experts: Discover why the people we trust most—from doctors to financial advisors—are often wrong, and learn how to question their assumptions with confidence.
- Overcome Information Overload: Develop practical techniques to filter the data deluge, identify misinformation, and protect yourself from the hidden biases that lead to poor choices.
- Behavioral Economics in Practice: See these powerful principles in action through fascinating, real-world examples from NASA, World War Two spies, Hollywood, and more.
Become a more confident, independent, and successful decision maker—savvy to how your emotions, moods, and habits can trip you up.
In our fast-moving world, we're overloaded with differing opinions, conflicting data, and changing advice. But how thoroughly do we scrutinize those we listen to? Are we open to new ways of tackling problems or constrained by how we've made past decisions? How much do we challenge ourselves?
By combining stories from Hollywood to NASA with the latest in brain science, Noreena Hertz reveals the extent to which life-altering, business-affecting, policy-determining, and health-defining decisions are based on partial information, assumed wisdoms, corrupted data, and insufficient scrutiny. In this essential guide, she offers practical ways to make better, smarter choices and more accurate predictions—in your personal life and at work.
"Hertz's Eyes Wide Open is the go-to handbook for thinking intelligently and keeping your wits about you in an increasingly complicated and digital world."
