The World's Best Book Summaries
What is information overload? What’s the problem with having too much information? The dangers of information overload have grown increasingly severe in the modern world because there’s so much information available. According to Rold Dobelli, the author of The Art of Thinking Clearly, excess information causes problems in two ways: burying basic facts and wasting time. Keep reading to learn about the dangers of information overload.
What is the KIPP school model? How does the KIPP school model differ from the traditional American model of education? The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Academy began in the South Bronx as an experimental, public middle school intended to create opportunities for success for low-income, underserved communities. By extending students’ time in school (both over the course of the day and over the course of the year), KIPP’s approach compensates for some of the disadvantages low-income students face. Let’s take a closer look at how KIPP helped students succeed by challenging the cultural norms of the American school system.
Who controls for-profit media outlets? Should big news companies be trusted? For-profit media is by no means a new concept—it dates back to the 1800s. The problem is that for-profit media companies are taking over the smaller, independent news outlets, causing biased news coverage. Here’s why for-profit media can’t be trusted, according to the book Manufactured Consent.
How do social relationships affect health? What role does socializing play in well-being? Research shows that social relationships are at least as important as diet and exercise for long-term health. Take a look, for example, at Roseto, a small town in Pennsylvania, where research suggested that tight-knit community relations were responsible for residents’ remarkably low levels of disease, alcoholism, and suicide. Here’s how social ties contribute to health, as evidenced by the Roseto population.
What is Eric Berne’s Games People Play about? How can you tell someone is playing a game on you? Games People Play is Berne’s 1964 classic about the many ways that we habitually relate to one another through “games.” These aren’t fun, harmless social games, though—they’re subtle, largely unconscious patterns that harm us and our relationships. Berne explains how most of us don’t even notice our games, and how we’re missing out on the fulfillment of game-free living. Keep reading to learn about Berne’s concept of “games” and why we play them.
Do you allow personal finance stories to change how you use your money? Do finance stories scare you away from making certain decisions or inspire you to invest in certain things? According to Morgan Housel, the author of The Psychology of Money, falling for financial success stories can cause you to make poor financial decisions. Listening to the personal finance stories of others can influence you to risk your financial health based on hope, or even make you think that you have more control than you actually do. Here’s why you should be careful what stories you believe about money.
Is there news censorship in America? What indirect censorship tactics do the elite use to influence big media outlets? Despite the supposed “freedom of the press,” the government and big corporations control what the general public sees in the news. They’re able to skirt censorship laws by using suppression and intimidation techniques. Here are the five most common tactics used to censor the media in America.
What is social loafing? Why do people tend to lessen their effort when added to a group? Social loading is a psychosocial phenomenon whereby individuals put less effort in when they become part of a group. According to Rolf Dobelli, the author of The Art of Thinking Clearly, social loafing is a feature of groups, not a drawback: Early humans formed groups because the responsibility for survival was spread out rather than concentrated on each individual. Keep reading for the social loafing definition, how it forms, and how to prevent it.
Why is group membership so important? Where does the human need to belong stem from? One of the evolutionary traits that most influences you is the desire to be in a group. For early humans, group membership was necessary for survival. Those who left the group died, while those who stuck to the status quo survived and reproduced. Thus, your brain is genetically wired to fit in. Although the human need to belong has evolutionary value, it causes some fallacies in the way we interpret other people’s behavior. Let’s explore some fallacies resulting from our need to belong.
What is social proof? Is it always a good idea to follow the crowd? Social proof is a psychosocial phenomenon whereby people copy others’ behavior before participating in that behavior themselves. This tendency had survival value in the past: If everyone ran away, you ran too because there was probably a predator nearby. However, in modern times, most of our decisions are not life-or-death decisions, and following the crowd can often lead you astray. Here’s why, in modern times, social proof can often do more harm than good.