The World's Best Book Summaries
How has the Information Age impacted the way we interact with one another? There undoubtedly many positive consequences. What are the negative outcomes? We’ll cover three ways the Information Age has impacted social epidemics, or the spread of ideas: the rise of isolationism, the rise of immunity, and the issue of finding “mavens,” people to help spread information.
Tipping Points are all about small ways to make significant change. So-called Band-Aid solutions — despite the term’s negative connotations — can actually be the most effective strategies by taking focused, targeted action with the least amount of time, effort, and cost. Using a heavy amount of effort to tackle all aspects of a problem is not always possible or the best use of energy. We’ll cover the analogy of the epidemic, look at a case study of band-aid solutions, and discuss why band-aid solutions are often the best solutions.
What is confirmation bias? What is the confirmation bias definition, and what are some clear confirmation bias examples? Confirmation bias is the tendency to only see the evidence that confirms the beliefs you already hold. We select evidence on the basis of preconceived frameworks, biases, or hypotheses. We’ll cover how confirmation bias occurs and why it means that “experts” often aren’t experts at all.
What is Mediocristan? Where is it? Where does the word come from? What elements of our lives fall under the purview of Mediocristan? Mediocristan is a term coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb to explain the facets of our experience that are nonscalable. Mediocristan’s law is: Given a large-enough sample size, no individual event will have a significant effect on the total. The term was popularized by Taleb’s book The Black Swan. We’ll cover what Mediocristan is, how it differs from Extremistan, and what kinds of events, characteristics, and professions come from the land of Mediocristan.
What is the Rule of 150? What does it say about how we function and cooperate in large and small groups? The Rule of 150 is a concept in sociology that says that social structures function best at or under 150 people. Groups bigger than 150 people tend to break into smaller groups in order to function. We’ll look at an example of the Rule of 150 to see how it functions in business organizations.
Does the bell curve accurately describe the world? When does the bell curve work, and when does it fail? How can we make better predictions and more accurately describe the phenomena of real life? We’ll cover the situations in which the normal bell curve distribution is a good predictor of the real world, the situations where it’s not, and better ways to represent randomness in an uncertain world.
What is the superstar effect? How does it work? Who does it benefit? How does it contribute to inequality? The superstar effect is the tendency of the most talented people to benefit disproportionately from their talent. It was coined by economist Sherwin Rosen to describe the unequal distributions of income and prestige in Extremistan sectors like stand-up comedy, classical music, and research scholarship. We’ll cover how the superstar effect works, where it accurately describes the world, and how it fails to take luck into account.
What is the Broken Window Theory in criminology? How has Wilson and Kelling’s broken windows theory been used to reduce crime in places like New York City? The Broken Window Theory is a sociological theory that says that smaller signs of disorder — like broken windows left in disrepair on a building — send the message that anything goes. This subtle message leads to greater crime and public disorder. It was developed by James Wilson and George Kelling. We’ll look at how the broken window theory in sociology has been used to reduce crime.
What is preferential attachment? Who benefits from preferential attachment? Who loses? Preferential attachment is the innate human tendency to flock to past successes, regardless of whether those successes are the product of merit or chance. Preferential attachment is a form of cumulative advantage. We’ll cover examples of preferential attachment, look at how it increases inequality in society, and discover when it’s wrong.
What does “diffusion” mean in sociology? What is the cultural diffusion meaning? What is a cultural diffusion example? Cultural diffusion is a term in sociology for the way a contagious idea or product spreads among people who adopt it at different phases. It involves phases in which innovators, early adopters, the early majority, the late majority, and, finally, the laggards adopt an idea or product. We’ll look at a cultural diffusion example to see how the idea of diffusion works in sociology and look at the factors that come into play at each stage of the diffusion model.