The World's Best Book Summaries
Why do people donate to charity? Do they truly care about the cause—or just how they look to others? In The Elephant in the Brain, Kevin Simler and Robin Hanson argue that charity isn’t just about helping others—it’s also about showing off how compassionate and benevolent you are. This is part of their general argument that human behavior is driven by selfish motives. Continue reading to learn more about this theory.
Do you have an idea for a business? How can you tell if it’s a viable one? Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba say you don’t need to come up with anything spectacular. A viable business idea should build on your unique strengths, or “unfair advantages,” and offer value to people’s lives. Keep reading to learn how to evaluate business ideas.
What are some of the best quotes from Nicomachean Ethics? What captures Aristotle’s message? In Nicomachean Ethics, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle attempts to determine the best possible way a person can live their life. He’s not trying to explain the best way to deal with any given situation. Instead, Aristotle aims to provide a general overview of what an ideal life is and how people can achieve it. We’ve collected some of our favorite Nicomachean Ethics quotes, along with some context and explanation. Take a look.
What is the best diet for an obese person? What are some things you should avoid eating if you suffer from obesity? Beating obesity involves a combination of lifestyle and dietary changes. In brief, a slimming diet involves eating whole foods, avoiding added sugar and refined carbohydrates, and consuming a moderate amount of protein and good fats. Here are four obesity dietary changes you must make.
What is the attention crisis? How does it affect our ability to read and think? Stolen Focus by journalist Johann Hari makes the case that we have an attention crisis, which means we’re all losing the ability to concentrate. He argues that it’s the result of outside forces and not people being lazy. Let’s look at how the attention crisis is affecting our minds.
How can you practice mindfulness every day? What are the benefits of everyday mindfulness? Practicing mindfulness in your daily life has many benefits, including reducing anxiety. In Unwinding Anxiety, Dr. Judson Brewer offers two mindful techniques that you should incorporate into your daily routine. Read more to learn the two mindfulness techniques that can help you cope with anxiety.
Do you take into account probability when making decisions? Why do we make decisions that contradict probabilistic logic? Understanding probability can be especially relevant to our daily lives because we make decisions based on our perception of probability all the time. However, our perception of likely outcomes is often mathematically irrational. This is because thinking in probabilities isn’t intuitive: Most people think in terms of binary categories of “yes,” “no,” and “maybe.” Here’s why we make decisions that contradict probabilistic logic.
What is inferential analysis? What can inferential statistics tell us about data? In simple terms, inferential statistics are a kind of combination of data and probability. Just as probability is never a guarantee of an outcome, there are no definitive answers in inferential statistics. Rather, inferential statistics help us use what we do know to make math-based best guesses about what we want to know. Keep reading for the ultimate guide to inferential statistics.
Want to know how to expand your knowledge? What are the benefits of regularly learning new things? Steven Kotler is a bestselling author and award-winning journalist who wrote The Art of Impossible after studying how elite performers achieve extremely difficult goals. To help you expand your knowledge quicker, Kotler reveals the secret habits of elite performers and why they obtain success more often. Read on to learn Kotler’s 25-minute method for expanding your knowledge through a daily routine.
How does the human brain work? What are the most noteworthy features of the human brain? The brain is a complicated organ. In spite of all the progress we’ve made toward understanding the brain, we still know very little about its inner workings. At the most basic level, there are two key attributes of the human brain you should understand: interconnectedness and neuroplasticity. With this in mind, here’s a look at how the human brain works.