The Art of Thinking in Graphs: Illustrating the 52 Principles That Shape Our Productivity, Decision-Making, and the Way We Think by Dolev ErezMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hooter: Human nature, plotted with mischief.
The Art of Thinking in Graphs takes 52 familiar ideas and gives them the sort of visual treatment that makes common sense feel newly discovered. The Pygmalion Effect becomes a rising line powered by expectation; the Matthew Effect shows how a small early advantage quietly collects interest; and the Bystander Effect turns a crowd into an increasingly elaborate excuse for doing nothing. Even the Hawthorne Effect gets its moment: observe people closely enough and they will helpfully stop behaving normally.
The book is most enjoyable when it applies these patterns to ordinary life rather than leaving them in the laboratory. The Spotlight Effect explains why we imagine everyone noticed our awkward sentence, while the Streisand Effect reminds us that trying to hide a thing may provide it with free publicity. Add Dunbar’s Number, the Wisdom of Crowds, and a few uncomfortable lessons about authority and influence, and the result is a useful little atlas of human behaviour. We may be rational creatures, but apparently we are also graphs with feelings.
View all my reviews
