The Sum of Our Discontent: Why Numbers Make Us Irrational

Book Description

In The Sum of Our Discontent, David Boyle has put his finger on the problem with our numbers-obsessed societies: The trouble is that numbers have proliferated and that it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between a good statistic and a bad one and that therefore numbers have become meaningless and in the process reduced humans to be coldly calculating. Boyle points out that the important things in life, such as wealth, success, rehabilitation and wisdom, are intangible, and because they are intangible, they cannot be measured and so are not used as a standard of happiness. Boyle asks how can businesses measure what they are worth when value is increasingly ephemeral - encompassing things that go way beyond the traditional balance sheet? The trouble is, he says, is that numbers cannot capture the complexity of human life....the know-how, ethics, and self-esteem or kindness. Boyle emphasizes that the counters are taking over our lives. For centuries, humankind has attempted to divine meaning from life through numbers.

Customer Reviews:

Read to understand the complete picture.......2006-05-20

Its obvious that Mr Boyle has issues with measurement, and anyone who has any background in to the history of measurement will fully recognize the issues that he is highlighting. Although perhaps he has overly sensationalized some of the issues, it is clear that measurement is not the cause of the problem, But the fact that people as a whole do not understand the power and limitation of measurement, and many want to use measurement as a substitute for intellectual capacity and as an absolution for bad ethical and improper decision making. Read this book to balance your view and you will understand that measurement is an important and invaluable tool that complements our other mental faculties, but it's important to have more than one tool in your toolkit!
The key paragraph in the book is at the beginning of Chapter IV. "...numbers are an absolutely vital tool for human progress. They mean we can test hypothesis, seek out the fraudulent and inefficient. They give us control over our unpredictable world ..", ".., but they are not the final answer, and they dull out good sense and intuition."

No.Keynes was not against the use of numbers in science.......2004-11-17

David Boyle has written an excellent book that would merit five stars were it not marred by a major misreading of the approach to probability,statistics,mathematical expectations,decision theory,and economics supported by John Maynard Keynes(Boyle,pp.131-149).Boyle has fallen for the canard that Keynes was against, or opposed to ,the use of measurement(quantification using numbers)in analysis or public policy except for very general descriptive statistics.Boyle appears to be basing his conclusions,not on what Keynes actually wrote,but on the confused and confusing claims of the historian,Robert Skidelsky.Skidelsky has no training in mathematics,probability or statistics.In fact,Skidelsky is basing his assessment of Keynes's views on quantification on the highly misleading and error filled reviews of Keynes's A Treatise on Probability(1921)written by F P Ramsey in 1922 and 1926.Supposedly,Keynes did not believe that numbers could be used to estimate probabilities except in very rare situations.The opposite is the case.Keynes's approach is that it takes two numbers,not one,to estimate a probability.Keynes is the founder of the interval estimate approach to the estimation of probabilities.The same conclusion would hold,obviously, for the calculation of mathematical expectations. Two expectations,a lower bound and an upper bound,would be required.Keynes supports the use of "inexact numerical approximation"(Keynes's own description of his approach made in chapter 15 of the TP)and not the use of exact,precise,definite single number answers which usually turn out,in economics and business analysis,to be exactly,precisely and definitely wrong.

There's definately an issue in there...But you need to dig.......2004-03-08

The author of this book, and from what i gather he's a journalist, has somehow managed to undermine his own effort in this venture.
The fact is that there's surely a big issue to be discussed in investigating the ever-eluding "happiness" in the way numbers dominate our lives and have done so for quite some time.

But while the issue is there and it's waiting for someone to pick it apart and expose it for the big travesty we've made out of it, Boyle (the author) instead delivers a dull, borderline pulseless book, that demands a very dear effort from the reader.

It's a flaw seen in many other books too: a not-so-charismatic author who has grasped the issue he wants to delve into but lacks the talent to lay it out in a way that will keep you reading. What you should be expecting are pages upon pages with platitudes, flashbacks in history with blitz biographies about people who introduced scientific counting, more platitudes, a dry style of writting, but worst of all (and i'd be willing to swallow the rest if it wasn't for that) no solution offered.

David Boyle does make clear, albeit tiresomely, that numbers and counting have only contributed to making us further unhappy and are simply adding to more confusion, added manipulation from politicians and corporations and the lengthening of our illusions as we try to solve problems by measuring and countermeasuring them. He does show that actually a lot of the things we measure are indeed not measurable and he does add that other things that should be -maybe- measured are not.

But that's where the contradiction begins to unravel and there's no saving the ship afterwards. If the solution is measuring "other" things then we'd have some sort of schizzophrenia where we try to solve one problem by replacing it with another of actually similar nature. That doesn't really sound too convincing or promising.

There's several bits of data and trivia included in this book which at points make it worthwhile but in the end most of it is lost amid the pointlessness of the rest.

Ultimately, what you have when you're done is more food for thought which is not actually inspired directly by the book itself but rather indirectly. There's an issue in there somewhere (about this you'll feel certain) but the irony is that "Tyranny in numbers" almost challenges you to write another book yourself and actually propose something. That can't be a good sign, now can it?

Great premise, flawed conclusion.......2002-06-27

While Boyle dishes up some fascinating mini-biographies, and some solid (if sometimes poorly-organized and repetitive) examples of how, when we measure too much, we measure nothing completely and little of that well, the book falls apart toward the end, as we get to hear about how civilization will be saved if only we ... measure different things than what we're already measuring. The closer this book comes to the present, the more dated it feels.

The Counter Perspective.......2002-05-24

After 7 years in the actuarial profession and before beginning to pursue my Ph.d in Mathematics, I decided to read this book. After my experience in corporate america, I hoped that a critical evaluation by an expert might resolve some of the conceptual "difficulties" that I encountered while still a productive member of society as measured by GNP and not a net-capital-zero, ivory-tower academic. Anyway, I was not disappointed.

This book starts slowly, but is well-structured. The background provided on Bentham/Malthus/Mills is sometimes tedious and occasionally superfluous, but mostly necessary and builds the foundational context to appreciate fully ideas presented later in the book. I think that the author includes personal details that paint a POSSIBLY unjustified mechanistic, and thus, inhuman, aspect into the personalities discussed and therefore their theory (utilitarianism). But, maybe the emphasis is necessary to accurately capture the personalities involved. Anyway, the author gets an 8 for objectivity. In my opinion, there's gotta be some polemic content for it to be interesting, otherwise you just have a textbook. He strikes a good balance.

The first half of the book discussed above answers the question "Where did all this [stuff] come from?". The latter half of the book concerns itself mainly with "How did it all come about?". Keynes and his ideas in suitable context is developed here and I personally found the content regarding him to be fascinating. He is now a permanent addition to my previously blank list of responses to the "who would you wanna have dinner with?" question. I never realized how distorted and abused his conception has become.

The remainder of the book brings us up to date and I learned a thing or two. Now, I'm going to put the most important part at the end. In order to enjoy this book at all, you have to accept one of the following two hypothesis:

(1) It is government's role to be concerned with the "general welfare" of the populace

(2) Government is going to be concerned with same regardless so at least it ought to make some sort of sense granting the false assumption (1). Whatever the heck that means. In other words, suspend reality and try to find some enjoyment in the simplistic and misguided attempts to get around the problems created by that same false assumption.

It was a good read and thought-provoking, I'm not going to spoil it anymore. I'd give it a 4.3 stars if possible, but they have us restrained to integers. Ha-ha-ha!

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The Sum of Our Discontent : How Numbers Make Us Irrational
Boyle David
Manufacturer: Texere
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O2JR9E

Book Description

Street Law: A Course in Practical Law is the premier-law related education text from Street Law, Inc., an international leader in law and civic education. Long the leading text in this field, Street Law will engage students through its use of relevant information and interactive methods. Students gain a practical understanding of law and our legal system along with skills essential to full participation in our law-oriented society.

Customer Reviews:

Not Great.......2004-04-09

This book is adequate as a textbook, but it's not a great resource for what's really going on out in the world. I felt it was very academic--which can be a good thing, but I think high school students will want something a little more practical. "Street" Law should be something more connected to the streets....I just didn't think this book did the job.

Street Law: A Course In Practical Law.......2000-08-10

This books gives a great overview of law related education. Students are introduced to legal issues in the context of real life. It contains practical information for dealing with various legal problems. Students learn how to write to a member of Congress. This book has a section that allows students to consider and decide the outcome of legal situations. They learn variations in local law and prodedures that focus attention on where the student lives. Over all I would suggest this book as a great training tool for the law related class study.

A coherent guide for the average citizen.......2000-06-07

As a high school student who studied with this textbook, I learned terms and concepts that I could immediately apply to current events. The news on TV and in newspapers about cases were suddenly understandable to me and I felt connected with justice and reason. I recommend "Street Law: A Course in Practical Law" to anyone who wants a detailed and informative, yet comprehensive guide to the law, from torts and criminal law, to business and family law.

A coherent guide for the average citizen.......2000-06-07

Street Law: A Course in Practical Law, Student Edition

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Street Law: A Course in Practical Law, Student Edition
McGraw-Hill
Manufacturer: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MC50R4

Book Description

This publication provides an assessment of the region's economic performance during the first half of 2003 and of its prospects for the remainder of the year. An analysis is presented of the main aspects, including its macroeconomic policies, levels of economic activity, inflation, employment and saving and investment. A statistical appendix consisting of 25 tables with data series up to 2002 is also included.

Book Description

The transition process of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which started more than a decade ago, has been the focus of much attention for both practitioners and scholars. Few studies however, address management issues involved in the transition process and no study has, until now, assessed the strategies and tactics which individual companies have pursued over the past decade as part of their adaptation process. This book fills this gap and will leave the reader with a better understanding of the adaptation process at single firm level.

Book Description

This book offers a new perspective in studying contemporary development. Part I explores how the ending of the cold war, shifting relations among capitalist powers, changing patterns of finance, and new ideological currents have altered development in four major third-world regions. Part II suggests how development options were molded by the dominant international power in each region: the United States in Latin America, Japan in East and Southeast Asia, and Europe with the international financial institutions in Africa. Part III provides a conceptual framework for analyzing regional performance.

Global Change, Regional Response: The New International Context of Development

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Global Change, Regional Response: The New International Context of Development
Barbara Stallings
Manufacturer: Cambridge Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NX40R8

GLOBAL CHANGE, REGIONAL RESPONSE: THE NEW INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT.(Review): An article from: Journal of Contemporary Asia

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GLOBAL CHANGE, REGIONAL RESPONSE: THE NEW INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT.(Review): An article from: Journal of Contemporary Asia
Herb Thompson
Manufacturer: Journal of Contemporary Asia Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00098O0D6
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Contemporary Asia, published by Journal of Contemporary Asia Publishers on March 1, 1999. The length of the article is 1493 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: GLOBAL CHANGE, REGIONAL RESPONSE: THE NEW INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT.(Review)
Author: Herb Thompson
Publication: Journal of Contemporary Asia (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 1999
Publisher: Journal of Contemporary Asia Publishers
Volume: 29 Issue: 1 Page: 139(1)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Amazon.com

Charles Leadbeater is an advisor to British officials, a research associate with a public-policy think tank, and a former editor of several respected publications. As such, he's had ample opportunity to view today's rapidly evolving high-tech world from the perspectives of both individuals and institutions. In The Weightless Society, he presents his insights on the social and economic implications of a time when "most of us make our money from thin air"--meaning, he explains, that we "produce nothing that can be weighed, touched or easily measured." His proposals for improving our personal and professional lives, peppered with references to such disparate figures as Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise (on the connection between an organization and the human brain) and Pope John Paul II (on the ownership of knowledge), are often revolutionary, but consistently viable nevertheless. A section on restructuring business to meet the requirements of managers, workers, customers, and investors, for example, concludes with a look at the "Personalized Company" that he sees attracting the "workforce of diverse talents" needed to succeed in this environment. Such creative, flexible, and performance-driven enterprises, he notes, would allow employees "to choose different approaches at different stages" while promoting "self management" and building "overlapping social contracts" among all stakeholders. Like the rest of this book, it makes sense--and makes you think. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

The Weightless Society shows why entrepreneurship will become a mass activity, companies will need to be structured as if they were brains, ownership must be broadly spread, networks will become the main way of organizing the knowledge economy, and truth and collaboration will be the new ethics of the new economy.

Customer Reviews:

Tech Entrepreneurs, this book is for you........2005-04-06

Recently I overheard a clueless manager of a local enterprise say that the reason the United States is losing jobs is that services don't create wealth, only manufacturing does. Wrong, our current economy (at least in developed countries) is very much knowledge driven.

According to Leadbeater, "most developed countries make money out of thin air: We produce nothing that can be weighed, touched, or easily measured." Think about that for a minute and it'll be as bright as day. Internet services, telephone calls, accounting and legal advice are all examples of modern economic products that are weightless. According to the author, many products are weightless because they're comprised of service, judgment, information, and analysis. As an example, think about something as simple as cell phone ring tones on which consumers worldwide spent $3.5 billion in 2003.

Charles Leadbeater has given us a thoughtful and considered look at how the rules of our economy have radically shifted. Consider that the knowledge-creating company of the future will need to embrace eight principles:

1) Cellular Structure
2) Self-Management (especially important to motivated, educated, and ambitious professionals)
3) Entrepreneurship
4) Equity Pay and Membership
5) Deep Knowledge Reservoirs
6) Integration
7) The Holistic Company
8) Collaborative Leadership

"Collaboration is the driving force behind creativity. Learning, one of the most basic activities in the knowledge economy, is an essentially social activity: we learn with others and through others..."

All in all, The Weightless Society will certainly stimulate your thinking. For technology entrepreneurs, pay special attention to the information throughout the book on dematerialization because the new economy is driven by information. Ultimately we will continue to create more and more with less energy and material.

Michael Davis - Editor, Byvation

Excellent high view.......2001-01-19

One thing you can believe is that this book represents a clear,
crisp high view of how the knowledge economy has social implications.
I found the book to be a useful addition to my collection. The book
is not a nitty-gritty knowledge management or knowledge capital book.
For that go to Stewart's "Intellectual Capital" or Nonaka
& Takeuchi's "Knowledge Creating Company." But for a
solid overview of the Knowledge Economy this is a great book. Part 1
& 2 succeeds in overviewing the shift to a knowledge perspective
at the company level giving some rich and original metaphors and
examples. Part three has some excellent new perspectives on networks
& intelligent regions. Part four on the Societial implications of
a knowledge economy also plow some new ground, tho some of his
arguments are pretty thin and a tad to US conservative for my
political bent. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone
wanting a big picture, especially those who have grown tired of the
trite "10 steps" approach to knowledge management and
retreaded announcements that "we are in a new Knowledge era"
that seems common to this genre.

The Looney Left Learns Buzzword Bingo.......2000-11-08

It could only have come from the Nanny State. Don't understand the global financial markets? We'd best regulate them back to the days of Bretton Woods. Crowded cities? Invest in public transportation. Education in disarray? More public funds to the decaying public education machine. Afraid of private industry being granted patents on genetic sequences? Public ownership is the obvious answer.

The difference here is only one of accent. The author begrudgingly and with apparent difficulty admits that the private sector does play a leading role in economic growth and technological innovation. Words like "greed" and phrases like "filthy rich" abound. It's clear that the author is uncomfortable with the private sector's victory over the Left. He does his best to use the word entrepreneur without gritting his teeth. He is simply ideologically unable to recognize that the real engine of growth and innovation is the motive of individual gain. I got the distinct impression that the author learned just enough about business and technology from his work as a business journalist to obtain the jargon without really understanding what he's talking about. Perhaps this is why journalists shouldn't hurt themselves attempting to explain economics.

This book was about five years out of date at the time it was published. If you've read any of the recent work of the leading futurists, this book will be entirely rudimentary to you. The author is still filled with wonder that he can work from home with a laptop and free-lance his skills on the open market. This has been a way of life for some of us for years.

When dealing with world-changing technologies in genetics and information processing, the author really didn't have a grasp of what he was writing about. It read more like regurgitated columns from a Sunday newspaper than like a serious student's musings on technology's impact on the global economy.

As an apology for the failures of the public sector in the new economy and as re-assurance to the defeated Left that there remains a role for the Nanny State, this book will be a success. Anyone who is already living and working in the new economy needn't waste their time reading what they already know.

If Tony Blair really is taking advice from this guy, heaven help Britain. It's a day late and a Euro short.

Not afraid to think? Read this book........2000-10-28

In a world where too many business books suggest that there are 12 rules or 5 steps to the solution for every problem, it is refreshing to read a book that actually expects the reader to do some of the work. This book is provocative. It challenges conventional wisdom. It asks the reader to think rather than memorize.

If you are the least bit predisposed to thinking that our current social and economic systems require massive overhaul rather than minor revisions, this book will allow you to argue that belief far more eloquently.

An inspired view of our time and our future.......2000-10-15

This book is written from an amazingly human perspective. It provides a view of how as a society, we are on a rocket ship ride with knowledge as our fuel. We and our children will not have to toil in coal mines or risk life and limb on factory floors. We will thrive on creativity, ingenuity and imagination. But instead of feeling more in control, we are feeling a collective anxiety, less control, more uncertain. We feel ludicrously certain (about scientific advances in the mapping of our genetic structure) and beset by doubt (about a welfare system that cannot ensure housing and healthcare for our citizens). Much of this has to do with a lack of self reliance and a need to trust (that computers will work, that brands will keep their promises, that doctors will be healers and not business moguls...)

Consider this passage for just a moment...

"Collaboration is the driving force behind creativity. Learning, one of the most basic activities in the knowledge economy, is an essentially social activity: we learn with others and through others. Social capital is vital to generate trust and to allow people to take risks. It is through the networks of relationship that underlie social capital that people learn of new ideas and make new contacts. Social capital is not a socially conscious add-on to the market-driven economy; social capital is essential to its working."

Book Description

The Weightless World is the first book to map an economic world that has been turned upside down by digital technology and global business. How will our careers, businesses, and governments change in a world where bytes are the only currency and where the goods that shape our lives--global financial transactions, computer code, and cyberspace commerce--literally have no weight? Addressing such problems as economic inequity and unemployment, Diane Coyle calls on individuals and governments to develop a new politics of weightlessness so that the economic benefits can be shared fairly. She proposes the creation of a radical center as the way to a new era of human creativity and economic prosperity.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Read!.......2001-06-02

U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan originated using "weightless" to describe computer-powered information technology. Diane Coyle employs his metaphor to explain that the European world is afflicted with unemployment and insecurity because of the evolution from industrial output to weightlessness. Her view of the new technology's international economic impact is distinctly European/British. She paints her strategy for managing the digital economy with a colorful but broad brush: better education, international ethical standards, governmental flexibility, liberalism. Her writing features quirky phrases, challenging sentence structure, and a few British spellings. Coyle includes surprising anecdotes and sparkling quotes from diverse sources - a valuable lexicon for further reading. We [...] recommend this book to those with an eclectic, liberal, literate, European view of the difference between the U.S. economic experience and that of the rest of the world. Such a reader will be delighted here.

An interesting read about the future.......1999-12-04

An interesting read about the future, provocative optimism, and predictive anticipation for the future. Academic researchers will, however, find a missing link---that to theory. But, for the most part, well worth a quick read. The author shows the trees in a world where too many of us care about the trees.

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Slovakia Business & Investment Opportunities Yearbook
USA International Business Publications
Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0739722522

Book Description

This yearbook contains basic information on export-import, investment and business opportunities in the respected country. Provides information on government structure, economy, business climate, regulations, and more... Includes basic statistics, information on the most important business contacts and business travel. Updated annually.

Slovakia Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook (World Investment and Business Guide Library)

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Slovakia Business and Investment Opportunities Yearbook (World Investment and Business Guide Library)

Manufacturer: Intl Business Pubns USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Exports & Imports | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Investing | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0739777343

Slovakia Investment & Business Opportunities Yearbook (World Investment & Business Opportunities Library)

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Slovakia Investment & Business Opportunities Yearbook (World Investment & Business Opportunities Library)
USA International Business Publications
Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0739713515

Book Description

This yearbook contains information on investment business opportunities, international economic projects, tenders, government projects, marketing and export-import opportunities information.

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