Ryu's Blog

Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much. The main claim of the book is that scarcity changes how we think and behave. Scarcity helps us manage our pressing needs but neglect other possibly more important concerns. For example, the authors noted that being poor reduces a person’s cognitive capacity more than going one full night without sleep. The findings seem plausible. If true, it suggests we should be more empathetic towards the decisions made by the poor. Personally I find having a different mindset (abundant/scarce) does make a difference in how I behave.

Epigraph from Calvin and Hobbes:

HOBBES: Do you have an idea for your story yet?

CALVIN: You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.

HOBBES: What mood would that be?

CALVIN: Last-minute panic.

The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life. A fun read about using experiments to understand how incentives affect people’s behaviors. People who like Freakonomics should like this book. There are plenty of sensible advice from the book. A main takeaway is I should do more experiments in my daily life.

The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality. The author said the book is about “the endless dance between progress and inequality.” Angus Deaton knows the data he used well and interprets them in a thoughtful manner. It’s a good book, but I find it a bit long and at times repetitive. The section on health reminds me of another book “100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, From Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith,” which basically argues that we should get ready for a long life.