The Top Books in Decision Science

Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious

Author(s): Gerd Gigerenzer

First published: 2007

Gut feelings are the result of unconscious mental processes—processes that apply rules of thumb that we’ve derived from our environment and prior experiences. But gut feelings are not things to run away from, they lead to good practical decisions, and underlie the moral choices that make our society function.

Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart

Author(s): Gerd Gigerenzer

First published: 2000

Fast and frugal heuristics–simple rules for making decisions when time is pressing and deep thought an unaffordable luxury.

Risk Savvy: How to Make Good Decisions

Author(s): Gerd Gigerenzer

First published: 2007

Anyone can learn to make better decisions for their health, finances, family, and business without needing to consult an expert or a supercomputer, and Gigerenzer shows us how.

How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

Author(s): Jordan Ellenberg

First published: 2014

Ellenberg chases mathematical threads through a vast range of time and space, from the everyday to the cosmic.

The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don’t

Author(s): Nate Silver

First published: 2012

How can we distinguish a true signal from a universe of noisy data?

The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect

Author(s): Judea Pearl, Dana Mackenzie

First published: 2018

A Turing Award-winning computer scientist and statistician shows how understanding causality has revolutionized science and will revolutionize artificial intelligence

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction

Author(s): Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner

First published: 2015

As Wharton professor Philip Tetlock showed in a landmark 2005 study, even experts’ predictions are only slightly better than chance. However, an important and underreported conclusion of that study was that some experts do have real foresight, and Tetlock has spent the past decade trying to figure out why. What makes some people so good? And can this talent be taught?

Thinking: The New Science of Decision-Making, Problem-Solving, and Prediction

Author(s): John Brockman (Editor)

First published: 2013

Original ideas by today’s leading psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers who are radically expanding our understanding of human thought.

Think Better: An Innovator’s Guide to Productive Thinking

Author(s): Tim Hurson

First published: 2007

How you can start with an intractable technical problem, an unmet consumer need, or a gaping chasm in your business strategy and, by following a clearly defined, practical thinking process, arrive at a robust, innovative solution.

• Rational Choice in an Uncertain World: The Psychology of Judgement and Decision Making

Author(s): Reid Hastie, Robyn M. Dawes

First published: 1988

Renowned authors Hastie and Dawes compare the basic principles of rationality with actual behavior in making decisions.

• Thinking and Deciding

Author(s): Jonathan Baron

First published: 1988

How should we think? What, if anything, keeps us from thinking that way? How can we improve our thinking and decision making?

• Algorithms to Live By

Author(s):Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths

First published: 2016

A fascinating exploration of how insights from computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives, helping to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind

• The Art of Choosing

Author(s): Sheena Iyengar

First published: 2010

Whether mundane or life-altering, these choices define us and shape our lives. Sheena Iyengar asks the difficult questions about how and why we choose: Is the desire for choice innate or bound by culture? Why do we sometimes choose against our best interests? How much control do we really have over what we choose?

• The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

Author(s):Barry Schwartz

First published: 2004

A social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret.

• How We Decide

Author(s): Jonah Lehrer

First published: 2009

Our best decisions are a finely tuned blend of both feeling and reason—and the precise mix depends on the situation.

• Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions

Author(s): Gary Klein

First published: 1998

Gary Klein is one of the developers of the naturalistic decision making approach, which views people as inherently skilled and experienced. It documents human strengths and capabilities that so far have been downplayed or ignored.

• Rationality: From AI to Zombies

Author(s): Eliezer Yudkowsky

First published: 2015

Eliezer Yudkowsky explains the science underlying human irrationality with a mix of fables, argumentative essays, and personal vignettes.

• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

Author(s): Daniel H. Pink

First published: 2004

The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers-creative and holistic “right-brain” thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn’t.

• Smart Choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions

Author(s): John S. Hammond, Howard Raiffa, Ralph L. Keeney

First published: 1998

Where should I live? Is it time to switch careers? What is the best course of action for me?

• How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices

Author(s): Annie Duke

First published: 2020

Through interactive exercises and engaging thought experiments, this workbook helps you analyze key decisions you’ve made in the past and troubleshoot those you’re making in the future. Whether you’re picking investments, evaluating a job offer, or trying to figure out your romantic life, How to Decide is the key to happier outcomes and fewer regrets.

• Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts

Author(s): Annie Duke

First published: 2020

By shifting your thinking from a need for certainty to a goal of accurately assessing what you know and what you don’t, you’ll be less vulnerable to reactive emotions, knee-jerk biases, and destructive habits in your decision making.

Stumbling on Happiness

Author(s): Daniel Todd Gilbert First Published: 2006

Gilbert reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there.

The Upside of Irrationality

Author(s): Dan Ariely First Published: 2010

Ariely uses data from his own original and entertaining experiments to draw arresting conclusions about how and why we behave the way we do.

YARPP List

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