“The big choices we make are practically random. The small choices probably tell us more about who we are.”
Michael Lewis narrates the emotionally and intellectually engaging tale of how Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky presented the researched, highlighted and presented the oft ignored role of bias in human decision making in The Undoing Project. Lewis presents this academic pinnacle through a personal lens, describing the breakthrough as a product of a poetic friendship. The mix of poetry and scientific prose makes The Undoing Project a unique read.
Kahneman and Tversky famously formulated prospect theory which postulates the biases that lead to seemingly irrational decisions. Concepts such as the isolation effect, loss aversion, risk seeking in the domain of losses, framing effects, which are now well-known and applied across many fields, were born out of the experiments, experiences and discussions of Kahneman and Tversky. Lewis presents his retelling of how this came about. He spends considerable time describing the formative experiences themed around the anti-Semitic movement in Europe and then in Israel, which contributed differently to the lives of both.
Having set the stage, the builds up the scientific and emotional tempo as he narrates how the melding of these two minds led to the discovery of biases. Lewis emphasizes the importance of their work by highlighting how professions ranging from medicine to professional basketball were impacted for the better by it. The book culminates by describing how Kahneman heard the news of being a Nobel prize recipient for his work on prospect theory.
The undoing project forms a gripping read. However, those who are looking at the book for an academic understanding of how the prospect theory came to be, might be a bit disappointed. Overall, The Undoing Project is almost certain to leave you with a lot of food for thought. It could be about the beauty and unpredictability of human relationships or about the predictable errors in human perception and decisions.
