Wordy Birds

Predictably Irrational

Original airdate: May 23, 2008

When Dan Ariely sat down on the couch to speak with me during the long day of interviewing the guests of the Junior League Book and Author Dinner I blurted. The first thing I said was, “How old are you?” To which he replied “42.”

He said he went to Burning Man for his 40th. Again blurting, I asked him if he did drugs while he was there. He said he “took pot.”

Extremely educated men unnerve me. I fumble, stammer and my throat clenches tight. I become the babbling female. What is it about them that dries up my verbosity? The only thing I could manage to respond to his comment about taking pot, was, “Dan- you don’t take pot, you smoke pot.”

I didn’t even get a smile. His credentials and long list of papers published is available on his website, http://web.mit.edu/ariely/www/MIT/. The rest of our conversation is posted below.

I cut most of my own comments out of this show because, true to the nature of the program, what he has to say is much more interesting that what I asked. I hope you find this true too.

Read the book, give it to your Dad for Father’s Day. I highly recommend it. It’s also available on audible.com

Thanks for tuning in.

Liz

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Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions