我之前读过 Morgan Housel 的《The Psychology of Money》印象不错,这次在书店里看到他的新书《Same as Ever》就直接买来看了。

跳脱了 “理财” 这一主题的束缚,Housel 的这本新书反而没了意思,很多道理讲得浅、不值得深挖,又没什么趣味性。若要从实用性的角度评判,这本书还算及格,但许多本应帮助读者发掘自身思维惯性的问题(例如 “Who has the right answers but I ignore because they’re not articulate?”)却没有很好地展开,或是去引导读者思考。

这本书里让我能产生新的思维角度的章节屈指可数:

  • Risk Is What You Don’t See — “We are very good at predicting the future, except for the surprises—which tend to be all that matter.”

  • Wild Numbers — “People don’t want accuracy. They want certainty.”

  • Trying Too Hard — “Complexity gives a comforting impression of control, while simplicity is hard to distinguish from cluelessness.”

剩下有几章的内容也许会给别人带来启发,但只是让我点头同意而已,价值不大。

说句题外话,我一开始以为这本书叫 “Sane as Ever”,因为前半本书真的都在尝试参透复杂的历史发展和莫测的人性变化,我真的以为是想从 craziness 中找到 sanity。结果并不是,有点失望——若要真的一直探讨人性弱点和集体心理,这本书也许还能多点乐趣吧。