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FROM THE SHARED SHELF · 2006–2026 SAMPLE

Alchemy

Rory Sutherland

2 readers recommend it across 2 discussions

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THE WORD OF MOUTH

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Pandabob
Annie Duke's "Thinking in bets" was pretty good as was Rory Sutherland's "Alchemy". "Thinking in bets" got me thinking about playing more imperfect information games. The obvious choice would be poker, but I've been wondering which modern video games are fun to play and are imperfect information games? Or at least have elements of those. Hearthstone?

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arikr
Alchemy by Rory Sutherland. "Why is Red Bull so popular, though everyone—everyone!—hates the taste? Humans are, in a word, irrational, basing decisions as much on subtle external signals (that little blue can) as on objective qualities (flavor, price, quality). The surrounding world, meanwhile, is irreducibly complex and random. This means future success can’t be projected on any accounting spreadsheet. To strike gold, you must master the dark art and curious science of conjuring irresistible ideas: alchemy."