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Alchemy

The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense

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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense, written by Rory Sutherland.

To be brilliant, you have to be irrational.

Why is Red Bull so popular - even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?

We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence.

But we aren’t, and we don’t.

In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd - from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices you have to bypass reason. The best ideas don’t make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think.

Rory Sutherland is the Ogilvy advertising legend whose TED Talks have been viewed nearly seven million times. In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists.

©2019 Rory Sutherland (P)2019 Random House Audiobooks Marketing Marketing & Sales Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Funny Thought-Provoking Witty Inspiring Business

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Cannot recommend highly enough! I read a lot of books on this topic. Rory is insightful, the book is interesting and relevant and everything is applied and real rather than being abstract and theoretical. Loved every page! Oh and fantastic sense of humour too! When he talks about his wife putting dozens of pillows on the bed nd dropping the F bomb haha

Rory thanks for this book. I hope you read this review and feel proud of your output and i do hope you will publish more. I will pre order anything you release next!

Best book i've read this year

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Perhaps, I had ruined part of the story by coming across a few lectures and talks Rory had done on YouTube. However, I was impressed enough to go on and purchase this due to the impact of these talks.

Firstly worth saying the Oratory is superb, Rory who reads the work has an amazing way of embracing the listener in a way that feels like it's more an intimate conversation than a one sided recounting of a story. He writes with a verve, clarity and cheek that one would expect of an advertising man. So both book and audio version are an easy read /listen.

I think most of us gifted with common sense will find this remarkably easy to process. Those of us frustrated by technocrats focused on process than achievement may find a nugget or two to shift decision makers to be more bold. I found myself intuitively nodding my head, and pondering how a shift in perception alone could change our world. We need to be a lot less rigidly logical and more well human.

Either way a compelling thesis by one of the best thinkers in this space. Listen learn and love it. .

Rip Roaring Rory

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I have to say that I first found out about Rory Sutherland from his excellent TED talk.

The basic idea can be distilled to "why try breaking physics to make a train journey shorter when you can just make it more comfortable for the same price"

Basically the problem with a lot of businesses is that they are following an axiomatic believe that their logic will explain anything. Mr Sutherland points out that many of their axioms are wrong and that post rationalisations Don't allow them to discover new methods.

Well well well

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Thought provoking and insightful. Although based on advertising, it is applicable to other areas. Well narrated.

Insightful and interesting

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Great book. Completely changed the way I think and will think as a logical person.

Paradigm Shift

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