DUNCAN WATTS, a principal research scientist at Microsoft
Research, was a professor of sociology at Columbia University. A
former officer in the Royal Australian Navy, he holds a Ph.D. in
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from Cornell University. He is
the author of Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age. He lives
in New York City.
For more information visit www.everythingisobvious.com
"Mr. Watts, a former sociology professor and physicist who is now a
researcher for Yahoo, has written a fascinating book that ranges
through psychology, economics, marketing and the science of social
networks.”
- The Wall Street Journal
“It’s about time a sociologist wrote an amazing and accessible book
for a non-specialist audience. Everything Is Obvious*: Once You
Know the Answer by Duncan J. Watts is that amazing book.”
- Inside Higher Ed
“In this bold thesis, renowned network scientist Duncan J. Watts
exposes the complex mechanics of judgement and proposes a radical
new way of thinking about human behaviour.”
- Scott Wilson, The Fringe Magazine
“Common sense is a kind of bespoke make-believe, and we can no more
use it to scientifically explain the workings of the social world
than we can use a hammer to understand mollusks.”
- Nicholas Christakis, The New York Times
“Everything is Obvious is engagingly written and sparkles with
counter-intuitive insights. Its modesty about what can and cannot
be known also compares favourably with other “big idea” books.”
- James Crabtree, comment editor Financial Times
"Every once in a while, a book comes along that forces us to
re-examine what we know and how we know it. This is one of those
books. And while it is not always pleasurable to realize the many
ways in which we are wrong, it is useful to figure out the cases
where our intuitions fail us."
- Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at
Duke University, and New York Times bestselling author of
Predictably Irrational
“A deep and insightful book that is a joy to read. There are new
ideas on every page, and none of them is obvious!”
- Daniel Gilbert, Professor of Psychology at Harvard
University and author of Stumbling on Happiness
"A brilliant account of why, for every hard question, there’s
a common sense answer that’s simple, seductive, and
spectacularly wrong. If you are suspicious of pop sociology, rogue
economics, and didactic history – or, more importantly, if
you aren’t! – Everything is Obvious is necessary
reading. It will literally change the way you think."
- Eric Klinenberg, Professor of Sociology. New York
University
"You have to take notice when common sense, the bedrock thing we’ve
always counted on, is challenged brilliantly. Especially when
something better than common sense is suggested. As we increasingly
experience the world as a maddeningly complex blur, we need a new
way of seeing. The fresh ideas in this book, like the invention of
spectacles, help bring things into better focus."
- Alan Alda
“Everything is Obvious is indicated for managers, scholars, or
anyone else tired of oversimplified, faulty explanations about how
business, government, society and even sports work. Temporary side
effects of reading Duncan Watts' tour de force include:
light-headedness, a tendency to question one's colleagues,
temporary doubt in one's own strategies. Long term effects
include: Deeper insight into history, current events, corporate
politics and any other human activity that involves more than one
person at a time. Everything is Obvious is available without
a prescription.”
- Dalton Conley, Dean for the Social Sciences, New York
University
"A truly important work that's bound to rattle the cages of pseudo-
and self-proclaimed experts in every field. If this book doesn't
force you to re-examine what you're doing, something is wrong with
you."
- Guy Kawasaki, author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts,
Minds, and Actions, and co-founder of Alltop.com.
"Watts brings science to life. A complicated, global,
interconnected world, one which often overwhelms, is tamed by wit,
skepticism, and the power to challenge conventional wisdom. The
book will help you see patterns, where you might have thought chaos
ruled."
- Sudhir Venkatesh, William B. Ransford Professor of Sociology at
Columbia University
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