The Logic of Life

I bought Tim Harford's The Undercover Economist quite some time back, and, finding the book very interesting, I didn't hesitate to buy his latest book, The Logic of Life, when I saw it. Similar to The Undercover Economist, in this book Harford utilizes various economic principles and tools such as game theory to analyze various aspects of daily life. However, instead of simply presenting the analyses, throughout the book Harford also tries to show how even seemingly bizarre decisions that may be involved usually result from rational behavior on the participants' part. The premise is that subconsciously, people are able (and have tendency) to respond to perceived potential cost/benefit in a logical manner. This is because we tend to do things we are already familiar with, and with increasing familiarity, comes increasing ability to make relevant judgement -- like how we learn to throw and catch thrown objects without consciously working out the physics calculations involved.

Using engaging, well-written stories, Harford discusses a wide range of topics, such as racial discrimination, poker, addiction, marriage, politics, and pay structure in the workplace. He also demonstrates how rational behavior by each individual could produce irrational results for society, and how minor actions by individuals, like moving to neighbourhood in where there are more people from their own ethnic group, could produce very significant changes in the society. Backed up by facts and notes on relevant research works by other economists, the arguments tend to be quite convincing. Still, I feel that Harford's previous book is much better in this respect, and that the strength of the analyses in The Logic of Life varies in much greater degree than ones in The Undercover Economist. For example, the analysis on why ancestors of modern human succeeded (whereas Neanderthals failed) feels oversimplified, whereas the one on racial discrimination and segregation is much stronger. Nevertheless, readers who intend to delve deeper into the topics discussed can always proceed to the rather extensive bibliography, or put the various works mentioned throughout this book in their reading lists.

Overall, I'll rate this book as worth buying. It's a quick read, and, despite appearing to oversimplify things at times, The Logic of Life is also quite thought-provoking, and encourages its readers to consider various things in everyday life in a different light.