Algorithms and apps analyze data and tell you how to beat the traffic, what books to buy, what music to listen to, and even who to date—often with great results. But what do you do when you face the big decisions of life—the "wild problems" of who to marry, whether to have children, where to move, how to forge a life well-lived—that can’t be solved by measurement or calculation? In Wild Problems, beloved host of EconTalk Russ Roberts offers puzzled rationalists a way to address these wild problems.
“In a world in which we are drowning in data, what’s really needed is more wisdom. We need the judgment to interpret data, and sound principles for navigating life. Enter “Wild Problems: A Guide to the Decisions That Define Us,” Russ Roberts’s book on life’s big decisions…Mr. Roberts’s argument more broadly echoes a growing sentiment in psychology and economics: We are more than pleasure-seeking algorithms.”
“Wild Problems fits into the tradition of economists critiquing economics, with the aim not to delegitimize it or denigrate it but to improve it.”
One of the most interesting and worthwhile books I’ve read in a long time.
Life’s biggest decisions hide unknown costs and benefits. In Wild Problems, Roberts not only exposes this tricky predicament, he also shows readers how to confidently engage these decisions and truly flourish regardless.
An interesting and useful book. The ‘wild problems’ it explains how to solve include the biggest ones you’ll face in your life.
A beautiful meditation on big life choices, gently reminding us of the limits of narrow cost-benefit reasoning and presenting an alternative approach to human flourishing.
This excellent book won’t make your decisions for you. Instead, it will do something more powerful: help you think about your most important decisions in a completely new light.
Wild Problems is a powerful guide to a more meaningful life.
I’ve learned more about economics and economic reasoning from Russ Roberts than from all other sources combined. I am delighted to find out in this book that Roberts is also a source about the limits of economic reasoning when it comes to existential decisions.
Roberts’s thought-provoking take on the limits of data and the overquantification of contemporary life provides a bold and original perspective on how humans can make better decisions. Daniel Kahneman’s fans will find much to ponder.
