‘Numbers are so concrete, precise, and clear. Numbers don’t lie. They’re honest, neutral and controllable. They are relevant, rational, and objective. So we thought. But it turns out they’re fickle, manipulative, addictive bastards. You just don’t know it yet.’
How many steps have you done today?
How many emails answered?
How much money have you spent this week and how many hours have you slept?
This is a book about the slog of our quantified lives today – tracked, rated, measured, with every relationship, step, hour slept, taxi taken, pound spent, all translated into a number. In More. Numbers. Every. Day., two sparky Scandinavian economics professors, Micael Dahlen and Helge Thorbjørnsen, explain why numbers affect how we think and how we feel, our relationships and our choices, as well as our financial, political and technological worlds. You’ll learn how your pedometer could affect your mortgage and why you’re more likely to get a parking ticket in the period just before Christmas than any other time of the year. Crucially, by explaining why numbers affect us the way they do, More. Numbers. Every. Day. will also help you shape your relationship with them for the better.
A sharp, entertaining and insightful read, More. Numbers. Every. Day. is your vaccination shot against the numberdemic: the key to a happier life in a world obsessed with numbers.
By Micael Dahlén & Helge Thorbjørnsen