Numbermania: How Figures Are Taking Over Our Lives and How To Set Ourselves Free

Two quirky economists explain how a ‘numberdemic’ is taking over lives – and what we can do about it

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?

Welcome to the numberdemic, where a deluge of figures, stats and data manipulate your every move. From the way you work, date and exercise to the products you buy and the news you read, numbers have worked their way into every part of our lives. But is life better this way? How are all of those numbers affecting us?

With fascinating, sometimes frightening and sometimes shrewdly funny research, behavioural economists Micael Dahlen and Helge Thorbjornsen explain why we’re so attached to numbers and how we can free ourselves from their tyranny. Along the way, you’ll learn why viral videos, however inaccurate, become more convincing with every view; how numbers can affect the way we physically age, if we let them; why the more films you rate the less impressive you’ll find them and how numbers that ‘anchor’ themselves in your brain can affect the size of your mortgage – plus much more.

Sharp, insightful and totally engaging, NUMBERMANIA is your vaccination against a world obsessed with numbers.