Tom Vanderbilt

Traffic speaks volumes: it brings people together from every walk of life and, in this hugely enjoyable, curiosity-filled book, Tom Vanderbilt explains why traffic problems are really people problems. Traffic shows that how we behave walking the streets, on our bikes and in our cars is actually an astonishing cultural indicator and a living, constantly surprising model of what physicists call ''emergent collective behaviour'' - as we all choose to do things that just don''t seem to make rational sense.

A luminously intelligent exploration of the paradoxes of pleasure Guardian Everyone knows his or her favourite colour, the foods we most enjoy, and which season of The Sopranos deserves the most stars on Netflix. But what does it really mean when we like something? How do we decide whats good? Is it something biological? What is the role of our personal experiences in shaping our tastes? And how do businesses make use of this information? Comprehensively researched and singularly insightful, You May Also Like delves deep into psychology, marketing and neuroscience to answer these complex and fascinating questions. From the tangled underpinnings of our food choices, to the discrete dynamics of the pop charts and our playlists, to our non-stop procession of thumbs and likes and stars, to our insecurity before unfamiliar works of art, the book explores how we form our preferences - and how they shape us. It explains how difficult it is, even for experts, to pinpoint exactly what makes something good or enjoyable, and how the success of companies like Netflix, Spotify and Yelp! depends on the complicated task of predicting what we will enjoy. Like Traffic, this book takes us on a fascinating and consistently surprising intellectual journey that helps us better understand how we perceive and appreciate the world around us.

Beginners belongs on the list of books that have changed the way I understand my own limitations.Malcolm GladwellFor many of us, the last time we learned a new skill was during childhood. We live in an age which reveres expertise but looks down on the beginner. Upon entering adulthood and middle age, we begin to shy away from trying new things, instead preferring to stay nestled firmly in our comfort zones. Beginners asks the question: why are children the only ones allowed to experience the inherent fun of facing daily challenges? And could we benefit from embracing new skills, even if were initially hopeless? Bestselling author Tom Vanderbilt sets out to find the answer, tasking himself with acquiring several new skills under the tutelage of professionals, including drawing, juggling, surfing and much more. Witty and often surprisingly profound, Beginners is an uplifting exploration of the science of brain plasticity and how we can learn how to learn anew.

Pourquoi, contrairement aux enfants, est-il si difficile pour les adultes d’apprendre de nouvelles choses ? Est-ce par peur de se lancer et d’échouer ? Ou tout simplement parce que nous ne savons pas

Pourquoi, contrairement aux enfants, est-il si difficile pour les adultes d’apprendre de nouvelles choses ? Est-ce par peur de se lancer et d’échouer ? Ou tout simplement parce que nous ne savons pas

Get stuck in ... Why do some people become demons when they get behind a wheel? Why does the other lane always move faster? Why do New Yorkers jaywalk (and nobody does in Cophenhagen)? And why should you never drive with any beer-drinking, divorced doctors named Fred?Driving is about far more than getting from A to B. As Tom Vanderbilts brilliant, curiosity-filled book shows, its actually the key to deciphering human nature and ... well, pretty much everything. From the etiquette of horn-honking to bumper stickers you should avoid, from gridlock in ancient Rome to why getting rid of road signs actually reduces accidents, Traffic will change the way you see yourself, and other people (and not just through your windscreen).

Why do we get so embarrassed when a colleague wears the same shirt? Why do we eat the same thing for breakfast every day, but seek out novelty at lunch and dinner? How has streaming changed the way Netflix makes recommendations? Why do people think the music of their youth is the best? How can you spot a fake review on Yelp? Our preferences and opinions are constantly being shaped by countless forces especially in the digital age with its nonstop procession of thumbs up and likes and stars. Tom Vanderbilt, bestselling author of Traffic, explains why we like the things we like, why we hate the things we hate, and what all this tell us about ourselves. With a voracious curiosity, Vanderbilt stalks the elusive beast of taste, probing research in psychology, marketing, and neuroscience to answer myriad complex and fascinating questions. If youve ever wondered how Netflix recommends movies or why books often see a sudden decline in Amazon ratings after they win a major prize, Tom Vanderbilt has answers to these questions and many more that youve probably never thought to ask.

An insightful, joyful tour of the transformative powers of starting something new, no matter your agefrom the bestselling author of Traffic and You May Also LikeVanderbilt elegantly and persuasively tackles one of the most pernicious of the lies we tells ourselvesthat the pleasures of learning are reserved for the young. Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling author of OutliersWhy do so many of us stop learning new skills as adults? Are we afraid to be bad at something? Have we forgotten the sheer pleasure of beginning from the ground up? Inspired by his young daughters insatiable curiosity, Tom Vanderbilt embarks on a yearlong quest of learningpurely for the sake of learning. Rapturously singing Spice Girls songs in an amateur choir, losing games of chess to eight-year-olds, and dodging scorpions at a surf camp in Costa Rica, Vanderbilt tackles five main skills but learns so much more. Along the way, he interviews dozens of experts about the fascinating psychology and science behind the benefits of becoming an adult beginner and shows how anyone can get better at beginning againand, more important, why they should take those first awkward steps. Funny, uplifting, and delightfully informative, Beginners is about how small acts of reinvention, at any age, can make life seem magical.

Todos sabemos qual é nossa cor favorita, a comida de que mais gostamos e quais as séries que merecem mais estrelas na Netflix. Mas o que quer dizer realmente gostar de algo? Como decidimos o que é bom? E algo biologico? Qual o papel de nossas experiencias pessoais em moldar nossos gostos? E como as empresas fazem uso dessa informaço? Talvez voce tambem goste mergulha fundo na psicologia, nas estrategias de marketing e na neurociencia para responder a essas fascinantes e complexas perguntas. Tom Vanderbilt explora como formamos nossas preferencias e como elas nos formam. Ele explica como e dificil, mesmo para especialistas, entender exatamente o que faz alguma coisa ser boa ou divertida, e como o sucesso de muitas empresas depende da complicada tarefa de prever do que vamos gostar.

Fascinante exploración de la psicología de la conducción y los múltiples equívocos y falsas impresiones que los conductores emplean mientras conducen. «¿Cómo es que nadie había escrito este libro has