It’s Not About The Shark by David Niven (Icon Books £12.99) I have always felt there is a time and a place for self-help books. That time is Not Now and the place is Somewhere Else, A Long Way Away. But, just occasionally, a book comes along that is not only interesting, but might — just might — be of some conceivable help to someone. This, I believe, is one such. Niven, an American psychologist and social scientist, and by no means the long-deceased star of The Guns Of Navarone, sets out to help us ‘solve unsolvable problems’. While he doesn’t, because they’re unsolvable, he does help us solve problems that look unsolvable but aren’t — which, I suppose, is the next best thing.
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David Niven says that, when we have a problem, we are overwhelmed by it
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People in groups tend to make worse decisions than individuals
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Sometimes, we think the way to solve a problem is to try harder
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Niven uses examples to show that this can actually make a problem worse
Niven can be very @placeholder in his assumptions and his tone of voice.