Predictably Irrational fairy tale." Predictably Irrational Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions is a 2008 book by Dan Ariely, in which he challenges readers' assumptions about making decisions based on rational thought. Ariely explains, "My goal, by the end of this book, is to help you fundamentally rethink what makes you and the people around you tick. I hope to lead you there by presenting a wide range of scientific experiments, findings, and anecdotes that are in many cases quite amusing. Once you see how systematic certain mistakes are—how we repeat them again and again—I think you will begin
Irrational number Consider ; if this is rational, then take "a" = "b" = . Otherwise, take "a" to be the irrational number and "b" = . Then "a" = () = = = 2, which is rational. Although the above argument does not decide between the two cases, the Gelfond–Schneider theorem shows that is transcendental, hence irrational. This theorem states that if "a" and "b" are both algebraic numbers, and "a" is not equal to 0 or 1, and "b" is not a rational number, then any value of "a" is a transcendental number (there can be more than one value