[Read] The Optimist's Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age For Free
- 5 years ago
https://newforyou.space/?book=0735219478
A trailblazing exploration of how we can think more strategically about the future--and make smarter choices in our own lives and in society.Many of us never learned--or have forgotten--how to make good decisions for the long run. In a world where immediate satisfaction is the norm, it's easy to avoid thinking ahead. Whether it's decisions about our health (our chronic overuse of antibiotics has triggered a shocking rise in superbugs that are resistant to them), our finances (20% of Americans save nothing for retirement), or our jobs (we slash R and D budgets to improve short-term profit and then can't keep pace with competitors), we lack the tools we need to choose what's best for the future. Today more than ever, we need to know how to make better long-term decisions--for ourselves, our families, and the world.Bina Venkataraman understands this. As a former journalist and senior advisor in the Obama administration, she forged partnerships between government and business to combat climate change, and she learned firsthand why people don't think ahead. Drawing from her own experience, the stories she has reported from around the world, and new research in biology, psychology, archaeology, economics, and beyond, she identifies the best ways to make decisions that benefit us over time. She dispels the myth that human nature is impossibly reckless, and explains the role that culture and environment play in our behavior. She highlights the surprising and successful practices that each of us can adopt to make smarter, more thoughtful choices.The result is The Optimist's Telescope, a book brimming with useful ideas and insights to help us think clearly about the future and make better decisions.
A trailblazing exploration of how we can think more strategically about the future--and make smarter choices in our own lives and in society.Many of us never learned--or have forgotten--how to make good decisions for the long run. In a world where immediate satisfaction is the norm, it's easy to avoid thinking ahead. Whether it's decisions about our health (our chronic overuse of antibiotics has triggered a shocking rise in superbugs that are resistant to them), our finances (20% of Americans save nothing for retirement), or our jobs (we slash R and D budgets to improve short-term profit and then can't keep pace with competitors), we lack the tools we need to choose what's best for the future. Today more than ever, we need to know how to make better long-term decisions--for ourselves, our families, and the world.Bina Venkataraman understands this. As a former journalist and senior advisor in the Obama administration, she forged partnerships between government and business to combat climate change, and she learned firsthand why people don't think ahead. Drawing from her own experience, the stories she has reported from around the world, and new research in biology, psychology, archaeology, economics, and beyond, she identifies the best ways to make decisions that benefit us over time. She dispels the myth that human nature is impossibly reckless, and explains the role that culture and environment play in our behavior. She highlights the surprising and successful practices that each of us can adopt to make smarter, more thoughtful choices.The result is The Optimist's Telescope, a book brimming with useful ideas and insights to help us think clearly about the future and make better decisions.