Get Your Free Audiobook
Why Information Grows
People who bought this also bought...
-
Talking to Strangers
- What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know
- Written by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 497
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 426
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 427
The routine traffic stop that ends in tragedy. The spy who spends years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon. The false conviction of Amanda Knox. Why do we so often get other people wrong? Why is it so hard to detect a lie, read a face or judge a stranger's motives? Through a series of encounters and misunderstandings - from history, psychology and infamous legal cases - Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual adventure into the darker side of human nature, where strangers are never simple and misreading them can have disastrous consequences.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
no connection between title and content
- By Vidyasagar on 22-12-19
-
Alchemy
- The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense
- Written by: Rory Sutherland
- Narrated by: Rory Sutherland
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 21
We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence. But we aren’t, and we don’t. In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd - from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices you have to bypass reason.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
enjoyable and informative
- By NN on 23-12-19
-
The Lost Decade
- Written by: Pooja Mehra
- Narrated by: Aditi Thirani
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2
Before the global financial meltdown of 2008, India's economy was thriving and its GDP growth was cruising at an impressive 8.8 percent. The economic boom impacted a large section of Indians, even if unequally. With sustained high growth over an extended period, India could have achieved what economists call a "take-off" (rapid and self-sustained GDP growth). The global financial meltdown disrupted this momentum in 2008.
-
Skin in the Game
- Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
- Written by: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Narrated by: Joe Ochman
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one's own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book and great narration
- By abhijit salunkhe on 04-11-19
-
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
- Written by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson. But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in digestible chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Must Read, Impeccable narration
- By Rohit Grover on 10-01-19
-
Thinking in Bets
- Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts
- Written by: Annie Duke
- Narrated by: Annie Duke
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
In Super Bowl XLIX, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made one of the most controversial calls in football history: With 26 seconds remaining, and trailing by four at the Patriots' one-yard line, he called for a pass instead of a handing off to his star running back. The pass was intercepted, and the Seahawks lost. Critics called it the dumbest play in history. But was the call really that bad? Or did Carroll actually make a great move that was ruined by bad luck? Even the best decision doesn't yield the best outcome every time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A decision makers guide book in uncertainty
- By Anonymous User on 30-11-18
-
Talking to Strangers
- What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know
- Written by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Narrated by: Malcolm Gladwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 497
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 426
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 427
The routine traffic stop that ends in tragedy. The spy who spends years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon. The false conviction of Amanda Knox. Why do we so often get other people wrong? Why is it so hard to detect a lie, read a face or judge a stranger's motives? Through a series of encounters and misunderstandings - from history, psychology and infamous legal cases - Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual adventure into the darker side of human nature, where strangers are never simple and misreading them can have disastrous consequences.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
no connection between title and content
- By Vidyasagar on 22-12-19
-
Alchemy
- The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense
- Written by: Rory Sutherland
- Narrated by: Rory Sutherland
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 21
We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence. But we aren’t, and we don’t. In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd - from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices you have to bypass reason.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
enjoyable and informative
- By NN on 23-12-19
-
The Lost Decade
- Written by: Pooja Mehra
- Narrated by: Aditi Thirani
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2
Before the global financial meltdown of 2008, India's economy was thriving and its GDP growth was cruising at an impressive 8.8 percent. The economic boom impacted a large section of Indians, even if unequally. With sustained high growth over an extended period, India could have achieved what economists call a "take-off" (rapid and self-sustained GDP growth). The global financial meltdown disrupted this momentum in 2008.
-
Skin in the Game
- Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
- Written by: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Narrated by: Joe Ochman
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others. Citing examples ranging from Hammurabi to Seneca, Antaeus the Giant to Donald Trump, Nassim Nicholas Taleb shows how the willingness to accept one's own risks is an essential attribute of heroes, saints, and flourishing people in all walks of life.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book and great narration
- By abhijit salunkhe on 04-11-19
-
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
- Written by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 183
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 159
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson. But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in digestible chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Must Read, Impeccable narration
- By Rohit Grover on 10-01-19
-
Thinking in Bets
- Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts
- Written by: Annie Duke
- Narrated by: Annie Duke
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
In Super Bowl XLIX, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made one of the most controversial calls in football history: With 26 seconds remaining, and trailing by four at the Patriots' one-yard line, he called for a pass instead of a handing off to his star running back. The pass was intercepted, and the Seahawks lost. Critics called it the dumbest play in history. But was the call really that bad? Or did Carroll actually make a great move that was ruined by bad luck? Even the best decision doesn't yield the best outcome every time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A decision makers guide book in uncertainty
- By Anonymous User on 30-11-18
Publisher's Summary
What is economic growth? And why, historically, has it occurred in only a few places? Previous efforts to answer these questions have focused on institutions, geography, finances, and psychology. But according to MIT's anti-disciplinarian César Hidalgo, understanding the nature of economic growth demands transcending the social sciences and including the natural sciences of information, networks, and complexity. To understand the growth of economies, Hidalgo argues, we first need to understand the growth of order.
At first glance, the universe seems hostile to order. Thermodynamics dictates that over time, order - or information - disappears. Whispers vanish in the wind just like the beauty of swirling cigarette smoke collapses into disorderly clouds. But thermodynamics also has loopholes that promote the growth of information in pockets. Although cities are all pockets where information grows, they are not all the same. For every Silicon Valley, Tokyo, and Paris, there are dozens of places with economies that accomplish little more than pulling rocks out of the ground. So, why does the US economy outstrip Brazil's, and Brazil's that of Chad? Why did the technology corridor along Boston's Route 128 languish, while Silicon Valley blossomed? In each case, the key is how people, firms, and the networks they form make use of information.
Seen from Hidalgo's vantage, economies become distributed computers, made of networks of people, and the problem of economic development becomes the problem of making these computers more powerful. By uncovering the mechanisms that enable the growth of information in nature and society, Why Information Grows lays bare the origins of physical order and economic growth. Situated at the nexus of information theory, physics, sociology, and economics, this book propounds a new theory of how economies can do not just more things, but more interesting things.
More from the same
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars1
-
4 Stars0
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Performance
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars1
-
4 Stars0
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
Story
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
5 Stars1
-
4 Stars0
-
3 Stars0
-
2 Stars0
-
1 Stars0
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- bpjammin
- 07-01-17
Great book!
This may be the most eloquently written science book I’ve ever read and one that manages to make extremely complicated information easier to comprehend. It is certainly comparable to Feynman’s Lectures, in terms of reducing the complex to simpler subsets for the novice, which Hidalgo manages to do without use of complex mathematics.
During the past year I have listened to/read dozens of science books concerning genetics, microbiology, evolutionary biology, evolutionary theory, cognitive & evolutionary neuroscience and one of the things I noticed was that all this evolution violates the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics and that certain aspects of evolution can't be explained by Darwinian theory, leading some to speculate about "design," however, I stumbled upon this book on information theory and it resolves most of the problems aforementioned without resorting to design.
Also, without ever referencing McLuhan, this book elucidates many of McLuhan’s aphorisms: like The Media (transmission of content) is The Message (content has no intrinsic meaning,) and McLuhan’s assertion that technologies are evolutionary extensions (wheel extends foot, phone extends voice…) are also supported by information theory as presented here.
What surprised me most was the lack of any reference to Information Theory in any of the books I have read concerning the physical sciences. How can Evolutionary Theory have missed such a big data set necessary to extend its own theories? It’s a glaring omission from the works I’ve read thus far.
Great book!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adam Kahn
- 03-10-16
Fantastic lense to see the world
This was a strong case for how to view the world and how the leading indicator of economic prosperity is told in the complexity of organization of information
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- T. Leach
- 15-09-16
Great book! The breath of the framework
Is astonishingly beautiful. It will be hard for anyone who reads and understand this work to look at the world the same. I have been fascinated with information theory, biology, and physics for years. The author brings them all together in an accessible way. Breathtaking work!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Spencer
- 01-01-17
Very direct explanation of economies
To oversimplify a fair bit , the author explain in more detail and using a lot more physics what Hayek try to outline in his influential 1945 paper the use of knowledge in society. the only way I can sort of describe this book is it is a cross between Thomas Sowell's book "Knowledge and Decisions" and Matt Ridley's book "The Evolution of Everything" with a bunch of complexity theory mixed in.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nigel
- 06-10-16
Powerful synthesis that explains how information wins out over entropy
I highly recommend investing the time to listen to this amazing synthesis. It ties together the things that matter about how systems organise in diverse realms. I would have given it five stars had it not been for the rather labyrinthine prose that made listening rather hard work. Submitted via a visit to the Hemingway app, it would have been even more compelling.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark Augustini
- 19-09-16
a delightful journey
Listened twice:) A great book with a wide and though provoking historical perspective that packs a punch !
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Darred
- 12-06-19
CESAR HIDALGO is a man *to watch*
This short book is difficult to characterize. Its scope is broad but it goes deep. The parts on information are extremely important and compelling. On economics, I'm not much of an authority but sounds promising. Essential for students of cognitive neuroscience and mindsciences in general. A background in computation is helpful but not essential.
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- B. Ramos-Stephens
- 02-03-18
Slow at start but packed with insights
The beginning is slow due to the need to define various concepts & terms. But, as this read/listen picks up, it contains insights & information that are presented in a much more dense, faster & thus more interesting pace. Towards the end (and, especially in the epilogue), it reaches its crescendo & brings the concepts together, elaborating on the promising narrative of the Audible summary.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- roxane googin
- 05-01-18
Deep yet concise. innovative.
Hidalgo presents innovative ideas with just the right level of in depth justification. The story keeps moving to the end.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Katherine Ernst
- 31-08-17
Could be better written
You get the sense that the man who wrote this book had the attitude that you should never state something simply if you can polish some $20 word. I have a huge vocabulary and still had to rewind on a few occasions to figure out what the author was trying to say. Some might think this makes the book "smart" but I've generally found if you can't make a point succinctly, you haven't entirely crystallized for yourself what you're trying to say.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Piotr
- 25-06-19
Revealing ideas
According to thermodynamic entropy alwas grow. But Earth is an exception. Why? Author tries to explain why information grows on Earth but not entropy. His theories are revealing but sometimes he goes to far without any solid base.