The Optimism Bias: A Tour of the Irrationally Positive Brain

By Tali Sharot

Categories: Science & Math

Neuroscientist Tali Sharot explains why most people expect the future to be better than the past and present, even when evidence suggests otherwise. Drawing on brain imaging and psychology experiments, she shows how this optimism bias affects health, money, relationships and planning. Sharot argues that optimism can motivate and protect us but also lead to costly mistakes, and explains how the brain creates it.

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• Shane Parrish: “At first, I thought I’d just skim this book. To my surprise I ended up reading it cover-to-cover.”