Unconventional Wisdom: Adventures in the Surprisingly True

by Tom Standage

The world can be an amazing place if you know the right questions to How much does a ghost reduce a house's value? How are winemakers responding to climate change? How much should you tip your Uber driver? Should your dog fear Easter more than fireworks? The keen minds of The Economist love to look beyond everyday appearances to find out what really makes things tick. In this latest collection of The Economist Explains, they have gathered the weirdest and most counter-intuitive answers they've found in their endless quest to explain our bizarre world. Take a peek at some Unconventional Wisdom - and pass it on! The world only gets more amazing when discoveries are shared.

Genres: Economics

254 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2020

About the author

Tom Standage is a journalist and author from England. A graduate of Oxford University, he has worked as a science and technology writer for The Guardian, as the business editor at The Economist, has been published in Wired, The New York Times, and The Daily Telegraph, and has published five books, including The Victorian Internet[1][2]. This book explores the historical development of the telegraph and the social ramifications associated with this development. Tom Standage also proposes that if Victorians from the 1800s were to be around today, they would be far from impressed with present Internet capabilities. This is because the development of the telegraph essentially mirrored the development of the Internet. Both technologies can be seen to have largely impacted the speed and transmission of information and both were widely criticised by some, due to their perceived negative consequences.

Standage has taken part in various key media events. He recently participated in ictQATAR's "Media Connected" forum for journalists in Qatar, where he discussed the concept of technology journalism around the world and how technology is expected to keep transforming the world of journalism in the Middle East and all around the world.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Caleb Loh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book with memorable factoids; feels like many potential KI Short Passages

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is essentially crashing through a year’s worth of click-bait articles from the Economist. There’s no connection between them, they’re all super short, and all very interesting. A lot of the content could easily be disproven within the next decade, but as the editor says in the intro, this is about things completely new and uncertain, the edge of human knowledge. The content floats in that sweet spot of being cool and amazing without anyone having had the time to disprove it.

This means it could fill your head with a lot of nonsense, but speaking from experience, this is how scientists feel all the time, and it’s so much fun.

Read it soon, don’t take anything too seriously, and you’ll appreciate the book how it was meant to be.

[Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fascinating collection of essays that challenge common assumptions and reveal the surprising origins of modern life. Standage has a knack for uncovering the historical threads that connect seemingly disparate events and technologies.

What makes this book so enjoyable is Standage's ability to blend historical anecdotes with sharp, insightful analysis. He presents complex information in a clear and engaging manner, making the book accessible to readers with little to no background in science or history.

[Iñaki Amuchastegui · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting something like "Freakonomics" based on the description, but is just collection of short articles published by "The Economist". Not that there's anything intrinsically wrong with that, but seems just lazy. Some of the articles are just very loosely based in date, and some are about the most ridiculous, uninteresting debates.
The one good thing, because the are short and not related to each other, is a good book for a waiting room or to keep in the bathroom.

[David Margetts · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of facts, stories, data and examples which contradict so called 'Unconventional Wisdom'.
These are extracts from my favourite news source The Economist, and whilst some are interesting, surprising and humorous, others are frankly a little boring or predictable. The fact that I have just finished reading it, but few of the scenarios have stuck in my mind maybe says it all... :) Stick to current affairs, politics, economics and science Economist ..

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun collection of articles from the Economist which is more suited to a coffee table where you’d pick it up, read a couple of pages and pass on a fun fact to whoever you’re sitting next to. What I’ve learnt from it (other than random fun facts) is that there is so much data in the world which can be used to answer just about any question you may want to ask!

3/5

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eclectic collection of facts and figures that help explain the world we live in. At times, the articles are superficial and lack depth and analysis but this meant the book was a simple read.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great casual read but the facts presented are very superficial and leaves the reader wanting more. Still undoubtedly a great way to boost your general knowledge.

[Jordan Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read - not a cover to cover book, but definitely one to flick through and see if any of the headings are interesting to you

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a fun book. It is a very large series of little articles covering a lot of different topics. In 2024, some of them are already a bit dated, but worth a read