Economics – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Superforecasting: The Art & Science of Prediction

By Scott J. Pearson | February 3, 2026February 3, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

In a multi-year research study, authors Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner identified volunteers, only paid $250 per year, to regularly try to predict questions about current events in a competition. A certain number of them have achieved the level of a “superforecaster” where they outperform even the federal intelligence community in their predictions. Obviously, these individuals demand further examination so that we all can learn from their “secret sauce.” What makes these individuals tick in…

Thinking in Systems: A Primer

By Scott J. Pearson | April 27, 2024April 27, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

Systems thinking is en vogue these days as we increasingly realize how complex the world really is. Too many manage enterprises based on small rules and adages, but neglect to see how the bigger picture works. Then they are surprised when their interventions end up with a different effect. That’s because the rest of the world works systemically through feedback loops. The small game is not the only relevant factor. Before she died, Dartmouth professor…

Economics Society

The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich & Poor in an Interconnected World

By Scott J. Pearson | March 5, 2024March 5, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

The economic gap between the rich and poor has increased in recent decades, yet the access to technology in many ways democratizes the world. Increasingly, many of the rich don’t find much meaning in just earning another dollar. Here, Jacqueline Novogratz shares her tale of receiving a business education but not aspiring to Wall Street. Instead, she went to Africa and saw the potential to introduce capitalistic motivations for the greater cause of human happiness.…

Economics Fiction-Stories

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

By Scott J. Pearson | March 30, 2022March 30, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

America was a different place in 1906 when Upton Sinclair published The Jungle. Teddy Roosevelt was President. The country was coming out of the Gilded Age capitalism into a new progressive era. Monopolistic trusts dominated the economy. Society resembled more of a two-class system and lacked a dominant middle class. Writing fiction, only realistically like a journalist, Sinclair showed how hard working class life was. A quick bestseller, this book led to national reforms, particularly…

Economics Management-Business

The Innovator’s Hypothesis: How Cheap Experiments are Worth More than Good Ideas

By Scott J. Pearson | January 26, 2022January 26, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Empiricism and the scientific method have had some positive impact on the practice of business. Most people recognize the market as a great external object of study, yet scientific impact on innovation is usually limited and relegated to the domain of hunches by analytic experts. For their part, business schools tend to crank out expert planners and analysts, but do not expressly delve into experimentation. Schrage thinks that is a mistake and writes this book…

Biography-Memoir Economics History

Nailing It: How History’s Awesome Twentysomethings Got It Together

By Scott J. Pearson | January 8, 2022January 8, 2022 by Scott J. Pearson

Early adulthood – life after schooling ended – is often portrayed as somewhat meaningless. In this book, Dilenschneider says that not only is that impression wrong but that the twenties define many people’s lives. He offers this book as a sort-of devotional book of success stories based on individual talents. Twenty-three chapters about twenty-five people provide biographical vignettes about people who were disproportionately influential. He offers these to provide hope for those who might despair…

Economics Healthcare

Priced Out: The Economic & Ethical Costs of American Health Care

By Scott J. Pearson | December 17, 2021December 17, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Since around 2005, I’ve attempted to learn the big picture of American healthcare while focusing on my little niche in the system. After 16 years (and several legislative bills with major changes), I find myself as befuddled by the economic organization as I was at the beginning. Before dying in 2017, Reinhardt was a leading voice in healthcare economics. A Canadian by citizenship and a German by birth but an American by living, he mastered…

Economics Management-Business Religion-Philosophy

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

By Scott J. Pearson | October 17, 2021October 17, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

For my job, I work in a technical field with high-level people in medical research who make important decisions that impact many. Thus, though I am not a primary decision-maker, anything I can do to better understand their mindsets and the impact of their decisions benefits my organization and my career. It is with this perspective that I approach this book. In it, Taleb uses a rare philosophical approach to business by addressing how we…

Economics Environment Science

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have & the Breakthroughs We Need

By Scott J. Pearson | August 10, 2021August 10, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

It’s no secret that climate change has begun to affect human lifestyles. Unfortunately, world politics and economics are ill-positioned to deal with this crisis. If we can’t agree that vaccines are a good thing, how can we agree on the difficult sacrifices required to preserve our planet for future generations? Despite this (or perhaps because of this), Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the philanthropy Gates Foundation, is lending not only his name but also…