Conventional Wisdom

A compelling investigation into one of our most coveted and cherished ideals, and the efforts of modern science to penetrate the mysterious nature of this timeless virtue. We all recognize wisdom, but defining it is more elusive. In this fascinating journey from philosophy to science, Stephen S. Hall gives us a dramatic history of wisdom, from its sudden emergence in four different locations (Greece, China, Israel, and India) in the fifth century B.C. to its modern manifestations.

“Emily Oster is the non-judgmental girlfriend holding our hand and guiding us through pregnancy and motherhood. She has done the work to get us the hard facts in a soft, understandable way.” —Amy Schumer What to Expect When You're Expecting meets Freakonomics: an award-winning economist...

In The Wisdom of the Shire, Noble Smith sheds light on the life-changing ideas tucked away inside the classic works of J. R. R. Tolkien and his most beloved creation—the stouthearted Hobbits. Drawing on The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and other tales of Middle-earth, Smith shows how a snug hobbit-hole is actually just a state of mind and how even the smallest person can have the valor of a Rider of Rohan.

Somehow, deeply conservative assumptions about how children behave and how parents raise them have become the conventional wisdom in our society. It's widely assumed that parents are both permissive and overprotective, unable to set limits and afraid to let their kids fail. We're told that young people receive trophies, praise, and A's too easily, and suffer from inflated self-esteem and insufficient self-discipline. However, complaints about pushover parents and entitled kids are actually decades old and driven, it turns out, by ideology more than evidence.

The surest route to a happier, more productive life and future Most of us want to succeed. And most of us want to do the right thing. But we often forget that the way to succeed is by doing the right thing, as Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe remind us in Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to...

In an irresistible invitation to lighten up, look around, and live an unscripted life, a Stanford University professor and master of the art of improvisation explains how to adopt the attitudes and techniques used by generations of musicians and actors. These secrets are currently being taught to entrepreneurs, engineers, and first responders in a crisis as well as housewives and Alzheimer caregivers. Let's face it: Life is something we all make up as we go along.

What do our ancestral scholars have to say to us today? In a series of original essays, best-selling author Dr. Wayne W. Dyer presents the writings, poems, and teachings of some of the greatest thinkers of the past 25 centuries. Dr. Dyer explains the meaning and context of each, as well as how each lesson can be applied to our modern lives.

Heroes, gods, and mortals. The Greek myths are the founding narratives of Western civilization: to understand them is to know the origins of philosophy, literature, art, science, law, and more. Indeed, as Luc Ferry shows in this masterful book, they remain a great store of wisdom, as relevant to our lives today as ever before.

We all know that the government doesn’t generate money; it takes it. Yet, if we're investing our money into a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k), then we're blindly entrusting the government to manage our future income. Conventional wisdom touts it as the best choice, the only choice really, if you want to have a retirement fund at all. Unfortunately, we discover too late that our hard-earned investment doesn't take us as far in our retirement as we thought it would.

What if the leadership practices we’ve worked so hard to master are now getting in the way? In fact, what if they are actually holding us down and preventing us from leading for growth and innovation? Forget “what if” - it’s happening. In Leadership Unchained, Sara Canaday offers a unique perspective that helps modern leaders break free from the chains of conventional wisdom and blaze new trails toward even greater success.

Do you feel that your life lacks meaning and purpose? Have you lost the idea of who you truly are? Do you avoid the real problems in your life? Fears and insecurities are completely normal, but how can we deal with them in a proactive and healthy manner? Think Different will answer this question. We've been told that positive thinking, repeating affirmations and "faking it till you make it" were the key to a happy, fearless, confident living. But do they lead to happiness?

Imagine discovering what successful people have in common, distilling it into a set of simple practices, and using them to transform your company, your career, and your life. Written by three thought leaders in organizational development and self-improvement, including Built to Last co-author Jerry Porras, Success Built to Last challenges conventional wisdom at every step. It draws on face-to-face, unscripted conversations with hundreds of remarkable human beings from around the world.

The Fall of Logic is a selection from Chase Chandler's new book, The Wealthy Family. The Fall of Logic details many of the flaws and solutions related to conventional financial thinking. The Fall of Logic takes the reader on a journey in which Chase Chandler describes the fundamental yet complex foundational philosophies one must understand to manage wealth prudently.