Traffic

Hi,

This is a book I finished a couple of months ago that deals with the psychology of driving.   It’s a truly fascinating work that explains why we do the crazy things we do when we are behind the wheel, and also brings to light a number of paradoxes about our behavior and thinking (e.g. why roads that are perceived to be very dangerous actually are safer than roads that we perceive to be harmless).

As with any book that touches on psychology, this work contains ideas and research relevant to ZMET:

• People who go to traffic court are less concerned with the outcome than the fairness of the process (Balance)
• Why changes to our daily commute may frustrate us more than the length of the commute itself (Control)
• Why we are sensitive to the suffering of one person…but less sensitive to the suffering of many (Connection)
• Why we don’t fear driving, despite its inherent dangers.  (Fight/Flight)

More broadly, I found this to be one of those books that can help you think about the world in a different way.   Obvious, surface-level explanations for our behavior are not as obvious as they appear.

Here is what the New York Times had to say about the book.