Impact University: David Brooks
The Quality of Fear: What the Ebola Crisis Reveals About Culture >
Brooks, D. (2014-10-20, The New York Times): With the current Ebola virus outbreak, there has been much debate about people overreacting. It turns out that in today's segmented society, though, people are well-suited for contagions of hysteria and overreaction.
Behavioral Economics/Psychology
The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement >
"Harold" and "Erica," fictional characters who represent the statistically typical American couple, reveal the extent to which the unconscious mind influences our decisions. Through their story, David Brooks argues that prevailing ideas about success are flawed and unrealistic.
College Preparedness & Success
The Opportunity Gap >
Brooks, D. (2012-06-09, The New York Times): The opportunities available to the children of poorer families have long been much more limited than for the more affluent, but data now shows that gap is widening, and the consequences are far from trivial.
The Social Animal >
Columnist David Brooks unpacks new insights into human nature from the cognitive sciences — insights with staggering implications for economics and politics as well as our own sense of self.