Experiments provide the feedback loop that allows us, in certain limited ways, to identify error in our beliefs as a first step to correcting them. Over the course of the first half of the twentieth century, scientists invented a methodology for executing controlled experiments to evaluate certain kinds of proposed social interventions. This technique goes by many names in different contexts (randomized control trials, randomized field experiments, clinical trials, etc.). Over the past ten to twenty years this has been increasingly deployed in a wide variety of contexts, but it remains the red-haired step child of modern social science. This is starting to change, and this change should be encouraged and accelerated, even though the staggering complexity of human society creates severe limits to what social science could be realistically expected to achieve. Randomized trials have shown, for example, that work requirements for welfare recipients have succeeded like nothing else in encouraging employment, that charter school vouchers have been successful in increasing educational attainment for underprivileged children, and that community policing has worked to reduce crime, but also that programs like Head Start and Job Corps, which might be politically attractive, fail to attain their intended objectives. Business leaders can also use experiments to test decisions in a controlled, low-risk environment before investing precious resources in large-scale changes – the philosophy behind Manzi’s own successful software company.In a powerful and masterfully-argued book, Manzi shows us how the methods of science can be applied to social and economic policy in order to ensure progress and prosperity.

    The award-winning Scam School Book 1 is available March 14 (Pi day!) on the eReader of your choice. Hear behind-the-scenes secrets about Scam School episodes and listen to bonus techniques with Brian's exclusive audio commentary for every trick featured in the book. Embedded video demonstrations provide an easy way to understand some of the visual aspects of your favorite scams.Ever need to review a trick at the bar before pulling it off in front of an audience? Having the Scam School book on-the-go allows you to easily review tricks, techniques, and presentation ideas in secret before amazing your friends.Each trick has a custom header designed to summarize the type (or class) of trick, the factors involved, and what objects are required to pull it off. Each section that corresponds to a Scam School episode links directly to that episode.

    . . but may be less likely to own a home in which to keep them all? Why your petrol bill can double in a matter of months, but it never falls as fast?Behind all of this lies economics.It’s not always easy to grasp the complex forces that are shaping our lives. But by following a dollar on its journey around the globe, we can start to piece it all together.The dollar is the lifeblood of globalisation. Greenbacks, singles, bucks or dead presidents: call them what you will, they are keeping the global economy going. Half of the notes in circulation are actually outside of the USA – and many of the world’s dollars are owned by China.But what is really happening as our cash moves around the world every day, and how does it affect our lives? By following $1 from a shopping trip in suburban Texas, via China’s central bank, Nigerian railroads, the oilfields of Iraq and beyond, The Almighty Dollar reveals the economic truths behind what we see on the news every day. Why is China the world’s biggest manufacturer – and the USA its biggest customer? Is free trade really a good thing? Why would a nation build a bridge on the other side of the planet?In this illuminating read, economist Dharshini David lays bare these complex relationships to get to the heart of how our new globalised world works, showing who really holds the power, and what that means for us all.“A brilliant book … everyone should buy it because it’s very, very readable” – Iain Dale, LBC“Original and engaging … If you’ve ever wondered what globalisation is and why people get so passionate about it then I can think of no better guide. Economics can be fascinating and accessible. This book is proof” – Joel Hills, Business Editor, ITV News‘Brilliantly revealing’ – Ian King, business presenter, Sky News, and Times columnist‘Readable and illuminating’ – The Bookseller

    Sold in over 85 countries and translated into more than 5 languages.---------------Want to get started on data science?Our promise: no math added.This book has been written in layman's terms as a gentle introduction to data science and its algorithms. Each algorithm has its own dedicated chapter that explains how it works, and shows an example of a real-world application. To help you grasp key concepts, we stick to intuitive explanations and visuals.Popular concepts covered include:- A/B Testing- Anomaly Detection- Association Rules- Clustering- Decision Trees and Random Forests- Regression Analysis- Social Network Analysis- Neural NetworksFeatures:- Intuitive explanations and visuals- Real-world applications to illustrate each algorithm- Point summaries at the end of each chapter- Reference sheets comparing the pros and cons of algorithms- Glossary list of commonly-used termsWith this book, we hope to give you a practical understanding of data science, so that you, too, can leverage its strengths in making better decisions.

    He was overweight and poor as a broken piggy bank. Lamenting the cards he was dealt, Donald was allowing himself to be a victim of circumstance. He knew something had to change. Standing in front of the mirror, he took responsibility for the choices he was making, beginning the transition from playing the victim to playing the hero in his life and finding the fulfillment he was searching for.In this book, Donald shares the correlation between owning your life and finding more enjoyment in everything you do. He lays out the transformational, yet practical plan that took him from slowly losing sight of all his goals to rapidly gaining a new perspective of his own life’s beauty and meaning, igniting his motivation, passion, and productivity.The lessons in this book will teach you:How to get on track and stay on track,How to create a simple life plan that will bring clarity and meaning to your goals aheadHow to take control of your life by choosing to be the hero in your story. The significance of the four roles we all play in life—Victim, Villain, Hero, and Guide—and what it means to play each of them.How to take action, make life changes, and achieve the goals you set for your life and career.Donald Miller will help you see all the options you have of being the hero in your own life, and then help you develop your own unique plan to get there.

     “Deeply reported and bracingly written, this book is an indispensable guide to modern innovation and entrepreneurship.” —Walter Isaacson, New York Times bestselling author of Code BreakerToday, PayPal’s founders and earliest employees are considered the technology industry’s most powerful network. Since leaving PayPal, they have formed, funded, and advised the leading companies of our era, including Tesla, Facebook, YouTube, SpaceX, Yelp, Palantir, and LinkedIn, among many others. As a group, they have driven twenty-first-century innovation and entrepreneurship. Their names stir passions; they’re as controversial as they are admired. Yet for all their influence, the story of where they first started has gone largely untold. Before igniting the commercial space race or jumpstarting social media’s rise, they were the unknown creators of a scrappy online payments start-up called PayPal. In building what became one of the world’s foremost companies, they faced bruising competition, internal strife, the emergence of widespread online fraud, and the devastating dot-com bust of the 2000s. Their success was anything but certain. In The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley, award-winning author and biographer Jimmy Soni explores PayPal’s turbulent early days. With hundreds of interviews and unprecedented access to thousands of pages of internal material, he shows how the seeds of so much of what shapes our world today—fast-scaling digital start-ups, cashless currency concepts, mobile money transfer—were planted two decades ago. He also reveals the stories of countless individuals who were left out of the front-page features and banner headlines but who were central to PayPal’s success. Described as “an intensely magnetic chronicle” (The New York Times) and “engrossing” (Business Insider), The Founders is a story of iteration and inventiveness—the products of which have cast a long and powerful shadow over modern life. This narrative illustrates how this rare assemblage of talent came to work together and how their collaboration changed our world forever.

      Alternating between site visits and brief historical narratives, this guide tells the story of Washington, DC, from its origins to current times. From George Washington’s Mount Vernon to the Kennedy Center, trek through each era of the federal district, on a tour of America’s most beloved sites. Go inside the White House, the only executive home in the world regularly open to the public. Travel to President Lincoln’s Cottage and see where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. And visit lesser-known sites, such as the grave of Pierre L’Enfant, the city’s Botanical Gardens, the Old Post Office, and a host of historical homes throughout the capital. This is the only guide you’ll need to curate an unforgettable expedition to our shining city on a hill.

    This is complexity. But too many leaders approach complexity the wrong way - they push their people harder and harder and tackle problems one at a time over months, sometimes even years, and nearly always in a linear fashion. It's like setting a pot of water on "low" and waiting for it to boil. To solve the seemingly intractable challenges that leaders bang their heads against for months - to get the metaphorical water to boil - you must generate a high amount of heat very quickly. In this book, the authors share their proven formula for dramatically shortening the process and solving an organization's toughest challenges in mere days.

    They make us capable of doing great things. And according to Marcus du Sautoy, math is the very art of the shortcut.Thinking Better is a celebration of how math lets us do more with less. Du Sautoy explores how diagramming revolutionized therapy, why calculus is the greatest shortcut ever invented, whether you must really practice for ten thousand hours to become a concert violinist, and why shortcuts give us an advantage over even the most powerful AI. Throughout, we meet artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs who use mathematical shortcuts to change the world.Delightful, illuminating, and above all practical, Thinking Better is for anyone who has wondered why you should waste time climbing the mountain when you could go around it much faster.

    Controlling a class isn't something that comes naturally to everyone - but it can be learned.This no-nonsense guide tells teachers what the teacher training didn't, and offers instant strategies for dealing with the most common, and extreme, classroom scenarios.Using his experiences of teaching in inner-city schools, as Behaviour Guru on the TES advice forum and working as a nightclub bouncer, Tom Bennett helps teachers, old and new, to assert their authority in the classroom.

    Wall Street lost more than 49% of the typical investor's money—twice—since the year 2000. And studies show that because they followed the conventional wisdom, almost half of all Boomers won't have enough money to cover even basic living expenses during their retirement years. Now the financial gurus whose advice got you into this mess in the first place are telling you to "take more risk," "work till you drop," and "plan on spending less in retirement." Don't let them fool you again!In The Bank On Yourself Revolution, financial security expert Pamela Yellen details how hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and incomes have bucked the system to secure their families' financial futures without gambling in the Wall Street Casino or taking any unnecessary risks. You'll discover a proven step-by-step plan for growing your wealth safely, predictably, and guaranteed every single year—even when the markets are tumbling. And you'll learn how to bypass banks, credit card and financing companies to become your own source of financing for cars, vacations, a college education, business expenses and other major purchases.The Bank On Yourself Revolution isn't a "get-rich-quick" scheme; it's about having real wealth and financial security for as long as you live. You can finally know how much money you'll have next year, in 10, 20 or 30 years—and at every point along the way. Join the Revolution and take control of your own financial future!

    In this iconoclastic book Stuart Sutherland analyses causes of irrationality and examines why we are irrational, the different kinds of irrationality, the damage it does us and the possible cures.

    Each chapter outlines one of the 50 ideas and gives three strategies for putting it into practice. Some ideas will surprise you, all will inspire you. Put these simple strategies together and you have a recipe for a better life, a formula that will unlock a more productive you. Whether you want to improve your efficiency, clear your desk, or be on top of your work, this book provides the tools and techniques you need to be more productive. With dedicated sections on having a productive attitude, managing specific projects, aids to productivity and productivity in action, it gives you everything you need to know.

    Meanwhile, many families of freshmen attending selective private colleges will spend triple—over $300,000. With the same passion, smarts, and humor that infuse his personal finance column, Ron Lieber offers a much-needed roadmap to help families navigate this difficult and often confusing journey. Lieber begins by explaining who pays what and why and how the financial aid system got so complicated. He also pulls the curtain back on merit aid, an entirely new form of discounting that most colleges now use to compete with peers.While price is essential, value is paramount. So what is worth paying extra for, and how do you know when it exists in abundance at any particular school? Is a small college better than a big one? Who actually does the teaching? Given that every college claims to have reinvented its career center, who should we actually believe? He asks the tough questions of college presidents and financial aid gatekeepers that parents don’t know (or are afraid) to ask and summarizes the research about what matters and what doesn’t.Finally, Lieber calmly walks families through the process of setting financial goals, explaining the system to their children and figuring out the right ways to save, borrow, and bargain for a better deal. The Price You Pay for College gives parents the clarity they need to make informed choices and helps restore the joy and wonder the college experience is supposed to represent.

    Or, as #1 New York Times bestselling author and celebrity trainer Jorge Cruise explains: When we eat is as important as what we eat. Building on the scientifically proven but hard-to-sustain day-on, day-off technique known as "intermittent fasting," Cruise simplifies your calendar by dividing every day into two easy-to-remember nutritional zones: a 16-hour evening and overnight "burn zone" (semi-fasting) followed by an 8-hour "boost zone" (eating). To help you crush cravings throughout, he ingeniously introduces foods that can be consumed in either zone to keep you burning fat all around the clock. You'll never be hungry if you don't really ever have to fully fast! Putting the body on weight-loss autopilot, The Cruise Control Diet includes: * 50 recipes for deliciously unexpected boost-zone foods, such as Margherita pizza, spaghetti squash lasagna, and turmeric shrimp;* 15 high-fat, no-sugar burn-zone recipes for craving-quenching foods like chocolate coconut mousse and caramel chai latte;* Weekly menus and handy grocery lists to take guessing out of the equation;* Candid testimonials and amazing weight loss results from Cruise's clients;* An optional burn-zone exercise program with instructional photos.