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The optimist's telescope: thinking ahead in a reckless age

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Penguin Random House 2019 New YorkDescription: xvii, 318 p. Includes bibliographical references and indexISBN:
  • 9780735219472
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 153.83 V3O7
Summary: A trailblazing exploration of how we can plan better for the future: our own, our families, and our society’s. Instant gratification is the norm today—in our lives, our culture, our economy, and our politics. Many of us have forgotten (if we ever learned) how to make smart decisions in the long run. Whether it comes to our finances, our health, our communities, or our planet, it’s easy to avoid thinking ahead. The consequences of this immediacy are stark: Superbugs spawned by the overuse of antibiotics endanger our health. Companies that fail to invest stagnate and fall behind. Hurricanes and wildfires turn deadly for communities that could have taken more precautions. Today more than ever, all of us need to know how we can make better long-term decisions in our lives, businesses, and society. Bina Venkataraman sees the way forward. A former journalist and adviser in the Obama administration, she helped communities and businesses prepare for climate change, and she learned firsthand why people don’t think ahead—and what can be done to change that. In The Optimist’s Telescope, she draws from stories she has reported around the world and new research in biology, psychology, and economics to explain how we can make decisions that benefit us over time. With examples from ancient Pompeii to modern-day Fukushima, she dispels the myth that human nature is impossibly reckless and highlights the surprising practices each of us can adopt in our own lives—and the ones we must fight for as a society. The result is a book brimming with the ideas and insights all of us need in order to forge a better future. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/558006/the-optimists-telescope-by-bina-venkataraman/
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Item type Current library Item location Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode
Books Vikram Sarabhai Library Rack 5-A / Slot 153 (0 Floor, West Wing) Non-fiction General Stacks 153.83 V3O7 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 202321

Table of contents

Introduction: The Trouble with the future
Part 1 : The Individual And The Family
Chapter 1. Ghosts Of The Past And Future
Chapter 2. Dashboard Driving
Chapter 3. Beyond The Here And Now
Part 2 : Businesses And Organizations
Chapter 4. The Quick Fix
Chapter 5. A Bird's-Eye View
Chapter 6. The Glitter Bomb
Part 3 : Communities And Society
Chapter 7. Hell Or High Water
Chapter 8. The Games We Play
Chapter 9. The Living Crowd
Notes
Index

A trailblazing exploration of how we can plan better for the future: our own, our families, and our society’s.
Instant gratification is the norm today—in our lives, our culture, our economy, and our politics. Many of us have forgotten (if we ever learned) how to make smart decisions in the long run. Whether it comes to our finances, our health, our communities, or our planet, it’s easy to avoid thinking ahead.
The consequences of this immediacy are stark: Superbugs spawned by the overuse of antibiotics endanger our health. Companies that fail to invest stagnate and fall behind. Hurricanes and wildfires turn deadly for communities that could have taken more precautions. Today more than ever, all of us need to know how we can make better long-term decisions in our lives, businesses, and society.
Bina Venkataraman sees the way forward. A former journalist and adviser in the Obama administration, she helped communities and businesses prepare for climate change, and she learned firsthand why people don’t think ahead—and what can be done to change that. In The Optimist’s Telescope, she draws from stories she has reported around the world and new research in biology, psychology, and economics to explain how we can make decisions that benefit us over time. With examples from ancient Pompeii to modern-day Fukushima, she dispels the myth that human nature is impossibly reckless and highlights the surprising practices each of us can adopt in our own lives—and the ones we must fight for as a society. The result is a book brimming with the ideas and insights all of us need in order to forge a better future.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/558006/the-optimists-telescope-by-bina-venkataraman/

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