Bounce: Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success - Couverture souple

Syed, Matthew

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0062004743 ISBN 13 : 9780062004741

Editeur : Harper, 2010

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

In the vein of the international bestselling FREAKONOMICS, award-winning journalist Matthew Syed reveals the hidden clues to success--in sports, business, school, and just about anything else that you d want to be great at.
BOUNCE has a straightforward objective: to change our perception of the world by transforming our understanding of the art of competition. Competition, be it in business, sports, school, or the arts, is one of the most vivid, primal, and dramatic of all human pursuits, revealing many of our innermost instincts and emotions. Among all of the models used in this book, sports and the arts offer some of the most powerful--but often overlooked--prisms through which to better understand many of our greatest challenges, whether in genetics, race, sex, politics or economics.

- What is greatness and how can it be achieved? Why do some people fail to improve with experience?
- How can our irrational beliefs surprisingly aid our performance? Is there a placebo effect in our thoughts about winning?
- What causes people to choke in business and sports and how can it be avoided?
- Are men really better than women at sports? Why are there so many lesbians who excel in sports, but so few gay men? Do certain races outperform others? Or is there another explanation for all of these differences in performance?

Dissecting the real reasons behind why some people excel at certain tasks shatters the long established, socially acceptable myth of meritocracy by proving that talent is not what we perceive it to be--an inborn ability to do something better than others. In fact, even early signs of promise or predilection for a skill set or talent have proved to have no predictive power whatsoever. Syed breaks down the reasons as to why some perform under pressure while others choke.
But BOUNCE is not a wishy-washy exercise in the power of positive thinking. It proves with recent revolutionary findings in cognitive neuroscience that the human mind and body can be transformed through practice, hard work, and determination. Through innovative science, detailed research, and personal accounts, Matthew Syed will change the way that readers see the world around them.

Quatrième de couverture :

Why have all the sprinters who have run the 100 meters in under ten seconds been black?

What's one thing Mozart, Venus Williams, and Michelangelo have in common?

Is it good to praise a child's intelligence?

Why are baseball players so superstitious?

Few things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival. We love to win and hate to lose, whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box, in the office or in the classroom. In this bold new look at human behavior, award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature—why we win, why we don't, and how we really play the game of life. Bounce reveals how competition—the most vivid, primal, and dramatic of human pursuits—provides vital insight into many of the most controversial issues of our time, from biology and economics, to psychology and culture, to genetics and race, to sports and politics.

Backed by cutting-edge scientific research and case studies, Syed shatters long-held myths about meritocracy, talent, performance, and the mind. He explains why some people thrive under pressure and others choke, and weighs the value of innate ability against that of practice, hard work, and will. From sex to math, from the motivation of children to the culture of big business, Bounce shows how competition provides a master key with which to unlock the mysteries of the world.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Harper
• Date d'édition: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0062004743
• ISBN 13: 9780062004741
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 320