<p>Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, is once again offering his Coursera course on irrational behavior. This is a fascinating course on why we behave the way we do-- why everyone does things that, when you look at them, don’t make sense. It’s pitched at, I’d say, a college freshman level, certainly appropriate for virtually everyone who reads this forum. And I think a lot of you would like it.</p>
<p>Unlike some of the other Coursera courses, this one has good production values. You’ll find it entertaining as well as informative. It’s fun! And it’s FREE. Highly recommended.</p>
<p>I’d say maybe 5 hours of work a week, if you read fast. Maybe a bit more. </p>
<p>Sorry for the link not working. I didn’t realize that links to Coursera are not allowed. (Sorry, mods.)</p>
<p>Anyway, the course is titled A Beginners Guide to Irrational Behavior. It’s on Coursera, so if you want to take it, just Google Coursera and go on over to their site.</p>
<p>DH has really liked his Coursera classes, but I appreciate your estimate of time requirements – one of his took close to 20 hours a week. 5 sounds practical with my schedule.</p>
<p>Is the content significantly different from the various books on irrational behavior, behavioral economics, etc. (including Ariely’s Predictably Irrational book)?</p>
<p>It’s a bit more in depth from Predictably Irrational. Students read the actual papers on the experiments. </p>
<p>I think it’s a different way about learning about the same topic, behavioral economics. If you’ve read Predictably Irrational and you still remember what was in it, you might not learn much-- although when I took the class last time, there were many students who had read Predictably Irrational and who seemed to be enjoying the class.</p>
<p>If you’re interested (in this class or any other MOOC), signing up and listening to the first few lectures doesn’t commit you to anything. You can quit at any time. </p>
<p>arabrab, One of the first classes I took at Coursera, Probabilistic Graphical Models, took 20 hours on a good week. That class was so, so hard. Ariely’s Predictably Irrational, however, was a breeze.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention-- students write a paper for the class, peer-graded. Peer grading is an interesting experience. If the paper assignment is the same this time as it was last time, students will take one of the ideas from the course (student’s choice) and apply it to a real world problem (student’s choice). For me, this turned out to be a good way to internalize what I was supposed to be learning.</p>
<p>I wonder what the issue is with links to Coursera, which offers classes…we have links on the site to all sorts of colleges that offer classes, many of them through Coursera. It isn’t a blog. </p>
<p>I took the course – really enjoyed it – and for the most part only listened to the lectures. I also generally listen to Coursera lectures at 1.5x normal speed – so that cuts down on the time. I didn’t buy the books and I only read articles if my interest was piqued to learn more. I have a good general background in cognitive science, so that might have helped – but I think that anyone would find the course accessible if you only listened to the lectures. </p>
<p>After I finished the class, I received one of Dan Ariely’s books as a gift – I read the book, and honestly there wasn’t anything in the book that hadn’t been covered in the lectures. So again – you will get the benefit of that particular course even with minimal time. </p>
<p>I listen to Coursera lectures at 1.5X or 2X speed as well. Sometimes when I’m listening to someone in real life, I wish I could hit the 2X button.</p>