Does irrationality have an upside?

One of my favorite books of recent years was Predictably Irrational by Duke behavioral economist Dan Ariely. Now Ariely is back with a new book, The Upside of Irrationality, and it's just as good and, in some ways, even better.

Where the last book focused on how poor reasoning can lead us astray, this one explores dozens of cool experiments that offer some guidance on using our irrational tendencies for our benefit at work and at home. Ariely also threads the book with his own story —...