Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes

 
　　如果你搭乘時空旅行機器，前往距今500年前或500年後的世界，你將會為科技和醫療的變化感到震撼。地緣政治秩序可能完全顛覆你的認知，而同一個地區所使用的語言更可能聽起來完全像外語。但同時，你也將會發現，有一些共通的原則仍影響著人類行為──譬如貪婪、譬如恐懼，人類也樣經常因過份自信而短視近利。就像現在的人們一樣。
 
　　在本書中，摩根‧豪瑟帶讀者踏上一場全球歷史之旅，看見那些在關鍵時刻中，扮演了決定性角色的行為，從核武的發明到電商霸主亞馬遜的創立，從阿拉伯的勞倫斯到GE前執行長傑克‧威爾許，這些關於風險、機會、活出理想人生的故事，訴說了重要的一課，理解這其中亙古不變的道理，將能幫助我們從雜訊中辨別重要信號，進一步優化決策過程。
 
　　歷史充滿意想不到的發展，但若能學習到變動之中的恆常，無論未來將帶給我們什麼挑戰，我們都能夠在做抉擇時更有自信。(文/博客來編譯)

　　'From Morgan Housel, author of The Psychology of Money, timeless lessons about what never changes in a changing world.

　　If you traveled in time to 500 years in the past or to 500 years in the future, you would be astounded at how much technology and medicine have changed. The geopolitical order would make no sense. The language and dialect may be completely foreign. But you’d notice universal principles guiding behavior—people falling for greed and fear, short-sighted by overconfidence, and persuaded by risk and jealousy, just like they do today. When transported to this unfamiliar world, you’d spend a few minutes watching people behave and say, “Ah. I’ve seen this before.”  

　　In Same as Ever, Morgan Housel offers readers a world historical tour of the behaviors that have played a decisive role in history’s big moments, from the invention of the first nuclear weapons to the founding of Amazon, from T.E. Lawrence to Jack Welch. These stories on risk, opportunity, and living a good life teach us the timeless lessons worth paying attention to so we can separate the signal from the noise and optimize our decision-making.

　　History is filled with surprises no one could have seen coming. But if we learn to see what doesn’t change, we can be more confident in our choices, no matter what the future brings.