The alchemy of this book's title is the science of knowing what economists are wrong about. The trick to being an alchemist lies not in understanding universal laws, but in spotting the many instances where those laws do not apply.
It lies not in narrow logic, but in the equally important skill of knowing when and how to abandon it. This is why alchemy is more valuable today than ever.
The Rules of Alchemy are :
1. The opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea.
2. Don't design for average.
3. It doesn't pay to be logical if everyone else is being logical.
4. The nature of our attention affects the nature of our
experience.
5. A flower is simply a weed with an advertising budget.
6. The problem with logic is that it kills off magic.
7. A good guess which stands up to observation is still science.
So is a lucky accident.
8. Test counterintuitive things only because no one else will.
9. Solving problems using rationality is like playing golf with only one club.
I0. Dare to be trivial.
11. If there were a logical answer, we would have found it.
A brilliant book.
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