The Art of Risk: The New Science of Courage, Caution, and Chance

by Kayt Sukel

Overview

Are risk-takers born or made? Why are some more willing to go out on a limb (so to speak) than others? How do we weigh the value of opportunities large or small that may have the potential to change the course of our lives?

These are just a few of the questions that author Kayt Sukel tackles, applying the latest research in neuroscience and psychology to compelling real-world situations. Building on a portfolio of work that has appeared in such publications as Scientific American, Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and more, Sukel offers an in-depth look at risk-taking and its role in the many facets of life that resonates on a personal level. Smart, progressive, and truly enlightening, The Art of Risk blends riveting case studies and hard-hitting science to explore risk-taking and how it impacts decision-making in work, play, love, and life, providing insight in understanding individual behavior and furthering personal success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426214738
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Sold by:	DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE -EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Kayt Sukel earned a BS in cognitive psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and a MS in engineering psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology. A passionate traveler and science writer, her work has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, the New Scientist, USA Today, The Washington Post, ISLANDS, Parenting, the Bark, American Baby, and the AARP Bulletin. She is a partner at the award-winning family travel website Travel Savvy Mom (www.travelsavvymom.com), and is also a frequent contributor to the Dana Foundation's many science publications (www.dana.org). Much of her work can be found on her website, www.kaytsukel.com, including stories about out-of-body experiences, computer models of schizophrenia, and exotic travel with young children. She lives outside Houston and frequently overshares on Twitter as @kaytsukel.

Table of Contents

Part I Risk, Now and Then 9

1 Confessions of a Reformed Risk-Taker 11

2 What Is Risk Anyway? 21

Part II Natural-Bora Risk-Takers 39

3 Risk and the Brain 43

4 Risk and Genes 71

5 Risk and Gender 87

6 Risk and Age 105

Part III Making the Most of Risk 127

7 Risk and Preparation 131

8 Risk and Connection 153

9 Risk and Emotion 173

10 Risk and Stress 199

11 Risk and Recovery 221

Part IV Risk, Now and Future 249

12 Building the Better Risk-Taker 251

Acknowledgments 269

Index 272

About the Author 283

Editorial Reviews

"A rallying call to all of us to take a chance – to become better risk-takers. And it is inspiring." —New Scientist

"[Sukel] delves into the economics and neuroscience of risk and interviews people who make dicey decisions everyday to learn what holds people back or encourages them to take chances." —Scientific American

"Cultural scientist Kayt Sukel breaks down why aggressive entrepreneurs are as thoughtful, if notmore thoughtful, than more conservative businesspeople, and how smart risktaking is both importantand necessary to succeed in career and in life."
 —Inc.com, naming The Art of Risk “a book that will upgrade your life in 2016.”

"Kayt Sukel blends self-help and neuroscience to explain why we do what we do when faced with risk." —National Post

"Why take a chance? It turns out there are neurological and psychological reasons, as science writer Kayt Sukel sets forth in The Art of Risk.The approachable study includes interviews with 'professional risk-takers' including a brain surgeon, a gambler and a firefighter." —The Sacramento Bee
 
"Interesting for both the science and the personal stories, this thoughtful book will prompt a range of readers to reexamine their lives and motives."  
—Booklist

"The author is a blithe and personable guide to risk-taking, sharing her own experiences and getting research scientists to open up about their findings." 
—Kirkus Reviews

“This book is a road map for understanding boldness. Read it and get ready for a bolder lifestyle.”
—Todd B. Kashdan, professor of psychology, George Mason University, and author of The Upside of Your Dark Side

"[The Art of Risk] uses new research and real-world situations to help readers reframe risky decisions and make the most of them." —Houston Press

"[A] helpful guide to how people can use risk-taking to their advantage...highly recommended." —Midwest Book Review

“The book is carefully planned and well-constructed. Readers are in for an enlightening treat.”-San Francisco Book Review

“Kayt is a brilliant writer and her new book The Art of Risk is one of my favorite reads of 2016.”-Chistine Gilbert of almostfearless.com

 

From the Publisher

2015-12-23
A science journalist who once took risks but now plays it safe explores what scientists know about risk-taking and why some people are risk takers and others are not. Sukel (Dirty Minds: How Our Brains Influence Love, Sex, and Relationships, 2012, etc.) turns to research scientists for her investigations of risk-taking. Before reporting on some fascinating experiments being devised and carried out by neuroscientists and psychologists, the author takes readers on a tour of the human brain, naming and describing the parts of its decision-making system. For readers not familiar with this particular area of research, this portion may present a bit of a challenge. Sukel prefers abbreviations to technical terms, and readers may be forced to go flipping back through pages to discover what certain things stand for—e.g., DLPFC or 5-HTTLPR. Nonetheless, the author is a blithe and personable guide to risk-taking, sharing her own experiences and getting research scientists to open up about their findings. She also introduces some thoughtful and candid risk takers—e.g., a rock climber and outdoor adventurer, a Special Forces operator, a Wall Street trader-turned-professional poker player, and a neurosurgeon who calmly takes on extremely difficult cases in which patients' lives are at stake. We learn how risk-taking is influenced by one's genes, age, gender, and environment, how emotions, stress, and peer pressure play roles, and, perhaps most important, what one can do to become a better risk taker: preparing for contingencies, knowing oneself and what one wants from life, and recovering from failures. "Risk-taking is not about death-defying feats or million dollar investments," writes the author. "It's about exploring, adapting, focusing, and making predictions about future experiences…[it] is a critical part of learning and memory and being alive." Not an in-depth trip but an enjoyable tour.

Kirkus Reviews