The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks Audiobook, by Ben Cohen Play Audiobook Sample

The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks Audiobook

The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks Audiobook, by Ben Cohen Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Michael David Axtell Publisher: HarperAudio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 5.83 hours at 1.5x Speed 4.38 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: March 2020 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9780062957689

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

13

Longest Chapter Length:

72:46 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

15 seconds

Average Chapter Length:

39:57 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

1

Publisher Description

How can you maximize success—and limit failure? Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen brilliantly investigates the mystery and science of streaks.

""A feast for anyone interested in the secrets of excellence."" —Andre Agassi

For decades, statisticians, social scientists, psychologists, and economists (among them Nobel Prize winners) have spent massive amounts of precious time thinking about whether streaks actually exist. After all, a substantial number of decisions that we make in our everyday lives are quietly rooted in this one question: If something happened before, will it happen again? Is there such a thing as being in the zone? Can someone have a “hot hand”? Or is it simply a case of seeing patterns in randomness? Or, if streaks are possible, where can they be found?

In The Hot HandWall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen offers an unfailingly entertaining and provocative investigation into these questions. He begins with how a $35,000 fine and a wild night in New York revived a debate about the existence of streaks that was several generations in the making. We learn how the ability to recognize and then bet against streaks turned a business school dropout named David Booth into a billionaire, and how the subconscious nature of streak-related bias can make the difference between life and death for asylum seekers. We see how previously unrecognized streaks hidden amidst archival data helped solve one of the most haunting mysteries of the twentieth century, the disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg. Cohen also exposes how streak-related incentives can be manipulated, from the five-syllable word that helped break arcade profit records to an arc of black paint that allowed Stephen Curry to transform from future junior high coach into the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. Crucially, Cohen also explores why false recognition of nonexistent streaks can have cataclysmic results, particularly if you are a sugar beet farmer or the sort of gambler who likes to switch to black on the ninth spin of the roulette wheel.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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About the Authors

Ben Cohen is a sports reporter for the Wall Street Journal. He writes about the NBA, the Olympics, and other topics that don’t involve extraordinarily athletic people. He lives in New York with his wife and their cat. The Hot Hand is his first book.

About Michael David Axtell

Michael David Axtell is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.