Rambam students meet Gladwell and a Nobel winner

Students of Rambam Mesivta heard Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author of “The Tipping Point,” “Blink” and “Outliers,” interview renowned behavioral economist Richard Thaler at the 92nd Street Y. Thaler’s colleague and mentor, Nobel Prize Winner Daniel Kahnenman, was in the audience six seats away from the boys.

Kahnenman, author of “Thinking Fast and Slow,” was there to hear Thaler discuss his new work, “Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics.” Members of Rambam’s Meet The Author Book Club immediatly recognized Kahnenman as they went to meet him.

Malcolm Gladwell, whose name has become synonymous with outside the box thinking, has seen his books become staples at major corporations and marketing firms as well as an integral part of the educational curriculum. The interview led to Thaler discussing his work at General Motors as well as his short stint working as a consultant for the NFL’s Washington Redskins.

When asked by Gladwell how turned out, Thaler responded, “We ended up firing them,” since they never took any of his recommendations.

Thaler has been one of the pillars of the Behavioral Economics movement which has gained tremendous prestige over the last few decades. He noted that “now, every NFL team has a behavioral economist on staff,” and that the movement has contributed greatly to the proliferation of the use of analytics in nearly every field.

Following the event, the Club reunited with Kahnenman, who said he remembered the group from earlier in the year, and connected with Gladwell, before having their books signed by Thaler. 

This was the year’s final trip for the Club.