Tim Harford Collection 2 Books Set (Messy and How to Make the World Add Up)

The Tim Harford Collection brings together two books that explore how we think, work and interpret information. In Messy, Harford examines the role of disorder in everyday life, asking why messiness matters, why people often resist it, and what it can offer when embraced.

How to Make the World Add Up turns to the challenge of understanding numbers and claims in public life. Drawing on Harford’s experience as an economist and as presenter of the BBC radio show ‘More or Less’, it looks at disinformation, unclear argument and flawed research, and considers how to assess data and analysis with curiosity and scepticism.

Included titles

• Messy
• How to Make the World Add Up

Key details

• Two-book set by Tim Harford
• Messy: hardback edition
• How to Make the World Add Up: paperback edition
• How to Make the World Add Up references the BBC radio show ‘More or Less’

Synopses

Messy

This book explores the benefits of messiness and why it can be worth embracing. It draws on research from neuroscience, psychology and social science, alongside examples of real people doing extraordinary things. Harford links valued human qualities such as creativity, responsiveness and resilience to the disorder and confusion that can help produce them.

How to Make the World Add Up

Harford takes readers into the world of disinformation, obfuscation and bad research, and considers how to find reliable data and analysis. Using storytelling, he sets out ways to evaluate the claims that surround us with confidence, curiosity and a healthy level of scepticism.