Richard Nisbett grew up in Texas. So when he was looking for a culture he could say potentially uncharitable things about as a white man, he turned his attention squarely to Southern culture. In his book, Culture of Honor, Professor Nisbett takes a look at why certain very specific parts of the South (and West) of the US have higher homicide rates than the rest of the country. The answer it turns out is that the South and West have the same culture of honor that you find among herding peoples the world over. That culture is why the Mongols raided the Chinese, why the West and the Arab world clash and why America today can't seem to figure out gun control. Since then, Professor Nisbett has researched the cultural differences between East Asians and Westerners, how culture affects education and, most recently in his book Mindware, how slight changes in our thinking can massively improve our own lives.

Whether you're sick of political correctness, you just want to understand why we so often clash or your looking for a way to actually solve our problems, Richard Nisbett's books are the books for you.

Guest Links

Professor Nisbett's Website

Guest Promo

Culture of Honor: The Psychology of Violence in the South

The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why

Mindware: Tools for Smart Thinking

I'd like to add a fourth book. Intelligence and How to Get it: Why Schools and Cultures Count.