I'll Have What She's Having (Alex Bentley, Mark Earls, and Micael O'Brien)

This look at the important processes of social learning and social influence could have been more engaging than it was. Their primary point, that ideas diffuse and society progresses as people copy new ideas and the latest trends from each other, is undeniable. I was unconvinced, though, by their attempt to formalize this landscape. They talked about idea cascades, about directed and undirected copying, about the "long tail" of choices in many domains, and so on, but for me it never really came together. I came out of this knowing no more about social influence, and understanding no more deeply, than I did going in.