Mood Matters

"Mood Matters" makes the radical assertion that all social events ranging from fashions in music and art to the rise and fall of civilizations are biased by the attitudes a society holds toward the future. When the "social mood" is positive and people look forward to the future, events of an entirely different character tend to occur than when society is pessimistic. The book presents many examples from every walk of life in support of this argument. In addition, methods are given to actually measure the social mood and to project it into the future in order to forecast what’s likely or not over varying periods of time. Casti's writing is a pleasure to read and its contents an eye-opener.

"They [the chapters] tell an engrossing story, and the mystery heightens as it goes. . . . it's chatty and knowing." Greg Benford, Physicist and science-fiction writer, author of "Timescape" and "Deep Time"

"I am struck by how thought-provoking it all is. I am sure that your book will draw a lot of attention" Tor Norretranders, Science writer, author of "The Generous Man" and "The User Illusion".

• collective social events
• economic forecasting
• fashion
• forecasting in politics
• group optimism
• group pessimism
• social mood
• social trends
• sociometers
• value-at-risk

From the reviews:

"They [the chapters] tell an engrossing story, and the mystery heightens as it goes. . . . it's chatty and knowing." Greg Benford, Physicist and science-fiction writer, author of "Timescape" and "Deep Time"

"I am struck by how thought-provoking it all is. I am sure that your book will draw a lot of attention" Tor Norretranders, Science writer, author of "The Generous Man" and "The User Illusion".

“This is John Casti’s bold hypothesis in Mood Matters, which challenges both traditional financial theory and human gut reaction about how the world works. … The wealth of facts he presents should serve as valuable fuel for future scientific researchers arguing both for and against socionomics. In these times of financial turmoil, many people will pick up Mood Matters with the hope of predicting financial markets. … The book emphasizes the importance of sociometers in signaling that fate.” (Richard Taylor, Science, Vol. 329, September, 2010)

“Readable, exhaustively researched, and completely iconoclastic, this book was a pleasure for me on many levels. I am always eager to hear about new ways to view this old world, and Casti has a very new way to view world events. His thesis is that the mood of the people isn’t MADE by events, but … MAKES events. … The exhaustive research I mentioned is all documented in his appendices.” (Richard Derus, LibraryThings, October, 2010)

“In Mood Matters (2010) John Casti says a lot of things … about how ones attitude (mood) shapes events, and how we cycle back and forth between pessimism and optimism (mood). … a thought provoking book.” (LibraryThing, August, 2010)

“Mood Matters is great fun to read as Casti’s writing throughout is smooth, intelligent and humorous. … Casti explores the correlation between the ‘mood of the crowd’ and a range of other trends … and events, including the fall of nations and the outbreak of war. It is a hugely interesting and wide-ranging study. … For those involved in assessing trends and in predicting future events, whether social, political or economic, this book … change the whole way they ply their trade.” (Goodreads, August, 2010)

“John Casti … offers a truly unique and different perspective of why things happen – in our lives, in our world, and in our political systems. … I find John’s views of external events to be fresh and interesting … . he gives a very interesting view of how social influences indirectly – yet directly – impact the economic well-being of our society … . John has done a really nice job … . Mood Matters is a very well-written book, very detailed, and very thorough.” (Abraham Aizenman, TodayNewsline, February, 2011)

• Wien, Austria

  John L. Casti

John L. Casti is a Senior Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria, where he works on the development of early-warning methods for extreme events in human society. He is also the co-founder of The Kenos Circle, a Vienna-based society for exploration of the future, and author of the previous bestselling volumes, Paradigms Lost, Would-Be Worlds and The Cambridge Quintet. He lives in Vienna.

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