Decision-Making is Serious Business for Noreena Hertz, Even at Comedy Conference

When international thinker Noreena Hertz gives a speech, people listen.

Hertz, the daughter of Israeli immigrants to London, is a regular on the Davos circuit who gives talks on global economic trends and strategic decision making in far-flung cosmopolitan capitals. She advises and works with some of the world’s biggest global leaders, politicians and CEOs, as well as rock stars like Bono.

These days, as Hertz issues a clarion call urging people to build their knowledge, become smarter and make better decisions using the information they are now deluged with every day, her message seems as relevant as ever.

The 47-year-old academic, economist and best-selling author brought her message to Israel last week when she attended the “Comedy for a Change” international conference along with her husband, BBC Television director Danny Cohen. She also presented a master class on modern-day decision-making processes.

According to the conference’s website, the unprecedented international gathering focused on the power of comedy to drive forward social change. It said comedy has the proven ability to spread knowledge and awareness of important problems, and to motivate the masses to contribute to the efforts to solve them. Top executives and comedy writers from around the world attended the event.

The conference was held on December 21-22 at the Jerusalem Cinematheque.

Hertz’s most recent book Eyes Wide Open: How to Make Smart Decisions in a Confusing World takes on how people make decisions and whether people should trust the experts in our era of information overload. It has been an overwhelming success and international bestseller with editions in 17 languages.

In a 2013 profile of Hertz, Newsweek said that the book demonstrates the author’s essentially Talmudic nature: question everyone and everything.