The Guinea Pig Diaries

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life As An Experiment

Front cover of the hardcover edition
Author A. J. Jacobs
Country United States
Language English
Genre Humor
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Publication date
 2009
Pages 256

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life As An Experiment is a book by A. J. Jacobs, an editor at Esquire magazine, published in 2009.[1] On a mission to improve aspects of his life A. J. Jacobs becomes a human guinea pig, putting himself through a series of extreme lifestyle experiments.

In the book, Jacobs attempts to change the way he thought, talked, and looked. He immerses himself in his experiments and each comes with a conclusion about the lessons he has learned. Some of the experiments[2] Jacobs participates in include:

Jacobs decides to follow in the footsteps of George Washington. He obeys the Founding Father’s “110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.”

After realizing all the distractions in his life, he pledges to quit multitasking. By unplugging his laptop, putting away his cell phone, tying himself to his desk he attempts to rewire his brain to be the most focused person alive.

Jacobs becomes a temporary convert to the Radical Honesty movement, which teaches you that you should never lie: you should completely remove the filter between your brain and your mouth and say whatever is on your mind.

After noticing their very similar appearance, Jacobs assumes the identity of actor Noah Taylor and crashes the Academy Awards.

Jacobs hires a team in India to take care of everything in his life from phone calls to arguments with his wife to reading bedtime stories to his son.

Jacobs attempts to eliminate every irrational bias to change the way he makes decisions by using the insights of behavioral economics.

Jacobs assumes the identity of his children's nanny and ventures into online dating to get a better understanding of dating from a woman's point of view.

Esquire magazine asked Mary-Louise Parker to pose nude. She agreed to it only if the editor, who happened to be Jacobs, also posed nude.

Since his wife, Julie, has put up with all of his crazy ideas, Jacobs vows to spend a month agreeing to obey her every command.

Adaptation

The book has been adapted into a film for television.[3] It was produced by Electric Dynamite, Reveille Productions, and Sony Pictures Television. It was directed by Michael Spiller.[4] The main cast includes Donald Sutherland, Paget Brewster, and Adam Campbell.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Barnes & Noble". Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  2. ↑ "The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life As An Experiment". Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  3. ↑ "My Life As An Experiment". IMDb. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  4. ↑ "My Life As An Experiment". Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  5. ↑ "My Life As An Experiment". IMDb. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
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