Perspective

"The Power of Habit" is generally written in third-person, with occasional interruptions in first-person as the author explains details from his life that reflect the significance of the material. The author was originally a news reporter, trained to make stories appear compelling and appealing. He first became interested in the phenomenon of habit-formation when he spoke to commanding officers in Iraq about riot control. He was surprised to discover that the U.S. military was able to suppress riots by depriving the areas of food-carts after a certain time. This worked in stopping riots because people would commonly gather about, and would be able to sustain their presence by eating food available only through the presence of the carts. When the carts got moved, people got hungry after a short time and simply left the area. The author is very convinced that all behavior is ultimately habit-driven, and...