The Rules That Make Us

THE RULES THAT MAKE US ‘With the eye of an anthropologist and the clarity of a storyteller , Oliver Sweet helps us see the water we all swim in - the invisible systems that shape our choices, our communities, and even our sense of self. This book doesn‘t just explain culture; it restores our ability to see it - to notice what we have stopped noticing ... I read it with gratitude and a sense of recognition: this is how deep seeing begins.‘ Christian Madsbjerg, author of Look and Sensemaking ‘Oliver Sweet does something rare: he captures cultural complexity without flattening it into easy answers. The evidence is rigorous , the thinking is nuanced , and the whole thing feels genuinely contemporary .‘ Rob Scotland, head of brand marketing at Veo ‘ A must-read for anyone who wants to understand how the world really works.‘ Erin Meyer, author of The Culture Map ‘ Anthropology in technicolour - accessible, sharp and unsettling in all the right ways. It reminds us that culture doesn‘t just describe who we are; it scripts what we believe is possible.‘ Dr Lollie Mancey, programme director at UCD Innovation Academy Oliver Sweet‘s book is not only a highly informative read and riotously entertaining , but it‘s an important book ... It is a brilliant and truthful account of how culture shapes us, and more importantly how it unites us more than divides us.‘ Chloe Combi, author, speaker, columnist, consultant ‘Policy makers, think tankers, businesses, consultants, listen up: Forget "nudge" and "behaviour change" - culture is where it‘s at!‘ Professor Martin Holbraad, director of Ethnographic Insights Lab, UCL ‘The Rules That Make Us is more than a guide to culture; it‘s a framework for seeing the systems that shape belief, behaviour, and belonging. What makes it powerful is that it‘s not just theory - it‘s lived anthropology, translated into a way of thinking that anyone can use. This book doesn‘t just describe the world; it helps you understand how to work with it. ‘ Murray Standford, head of anthropology, Coca-Cola