| Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Wiseman
Publisher: Pan Books
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £3.01
You Save: £4.98 (62%)
New (27) Used (3) from £3.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 1081
Media: Paperback
Pages: 200
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0330448110
EAN: 9780330448116
ASIN: 0330448110
Publication Date: April 4, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Arm yourself now for the Christmas cocktail parties December 1, 2007
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
Recently I read an article in a magazine which was about the art of making small talk at parties. One of the suggestions that it made was to take note of interesting facts or stories to bring up if the conversation stalls. The example given was a study in which men and women were asked which superpower they would like to possess. Top of the women's list was being invisible, while men were far more likely to want to be able to fly. Not only is this an interesting nugget of information, it also immediately stimulates discussion.
If you enjoy these kinds of conversations, you will love this book. (It even includes a list of the factoids most likely to prompt discussion). Psychologist Richard Wiseman has conducted a number of studies over the years looking into the ways that people behave and also reports on some other people's experiments. Some of the things that I learned while reading this book were:
- How asking people to trace the letter Q on their forehead is a good predictor of how good a liar they are.
- How our memories can be tricked into creating false memories and why this happens.
- How a waiter can dramatically increase his chances of getting a tip.
- Why you are more likely to be attracted to people when you're in a precarious situation that elevates your heart-rate (so maybe Hollywood storylines aren't so far-fetched after all)
- That words containing the "K" sound are especially likely to make people laugh, because of the way they contort the facial muscles.
The book is written in a lively and entertaining fashion and in parts is very amusing. While it's quite disjointed, it held my interest throughout. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest why people behave the way they do. Our behaviour is more predictable than we think.
Quirks and Perplexities September 28, 2007
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
I came across Quirkology as a recommended partner of Cave's 33 Perplexing Philosophy Puzzles, Can a Robot be Human? Quirkology is great for the quirks of human nature and a sheer delight of entertainment, with Wiseman's style. It goes well with Cave's Robot book which also entertains, but gets you thinking more deeply, as you'd expect with philosophy. All good stuff, but I go a bit more for the deeply.
 Incredibly interesting and quirky August 16, 2007
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
This ranks as one of my favourite books of recent. Its funny, informative, intelligent and thoroughly absorbing. Put together by a person who enjoys his profession and knows how to catch the interest of the reader through enthusiasm. But be aware, if you are anything like me after reading this and confirming your interest in psychology you will end up enrolling in a degree that you should have done years ago!! Thanks Professor Wiseman.
Highly recommended June 17, 2007
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
I was sent this book by a friend and didn't have very high expectations of it, but boy was I wrong! It made me laugh out loud at the same time as teaching me a lot about the odd things that psychologists do with their time.
I particularly liked the stories about Professor Wiseman's research assistant.
Fantastic read June 11, 2007
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Bought this on an off chance as the content seemed interesting on first glance. Turned out to be an absolute gem. The book is fascinating and really well written. Very easily read by anyone, whether you have a background in science or not, you cannot help but be captivated, interested and entertained by this. Great to see good old curiosity at work.
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