| Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Wiseman
Publisher: Macmillan
Category: Book
List Price: £14.99
Buy New: £3.07
You Save: £11.92 (80%)
New (6) Used (13) from £1.58
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 10322
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0330448129
EAN: 9780330448123
ASIN: 0330448129
Publication Date: May 4, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: In stock - Sent fast from British booksellers.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 A quirky book filled with good pub ammo June 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is very easy to read and hard to put down. It answers all those questions that we all have but are afraid to ask because they are not deemed to be "clever" enough.
Buy this and then when the converstation is running dry just mention one of the numerous facts and quirks that you have learned. You will impress and enlighted those around you.
 Brilliant June 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A fantastic book, I was gripped from start to finish.
Richard Wiseman sums up a few of the subjects covered towards the end of the book that would prove great conversation at a dinner party. This does not disapoint.
The book is written so well it reads itself, and the humour is present throughout.
As a first psycology book, I found it left me wanting to read more about our curious Quirkological behaviours (and the ingenious ways scientists have found to expose them).
Good fun. May 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is great fun; an easy to dip into, undemanding read.
Worth buying, if only to do the experiment to find out whether you are a good liar or not, or to read the world's funniest joke!
It did not get full marks from me because I found that, after a great start, it tails off towards the end.
Great science January 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Superb book by a great scholar. Applying science to every day life leads to some amazing discoveries. Fascinating insights into hauntings and ghosts and use of statistics to disprove astrology. And did you know the pace of life is really increasing ? That everyone the world over walks faster ?
Arm yourself now for the Christmas cocktail parties December 1, 2007
10 out of 10 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.
|
|
|
