Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things

by Richard Wiseman

Book Overview

For over twenty years, psychologist Richard Wiseman has examined the quirky science of everyday life. In Quirkology, he navigates the oddities of human behavior, explaining the tell-tale signs that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465090796
• ISBN13: 9780465090792
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
• Length: 323 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The most interesting and innovative behavioural psychology book I had read

I am obliged to praise the author for his brilliant idea of organizing and concluding various psychology research papers/findings into a book/collection of memorable factoids for party chats, without any compromise of its insightful analysis and valuable substance. I dont know whether he had used the same strategy on his university students but I am sure it works. Very interesting indeed, and definitely memorable and pragmatic. In short, highly recommended. p.s. Below please find some of my favorite passages for your reference. Hope you like them. When a person finds someone attractive, the heart beats faster as the body prepares itself for potential action....That is why, when you want someone to fall in love with you...your chances of success are increased by attending a rock concert, riding a roller coaster, or watching a frigthening film. pg164 The top rated male's best pick up line was "If you were on Stars in their eyes, who would you be?" vs female's "If you were a pizza topping, what would you be?" pg167 Almost 60% of women indicated that they would be attracted to the top male ad: Male, good sense of humor, adventurous, athletic, enjoys cooking, comedy, culture, film, seeks sporty, fun female for chats and possible romantic relationship. pg 171 And my favorite "factoids" in the last chapter:- Women's personal ads would attract more replies if they were written by a man. The opposite is not true for men's ads. The Mona Lisa seems enigmatic because Leonardo da Vinci painted her so that her smile appears more striking, when people look at her eyes than at her mouth. Some seemingly ghostly experiences, such as feeling an odd sense of presence, are actually due to low frequency sound waves produced by the wind blowing across an open window. The best way of detecting a lie is to listen rather than look - liars say less, give fewer details, and use the word "I" less than people telling the truth. The difference between a genuine and a fake smile is all in the eyes - in a genuine smile, the skin around the eyes crinkles; in a fake smile, it remains much flatter.

One of the best books I read in the last few years

This is an awesome book. If you like me is a curious person and would like to understand the reason behind what people do and how they think, this is your book. Although the author could treat this as a classical social psychology study and show thousands of theories, he discusses the experiments in a very simple way and motivate people to dig further into the mysteries of the daily behavior. I really loved it.

Very Interesting Book

An extremely interesting book. This book disproves a few myths and answers many questions that i've wondered about.

Readable research about the things we love most...ourselves

Loved it. Wacky research on humans in bite site readable chunks...how could anyone resist. Especially since it answers some of those age old questions about what really makes us tick.

Very happy

Although I bought it 'used', this book was in absolutely perfect condition. It also arrived about 3 days sooner than expected. Thank you!