Quirkology

Ever wondered why bad musicians always win the Eurovision Song Contest, or how incompetent politicians get elected? You need some Quirkology in your life. While other scientists beaver away on obvious problems, Richard Wiseman has been busy uncovering the secret ingredients of charisma, exploring how our personalities are shaped by when we are born and examining why people usually miss the obvious signs of their partner's infidelity. Using scientific methods to investigate offbeat topics that interest the general public as well as the scientific community, Quirkology brings a new understanding to the backwaters of the human mind and takes us to places where mainstream scientists fear to tread. Comparable to Freakonomics, but British, far more populist, and a lot funnier. Findings include: How does your surname influence your life? What does the way you walk reveal about your personality? Why should women have men write their personal ads? What is the funniest joke in the world?

ISBN 0330448110   DEWEY edition DC22 ISBN13 9780330448116 (What's this?)   Pages 200 Publisher Pan Macmillan   Published in London Imprint Pan Books   Height (mm) 197 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 130 Publication date 04 Apr 2008   Academic level General DEWEY 500   Interest age 18

		The mysterious Q-test
		Introduction
1		What does your date of birth really say about you? The new science of chronopsychology		1
2		Trust everyone, but always cut the cards: The psychology of lying and deception		42
3		Believing six impossible things before breakfast: psychology enters the twilight zone		87
4		Making your mind up: The strange science of decision-making		128
5		The scientific search for the world's funniest joke: Explorations into the psychology of humour		173
6		Sinner or Saint? The psychology of when we help, and when we hinder		221
		Epilogue		262
		Towards the worldwide eradication of áFTSE-itis'		269
		The big secret experiment		272
		Acknowledgements		273
		Notes		277

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