|
|
|
Average Customer Review
Share your thoughts with other customers
|
|
|
The most helpful favourable review
The most helpful critical review
173 of 180 people found the following review helpful:
Arm yourself now for the Christmas cocktail parties
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...
Published 24 months ago by Julia Flyte
|
› See more 5 star, 4 star reviews |
 |
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Not that quirky
I have to say I had high expectations after reading all the reviews. I was bitterly disappointed. Most of what is discussed in the book did not come as news to me. A lot of it is work I've already read/heard about, or just plain common sense.
Although I appreciate how difficult it is to bring together a large number of topics under some common theme, I wasn't...
Published 5 months ago by Y. Khatib
|
› See more 3 star, 2 star, 1 star reviews |
|
|
173 of 180 people found the following review helpful:
Arm yourself now for the Christmas cocktail parties, 1 Dec 2007
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
81 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
Fascinating and Fun, 12 May 2007
Get this book if you want to see yourself and others in a completely new light! Quirkology is about weird, wonderful, and sometimes rather disturbing psychological experiments that reveal our true nature: what makes us help others (or, more often, help ourselves); why we are so poor at detecting when our partner cheats on us; what subtle factors influence our judgements - for instance about guilt and innocence, or about what leader to elect. There's not a shred of padding, and the reader is quickly hooked into wanting to know what happens next. It's not only fascinating, but fun to read: be prepared to be caught out when you least expect it by the author's sly sense of humour. The book also contains built-in experiments and demos so you can experience quirky psychology at first hand. Come on, get quirky: you'll love it!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
65 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
The things that scientists spend their time on... , 28 May 2007
Usually we associate scientists with people working in a lab trying to find a cure for cancer, HIV, hair baldness or any other of a number of ills. Or else they are dabbling in high-tech equipment trying to explore the ultimate questions like the shape of the universe, time-travel and the unifying field theory - things way beyond a normal person's ken.
In contrast, this book is fresh, understandable and exciting. Full to the brim with psychological studies that are anything from interesting to amusing, this book delves not only into the quirkier aspects of human behaviour, but also into some of the quirkier studies that scientists get up to (when no one is looking).
A few examples to illustrate my point:
Quack (as opposed to Moo, Grrr or Woof) is perceived to be the most funny animal sound. Apparently, it's because a `k' sound makes you smile and therefore others with you. A good one to remember for job interviews...
By monitoring behaviour at checkout queues, where you are only allowed to have 10 items (and most people, invariably have 12 or 15), scientists discovered that the people most likely to break minor rules of conduct (which includes speed limits) are female van drivers. Now you know what to beware of when driving!
The book is packed with many more such examples, all with comments on how the findings could be explained.
Ultimately the book is much more than just a series of weird facts and fantastical experiments. As with all good science (and this belongs to the best), it tells us something very relevant about us - our hopes, fears and those mannerisms we just don't seem to be able to shake. Thus, it opens up a whole new way of looking at others - and yourself.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Brilliant, 20 Jun 2008
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).
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic read, 12 Jun 2007
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Quirks and Perplexities, 28 Sep 2007
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
Brilliant insight into the weird and wonderful world of psychology, 11 May 2007
I got this book after seeing the famous colour-change video and it's even better than I expected. You're immediately engaged by the stories Professor Wiseman tells about his own adventures in science, plus the often groundbreaking and frequently hilarious research undertaken by others. If you want to know about what REALLY makes people tick, then this is the book for you. Forget boring lectures, the real insight is in Quirkology.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Not that quirky, 5 Jun 2009
I have to say I had high expectations after reading all the reviews. I was bitterly disappointed. Most of what is discussed in the book did not come as news to me. A lot of it is work I've already read/heard about, or just plain common sense.
Although I appreciate how difficult it is to bring together a large number of topics under some common theme, I wasn't impressed at all by the author's writing skills. I also found that he sometimes jumps bits that clearly need more critique and analysis, while other more trivial bits he just goes on and on about. This managed to dissolve my interest many many times.
The author provides references to research discussed within the text. I found this quite helpful in finding further reading. However, on a couple of occassions I found that the author has stretched or skewed the topic of the discussed research! Perhaps by mistake, or to form a more convincing argument. But whatever the reason is, this was a MAJOR turn-off for me.
An easily forgetton read.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Highly recommended, 17 Jun 2007
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Loved it!, 24 Jul 2009
I really, really enjoyed this book. Easy to read, interesting in terms of content and style of writing and fabulously quotable, it got me thinking and watching and wondering.
My poor sainted husband got more nudges in the ribs and "Oooo Listen to this..." as I reeled off yet more quirky human tales whilst I was reading this than any other recent book of the same ilk.
If you like the kind of thing that the title implies, then you will like this book - as simple as that!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Amazon Home
