We forget our passwords. We pay too much to go to the gym. We think we’d be happier if we lived in California (we wouldn’t), and we think we should stick with our first answer on tests (we shouldn’t). Why do we make mistakes? And could we do a little better? We human beings have design flaws. Our eyes play tricks on us, our stories change in the retelling, and most of us are fairly sure we’re way above average. In Why We Make Mistakes, journalist Joseph T. Hallinan sets out to explore the captivating science of human error—how we think, see, remember, and forget, and how this sets us up for wholly irresistible mistakes. In his quest to understand our imperfections, Hallinan delves into psychology, neuroscience, and economics, with forays into aviation, consumer behavior, geography, football, stock picking, and more. He discovers that some of the same qualities that make us efficient also make us error prone. We learn to move rapidly through the world, quickly recognizing patterns—but overlooking details. Which is why thirteen-year-old boys discover errors that NASA scientists miss—and why you can’t find the beer in your refrigerator. Why We Make Mistakes is enlivened by real-life stories—of weathermen whose predictions are uncannily accurate and a witness who sent an innocent man to jail—and offers valuable advice, such as how to remember where you’ve hidden something important. You’ll learn why multitasking is a bad idea, why men make errors women don’t, and why most people think San Diego is west of Reno (it’s not). Why We Make Mistakes will open your eyes to the reasons behind your mistakes—and have you vowing to do better the next time.
About the Author
Joe Hallinan is a writer based in Chicago. He has written for many of the world's leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Sunday Times of London. His most recent book is Kidding Ourselves: The Hidden Power of Self-Deception (Crown, 2014).His previous book, Why We Make Mistakes (Broadway Books, 2009), was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. It has sold more than 100,000 copies in the United States and has been translated into more than a dozen languages.His first book, Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation, was published in 2001 by Random House. The book, which is now in paperback, was named by The New York Times as one of the year's "Notable Books." The Los Angeles Times chose it as one of its "Best Books of the Year."Joe was previously a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and before that was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Among his journalism awards is a Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.He has taught at a number of colleges and universities, and was most recently a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. He has appeared on a variety of radio and television programs in the U.S. and abroad, including NPR's Fresh Air with Teri Gross, The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, CBS News Sunday Morning and the popular Canadian radio program Definitely Not the Opera.He lives in Chicago with his wife, Pam Taylor, and their children.
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