Errornomics: Why We Make Mistakes and What We Can Do To Avoid Them

(Paperback)

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A smart, engaging and eye-opening explanation of why we make mistakes and what we can do to avoid them How did security staff at LA International Airport miss 75% of bomb-making materials that went through screening Which way should you turn before joining a supermarket queue Why should a woman hope it was a man who witnessed her bag being snatched And what possessed Burt Reynolds to punch a guy with no legsHuman beings can be stubbornly irrational and wilfully blind ... but at least we're predictably wrong. From minor lapses (why we're so likely to forget passwords) to life-threatening blunders (why anaesthetists used to maim their patients), Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Joseph T. Hallinan explains the everyday mistakes that shape our lives, and what we can do to prevent them happening.

Reviews

Entertains while it informs. Hallinan brings the science of human behavior to life, showing how it applies to us every day -- Don Norman, author of THE DESIGN OF EVERYDAY THINGS
In breezy chapters, Hallinan examines 13 pitfalls that make us vulnerable to mistakes...packing in an impressive range of intriguing and practical real-world examples. A lesson in humility as much as human behavior, Hallinan's study should help readers understand their limitations and how to work with them * Publishers Weekly *
Starred Review* What an eye-opener! If you're someone who has trouble remembering the names of people (or common objects), if you seem to forget things almost immediately after you learn them, if your memory of past events frequently turns out to be drastically at odds with the facts, relax: you're not alone. A vastly informative, and for some readers vastly reassuring, exploration of the way our minds work -- David Pitt * Booklist US *

Author Bio

Joseph T. Hallinan, a former writer for The Wall Street Journal, is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He lives in Chicago with his wife and children.