Quote:
Originally Posted by WT Sharpe
Just finished reading the very enjoyable Quirkology by Richard Wiseman.
Wiseman is a researcher who studies the often overlooked everyday aspects of human nature. He has learned that on average, people's ability to spot a liar is no better than chance; and he informs us that some researchers believe that the inability to detect lies is one of the main contributing factors of successful long-term relationships.
In the book, he tells how the eerie feelings in a "haunted" laboratory were found to be the result of a fan in the A/C system that produced sounds below the threshold of human hearing. Further investigation revealed that many churches and cathedrals also produced considerable levels of these low frequencies, causing him to wonder how much of the awe and wonder in holy places results from the acoustics.
His research shows that "Women van drivers are more likely than others to take more than ten items through the express lane in a supermarket, to break speed limits, and to park in restricted areas."
He says that while astrology is bunk, "People born during the summer are luckier than those born in the winter—temperature differences around the time of birth make summer-borns more optimistic and open to opportunities."
From explaining why people who have damage to the right hemisphere of their brains are more apt to laugh at Harpo than at Groucho to showing that the number of people who wear ball caps backwards is decreasing by 10 percent per year, this book is fascinating and thoroughly readable. I highly recommend it. |
Thanks for the exerpts - I'm not sure I would enjoy a whole book of this, but they are fun
