Errornomics

Download or read book Errornomics written by Joseph T Hallinan and published by Random House. This book was released on 2010-01-26 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 legs? Human 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.