Description
Book SynopsisWhat Are the Chances? reveals how psychology and neuroscience explain the significance of the idea of luck. Barbara Blatchley explores how people react to random events in a range of circumstances, examining the evidence that the belief in luck helps us cope with a lack of control.
Trade ReviewBarbara Blatchley provides a colorful and accessible look at the fascinating nature of luck. Focusing on the human side as well as the neuroscientific and psychological aspects, she explores what luck is and the role luck plays in our lives. -- David Hand, emeritus professor of mathematics and senior research investigator, Imperial College London, and author of
The Improbability PrincipleWhat Are the Chances? provides intriguing insights into the neuroscientific and psychological underpinnings of how we perceive luck and chance. Such errors of probability judgments are often systematic rather than random. They may arise from misapplication of heuristics that originally were useful shortcuts. A worthwhile read. -- V. S. Ramachandran, author of
The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Quest for What Makes Us HumanWho among us does not speak of luck? Good luck, bad luck, cross your fingers, lucky charms? And yet few among us has any real understanding of what it means to be lucky or unlucky. This book provides an excellent examination of just what luck is, presented in a manner that entertains as it explains. It is a most enjoyable and informative read, and one that I highly recommend. -- James E. Alcock, professor, York University, and author of
Belief: What It Means to Believe and Why Our Convictions Are So CompellingWitty in tone. Psychology and neuroscience professor Blatchley (
Statistics in Context) takes an impressive and accessible look at luck and humans’ refusal to accept randomness. Those wondering why they’ve never managed to buy a winning lottery ticket would do well to start here. * Publishers Weekly *
Delightful. * GQ *
Table of Contents1. What Is Luck?
2. A Brief History of Luck
3. Luck and Psychology: On Being a Social Animal
4. Luck and Psychology: Magical Thinking
5. Luck and Your Brain: Part I
6. Luck and Your Brain: Part II
7. How to Get Lucky
8. Fortune’s Expensive Smile
Notes
Bibliography
Index
