Ever wondered why bad musicians always win the Eurovision Song Contest, or how incompetent politicians get elected? You need some Quirkology in your life. While other scientists beaver away on obvious problems, Richard Wiseman has been busy uncovering the secret ingredients of charisma, exploring how our personalities are shaped by when we are born and examining why people usually miss the obvious signs of their partner's infidelity. Using scientific methods to investigate offbeat topics that interest the general public as well as the scientific community, "Quirkology" brings a new understanding to the backwaters of the human mind and takes us to places where mainstream scientists fear to tread. Comparable to "Freakonomics", but British, far more populist, and a lot funnier. The findings include: How does your surname influence your life? What does the way you walk reveal about your personality? Why should women have men write their personal ads? What is the funniest joke in the world?

Richard Wiseman is Britain's only professor for the Public Understanding of Psychology and has an international reputation for his research into unusual areas including deception, luck, humour and the paranormal.He is the psychologist most frequently quoted by the British media and his research has been featured on over 150 television programmes in the UK.He is regularly heard on Radio 4 and feature articles about his work have appeared prominently throughout the national press.

理查德·怀斯曼教授具有“英国大众心理学传播第一教授”的头衔，他在包括欺骗，运气，幽默和超自然等不寻常领域的研究享誉国际，他是英国媒体最常引用的心理学家，他的研究在英国超过150个电视节目上播出。他定期出现在英国广播公司第四电台做节目，有关他工作的专题报道更是频频出现在英国整个国家的各大出版社和报刊杂志上。