Fluke : Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters

by Klaas, Dr Brian | Cognitive science, [PDZ] Popular science, [PSAN] Neurosciences, [VSPM] Assertiveness, motivati
Published 16/01/2025 by John Murray Press (John Murray Publishers Ltd) in the United Kingdom
Paperback | 336 pages, 3 maps
128 x 198 x 24mm | 234g

An Amazon Best Book of the Year So Far 2024A Waterstones Best Book of 2024One of Prospect's Top Thinkers 2024'Utterly engrossing . . . Ambitious, accessible and important' James O'Brien'Consistently gripping - dazzling in its sweep and thrillingly brain-twisting in its arguments' Tom HollandA

provocative new vision of how our world really works - and why chance determines

everything.

In Fluke, myth-shattering

social scientist Brian Klaas deep-dives into the phenomenon of randomness, unpicking

our neat and tidy storybook version of events to reveal a reality far wilder

and more fascinating than we have dared to consider. The bewildering truth is

that but for a few incidental changes, our lives - and our societies - would

be radically different.

Offering an entirely new perspective,

Fluke explores how our world really works, driven by strange

interactions and random events. How much difference does our decision to hit

the snooze button make? Did one couple's vacation really change the course of

the twentieth century? What are the smallest accidents that have tilted the

course of history itself?

The mind-bending lessons of this

phenomenon challenge our beliefs about the very workings of the world. From

the evolution of human biology and natural disasters to the impact of global

events on supply chain disruptions, every detail matters because of the web

of connectivity that envelops us. So what if, by exploding our illusion of

control, we can make better decisions and live happy, fulfilling lives?