A dazzling exploration of the astonishing variety of ways that humans make mistakes by the authors of the acclaimed Chances Are…

The New York Times called Chances Are, the authors' look at the application of probability in everyday life, a "dizzying, exhilarating ride." In Bozo Sapiens, they take us on a another funhouse journey, exploring the surprising, or alarming, number of ways that humans can make bad judgments and poor decisions. The Kaplans' ability to explain everything from statistics to evolutionary biology in witty, accessible, and anecdotal style will endear this book to readers of Blink, Freakonomics, and other recent pop-social science successes.

Advance Praise and Reviews for Bozo Sapiens:

“Obvious logical errors are always the ones other people make. Michael and Ellen Kaplan put this self-serving idea to rest, brilliantly and wittily exploring the sources of the fallacies that infect the thinking of us all. Bozo Sapiens is a book rich not only in examples, but in wisdom. Every one of its readers will learn from it.”—Denis Dutton, author of The Art Instinct: Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution

“Armed with sheaves of anecdotes and research, the Kaplans show just how daft even the most intelligent people can be. The writing is delightful: graceful and packed with allusions, switching easily between hilarity and tragedy.”—New Scientist

“The mother-son co-authors of Chances Are…: Adventures in Probability (2006) turn their considerable authorial skills and wit to human behavior, from our isolated cave-dwelling ancestors to today’s globalized, interconnected world...Gourmet reading—rich in ideas, global references and amusing and provocative examples, served with great style.”—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Chances Are: Adventures in Probability:

"A fascinating layman's trek through probability theory, from its roots in dice games in the seventeenth century to its role in modern-day thermodynamics, tackles humanity's innate need to seek order in even the most chaotic phenomena...Both [authors] have backgrounds in the humanities, and their sense of whimsy...allows them to draw stimulating conclusions.”—New Yorker

"[The Kaplans] have hit on a great subject, and they explore it, down through the centuries and across the globe, with an enthusiasm that borders on glee! it's a dizzying, exhilarating ride.”—New York Times