Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
Qty:1
  • List Price: $15.99
  • Save: $4.89 (31%)
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Being Wrong: Adventures i... has been added to your Cart
Want it tomorrow, April 23? Order within and choose Saturday Delivery at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Bookaspot
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and .

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 2 images

Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error Paperback – January 4, 2011

by
Kathryn Schulz (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Kathryn Schulz Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Kathryn Schulz (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars 194 customer reviews
See all 9 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$9.74
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
$21.56
$14.46 $2.56
Paperback
"Please retry"
$11.10
$4.80 $0.81
Top 20 lists in Books
Top 20 lists in Books
View the top 20 best sellers of all time, the most reviewed books of all time and some of our editors' favorite picks. Learn more
$11.10 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently Bought Together

  • Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error
  • +
  • Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect
Total price: $20.54
Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect
    Matthew D. Lieberman
    4.5 out of 5 stars 124
    Paperback
    $9.44 Prime
  2. THINK Critically (3rd Edition)
    Peter Facione
    3.6 out of 5 stars 33
    Paperback
    $97.20 Prime
  3. Stumbling on Happiness
    Daniel Gilbert
    4.0 out of 5 stars 511
    Paperback
    $9.74 Prime
  4. The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing (Hackett Student Handbooks)
    Michael Harvey
    4.7 out of 5 stars 24
    Paperback
    $10.38 Prime
  5. No Parole Today (English and Navaho Edition)
    Laura Tohe
    2.7 out of 5 stars 3
    Paperback
    $11.95 Prime
  6. This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking (Edge Question Series)
    John Brockman
    3.9 out of 5 stars 186
    Paperback
    $11.99 Prime
Next
If you buy a new print edition of this book (or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for only $2.99 (Save 77%). Print edition purchase must be sold by Amazon. Learn more.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Ecco; Reprint edition (January 4, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061176052
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061176050
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.9 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (194 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsA Tour of Why and How We Err (and Why It May Be a Good Thing)
By Kevin Currie-Knight VINE VOICE on March 30, 2010
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
To err, we hear, is human. But if that is true, then why do we take erring so hard? This is the question Kathryn Schultz tries to get at in her book, Being Wrong. The first section analyzes error by recounting what philosophers, psychologists and others have thought about what it is and why it happens. Next, we examines the factors that lead us to err: senses deceive us, reason is easily influenced by extra-rational factors, we trust experts we like instead of those who may be telling the truth, etc. The third section explores what it feels like to be wrong: we may get embarrassed, defensive, heartbroken, mystified, angry. And lastly, the author reveals why it is she believes error should be seen not as a gaffe to be avoided, but a gaffe that should be embraced and accepted as an an inevitable part of being a finite and dynamic human.

First, I must say something I very rarely do about a book: I never once found this one repetitive or unnecessarily long. Each section, and chapter within it, is about a different aspect of error that was not discussed before, from how philosophers conceive of error, to the social factors that influence error, to our amazing capacity to deny even obvious error. And the real-world examples she chooses to illustrate all of these things are humorous, relateble, and sometimes a bit lamentable.

And what is the author's unique theory about erring? The author writes first that erring is an inevitable part of being human. We are finite animals for whom probability is as close as we can come to certainty (even though certainty is what we want). Since life demands that we make decisions based on what we think will happen in the future, it is simply inevitable that some of these will be wrong.Read more ›
3 Comments 172 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
3.0 out of 5 starsA crafty - albeit a tad long-winded, preachy - analysis of being human. 3.5 Stars***^*
By Paul Stuart VINE VOICE on April 26, 2010
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
One thing is for certain: Kathryn Schulz is a heckuva' writer. Her brilliant interchange between humor and articulation is the stuff of greatness. Moreover - and perhaps a by-product of Schulz' mastery in presentation - there are few (if any) wasted words in this text. While many books almost goad you into skimming every 2nd or 3rd word, 'Being Wrong' certainly makes every word count. For a guy with the attention span of a billy goat grazing grass, keeping me reading every word is no small feat.

There is a tradeoff in such density in value. 'Being Wrong' tends to see-saw between light analogy to heavy exploration almost without warning, making for a staccato transition between example and execution. The philosophical arguments emerge as bloated at times, the case studies a tad soft and looooong. Word economy clearly has its strengths and weaknesses.

Thus, I echo other reviewers in that this book might've been better served both shorter and as a potential essay. Amen.

Going deeper down the content rabbit hole, it's hard to ignore Schulz' near-frequent lapses into political examples dripping with sarcasm favoring a particular perspective only. Perhaps I'm a stickler, but there something grossly unfit about an advertised objective analysis of 'wrong' justified through political opinion. After the fifth instance of this justification, I admittedly began to question the overarching arguments contained in the book. (I could care less about who you vote/d for; just don't put square peg into round hole to get the point across, ad nauseum.Read more ›
8 Comments 236 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsBeing wrong is normal!
By Rob S. VINE VOICE on May 27, 2010
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
This book caught my eye immediately. Who hasn't been embarrassed to admit being wrong? How often have you witnessed (or been part of) senseless arguments because neither side, once they've become entrenched in their position, are willing to back down or find a middle ground to resolve things?

I originally got this book as I was hoping for answers on how to deal with what I admit to be sometimes irrational behaviour to avoid admitting wrongness. I thought perhaps I'd get some advice on how to approach this sensitive topic with others (particularly in a business setting.) If you're looking for advice on dos and don'ts, some sort of behavioural checklist to overcome this sensation, then that's not what this book is about. (and the author says as much in her introduction.)

In a way though, even without a list of to-dos, the book has helped me feel more at ease about being wrong. Through stories shared of human error, through the exploration of just how our senses work and how our belief systems can fail us, through an examination of how we make decisions and evaluation evidence (and why it makes sense to do it that way), and examples where it actually feels good to be wrong (optical illusions, magic tricks), I started to come to terms on just how being wrong is perfectly "normal" and a part of who we are, and started to move away from the belief that being wrong meant I was sloppy, or stupid, or ignorant. It makes sense that our brains would want to take shortcuts for efficiency sake, and it makes sense that sometimes those shortcuts will be off. Plus looking at how often decisions are being made at the subconscious level underscores how much being fallible is hardwired into our system.

I thought the book was a great read, if nothing else, for the journey it took me through.
Comment 56 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsI may be wrong sometimes and not even know it!

still need to read this. love the Ted Talk that she talks about this.

Published 2 months ago by stgoner
5.0 out of 5 starsA Truly Great Book!

One of the best books out there. Of course, if you're like me as I once remarked, "I've never made a mistake. I thought I did once, but I was wrong! Read more

Published 2 months ago by Rick Theis
5.0 out of 5 starsPhilosophy tied in with psychology

This book is really well written and gives a fresh take on human error. I was expecting something more along the lines of social psychology; this book delves into philosophy as... Read more

Published 3 months ago by SmartyOllie
5.0 out of 5 starsDefinitely recommended!

This was one of the most life altering books I have read in a long time. Definitely one of my best and most impactive reads for this year. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Winona Black
5.0 out of 5 starsA reference book for life

I like this book so much that I'm ordering a hard copy, I want to be able to feel its weight in my hands, and to read it at random.

Published 5 months ago by L. D.
5.0 out of 5 starsThought provoking

Very Interesting, I am not finished but really enjoy the book

Published 5 months ago by RB
1.0 out of 5 stars“Being Wrong” is a self-proclaimed masterpiece which suffers heavily...

“Being Wrong” is a self-proclaimed masterpiece which suffers heavily from common grade school logical fallacies.

Published 5 months ago by Stephen
4.0 out of 5 starsGood to read for fun though

The book is definitely inspiring but not something I want to review over and over again in class. Good to read for fun though.

Published 7 months ago by lucy
4.0 out of 5 starsNice to know that being wrong is such a part ...

Nice to know that being wrong is such a part of everyone's life. In fact, the more you're wrong, the more you end up knowing.

Published 7 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Excellent in all respects. I long for more.

Published 7 months ago by drl

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
This item: Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.



Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: doubt play, democracy 3