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    Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters
    Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters
    Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters
    Audiobook8 hours

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

    Written by Brian Klaas

    Narrated by Brian Klaas

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    This “captivating illustration of the follies of trying to model and forecast the unpredictable world” (Financial Times) is both “empowering” (The New Statesman, UK) and “compelling” (New Scientist) as it challenges our most fundamental assumptions—by social scientist and Atlantic writer Brian Klaas, whom Prospect magazine has named one of the world’s “Top 25 Thinkers.”

    If you could rewind your life to the very beginning and then press play, would everything turn out the same? Or could making an accidental phone call or missing an exit off the highway change not just your life, but history itself?

    In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas takes a deep-dive into the phenomenon of random chance and the chaos it can sow, taking aim at most people’s neat and tidy version of reality. The book’s argument is that we willfully ignore a bewildering truth: but for a few small changes, our lives—and our societies—could be radically different.

    Offering an entirely new lens, Fluke explores how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and apparently random events. How did one couple’s vacation cause 100,000 people to die? Does our decision to hit the snooze button in the morning radically alter the trajectory of our lives? And has the evolution of humans been inevitable, or are we simply the product of a series of freak accidents?

    Drawing on social science, chaos theory, history, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, Klaas provides a brilliantly fresh look at why things happen—all while providing mind-bending lessons on how we can live smarter, be happier, and lead more fulfilling lives.

    Editor's Note

    Ripple effects…

    We often seek to make sense of the seemingly random happenings in life, but as “Fluke” describes, even the most pivotal events are usually a result of chance. This pop science take on chaos theory — perfect for fans of Malcolm Gladwell’s works — gives insight on how our smallest choices have major ripple effects. Rest assured that while we aren’t in control of anything, we can still change the world with one choice (amazingly, sometimes without even realizing it).

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJan 23, 2024
    ISBN9781797172323
    Author

    Brian Klaas

    Brian Klaas grew up in Minnesota, earned his DPhil at Oxford, and is now a professor of global politics at University College London. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic, host of the award-winning Power Corrupts podcast, and frequent guest on national television. Klaas has conducted field research across the globe and advised major politicians and organizations including NATO and the European Union. You can find him at BrianPKlaas.com and on X @BrianKlaas.

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    Reviews for Fluke

    4.5/5

    51 ratings4 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is an extrodanary book, so much so that you almost don't want to think about it to deep...it might blow your mind:).Congratulations to the author!
    • 5/5
      Our lives are governed by a random process. This broke brings to clarity this point very well reading this book makes you think about the cause-and-effect that we all believe so strongly about.
    • 5/5
      Brilliant! Knowledgeable and entertaining. Had a great time listening to
    • 2/5
      Don't ways your time on this book. There's no purpose to the book.