All Too Human

Anne McLaughlin is Professor of Psychology at North Carolina State University, USA. She has worked as an educator and researcher in the field of human factors psychology and directs cutting-edge research on human behavior and cognition with research projects funded by NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.

'A fantastic and approachable journey to understand the capability and limitations of the human brain and what we can do about it to improve technology and our world in general. McLaughlin offers the reader relatable true stories, helping us understand why catastrophes like Chernobyl or a miraculous emergency plane landing on the Hudson can happen. The common denominator is human limitations and errors. We can either pretend we are error-proof or accept that humans are fallible. The latter allows us to adequately design and engineer solutions to prevent errors from being fatal and build a safer and more equitable society. This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand why we can forget very important things, or struggle to use a piece of technology.' Celia Hodent, Ph.D. in psychology, UX strategist, author of The Gamer's Brain, The Psychology of Video Games, and What UX is Really About

• 1. 'Brace for impact'; 2. Bad water; 3. Hybrid vigor; 4. A mind divided; 5. All the light we cannot see; 6. Mistakes: We've made a few; 7. History repeating?; 8. Needles in haystacks; 9. Apt pupils and alien invaders; 10. A relative to truth; 11. Old principles for new worlds; References; index.