Illusion of Control

Everywhere you look, you're pressing something that doesn't work. The Illusion of Control reveals the quiet brilliance-and subtle deception-behind the thousands of buttons, switches, and sliders that exist only to make us feel in charge. From elevator "e;close door"e; switches that haven't been wired in decades to office thermostats set permanently at 22 C, placebo interfaces surround us. Yet far from being a design flaw, they serve a profound psychological purpose. The Illusion of Control unpacks the strange collaboration between engineers, architects, and psychologists who discovered that perceived agency is often more valuable than real control.