Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us

Joe Palca · Flora Lichtman

Apr 2011 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Joe Palca and Flora Lichtman

About this audiobook

It happens everywhere: offices, schools, even your own backyard. And, seemingly, anything can trigger it: cell phones, sirens, bad music, constant distractions, your boss, or even your spouse. We all know certain things get under our skin. Can science explain why?

NPR’s Joe Palca and Flora Lichtman take you on a scientific quest through psychology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and other disciplines to uncover the truth about being annoyed. Annoying:

Gives fascinating, surprising explanations for why people react the way they do to everything from chili peppers to fingernails on a blackboard

Explains why irrational behavior (like tearing your hair out in traffic) is connected to worthwhile behavior (like staying on task)

Includes tips for identifying your own irritating habits!

With fascinating insights and fun explanations, Annoying is anything but.

Ratings and reviews

The book starts off well, discussing what you would expect from the title, annoying things and research about those things. It pretty quickly diverts from that course though, with chapters that are anecdotes from individuals, word-for-word recountings of movie scenes, and other non-science-based content that I found to be... annoying. It was narrated by the authors and they performed well. The reading was a tiny bit flat, but overall good.