Hallinan sets out to explore the captivating science of human error, and delves into psychology, neuroscience, and economics to discover why some of the same qualities that make us efficient also make us error-prone.

We look but don't always see -- We all search for meaning -- We connect the dots -- We wear rose-colored glasses -- We can walk and chew gum-- but not much else -- We're in the wrong frame of mind -- We skim -- We like things tidy -- Men shoot first -- Nobody thinks they're average -- We'd rather wing it -- We don't constrain ourselves -- The grass does look greener.