On the imperfections that make us human

Author Tim Harford · Publisher Wilma · Published 2026-05-08 · ISBN 9791199757646

About the Book

"This world has always been moved by
ambiguous and imperfect beings."

From the pianist who gave a "performance of a lifetime" on an old, broken piano, to the catastrophic crash caused by the autopilot navigation of an aircraft believed to be perfect, to Benjamin Franklin, who was multi-talented but obsessed with "organization," his weakest talent, to legendary music producer Brian Eno, who sublimated his ADHD tendencies into creative inspiration, and mathematician Paul Erdős, who achieved the most brilliant accomplishments among the geniuses of his time, author Tim Harford traverses all fields of history, economics, philosophy, science, psychology, and art, exploring the imperfect nature of humans that cannot be defined by a single concept.
In an era that demands perfection from everyone under the name of efficiency and optimization, what makes life valuable often lies in the chaos we try to eliminate. As you read the stories in this book about "imperfect people like us" who act spontaneously, embrace ambiguity, and make room for mistakes, you will realize how "human imperfection" is not just a romantic aspect, but a practical and necessary life skill.

Machines often make mistakes, surprisingly,
and are not as perfect as we think.

On May 31, 2009, Air France Flight 447, bound for Paris, crashed into the Atlantic. The stated cause of the crash was a sudden storm. However, the real cause was something else. It was the "autopilot system" that had helped the aircraft fly safely for tens of millions of kilometers over the past 15 years. More precisely, it wasn't the system itself, but the pilots who had become accustomed to it. Unaware that the system had switched to manual control due to unusual weather conditions, the pilots panicked and missed the golden opportunity to prevent the disaster.
"Why do situations keep repeating where technology, created to compensate for human imperfections and believed to be perfect, makes mistakes?" This is why world-renowned economist Tim Harford wrote this book.

History, Economics, Philosophy, Science, Psychology, Art, …
The most intellectual exploration of human nature.

Tim Harford traverses from the untuned piano at the Cologne Opera House (art) to the random encounters of mathematician Paul Erdős, who connected tens of thousands of geniuses (science), and to the Dutch intersection where removing traffic lights actually made it safer (social psychology). He proves with sharp and intellectual insight that behind the great achievements of humanity, there was always the inherent human "spontaneity" and "resourcefulness" to respond to unpredictable situations, rather than a "perfectly designed script."
This investigative report on human nature, spanning various fields, ultimately converges on the fundamental question of "what makes us human." Brian Eno's ambiguous strategies that cannot be quantified by data, or the creative energy of old buildings that cannot be explained by the yardstick of efficiency, offer us a new sense of liberation from the shackles of optimization. This book convincingly demonstrates through numerous examples that the areas algorithms cannot reach, namely the blank spaces of ambiguity and imperfection, are the most powerful "core technologies" that enable humans to live more flexibly and resiliently in the world.

"This book is a prophecy. No matter how many times you read it,
there is nothing wrong with it."

Since its original publication 10 years ago, this book has been selected as "Book of the Year" by major media outlets such as The New York Times and The Times, and by major bookstores such as Amazon, selling over 100,000 copies and topping the bestseller lists of that year. Over time, its true value has only become more apparent.
The "social warnings and dangers" contained in this book, such as Tim Harford's initial mention of the "filter bubble risk of social media," the unstable effects of politicians who constantly change their positions, and the "paradox of automation" where decisions are made by over-relying on automated systems, are still urgent problems to be solved. Tim Harford says, "Now that AI is starting to manage everything from driving to recruitment, we need to continue to hone our uniquely human ability to improvise."
In an era where controllable and predictable orderliness, such as efficiency, optimization, and tidiness, is considered a virtue, Tim Harford conveys the "incalculable" value of "counter-cultural" behavior. This book, which speaks of the "actual" experiences untouched by algorithms, and the chaotic, confusing, complex, and imperfect human nature found in old plywood buildings that produced numerous Nobel laureates, will tell us what makes our lives richer and more interesting.

Table of Contents

Recommended Reading
Special Foreword for the 10th Anniversary Korean Edition
Introduction

Chapter 1: Machines Often Make Mistakes, Surprisingly, and Are Not As Perfect As We Think
AI accumulates its own database. It just piles up data without knowing what purpose it will be used for or what it's about.

Chapter 2: This Chaotic World
Humans love order, but human nature and the world are always disordered and complex.

Chapter 3: The Highly Strategic Capability Only Imperfect Humans Possess
Spontaneous actions always come with new risks. No matter how carefully prepared, risks cannot be perfectly eliminated.

Chapter 4: People Who Deliberately Create Variables
Intentional interference and flaws push human potential to its limits.

Chapter 5: The Secret of Constantly Getting Smarter People
If you want to be good at exercise, it's much better to hire a coach, a nutritionist, and a trainer all together than to hire three highly capable coaches.

Chapter 6: What Google Knew That Apple Didn't
The moment spatial control is taken away, even an excellent space becomes hell.

Chapter 7: Not Everything Can Be Judged by Numbers
If you only focus on "goals" presented as numbers, you often lose sight of the "why," the "essence."

Chapter 8: Perfect Order Leads to Perfect Extinction
Order is efficient, but excessive obsession with it puts us in the most precarious state.

Chapter 9: Unpredictability Is Also a Strategy
He who disrupts the rules dominates the game. The moment your opponent reads your rules, you have already lost.

Acknowledgements | References