If you are annoyed by particular people, things, events or conditions, consider learning more about the nature of annoyance. Here are two guides:
1. The new book Annoying—The Science of What Bugs Us, by Joe Palca and Flora Lichtman.
2. The short, peppy monographs of John Trinkaus.
Professor Trinkaus was awarded the 2003 Ig Nobel Prize in Literature for meticulously collecting data and publishing more than 80 detailed academic reports about things that annoyed him (such as: What percentage of young people wear baseball caps with the peak facing to the rear rather than to the front; What percentage of pedestrians wear sport shoes that are white rather than some other color; What percentage of swimmers swim laps in the shallow end of a pool rather than the deep end; What percentage of automobile drivers almost, but not completely, come to a stop at one particular stop-sign; What percentage of commuters carry attaché cases; What percentage of shoppers exceed the number of items permitted in a supermarket’s express checkout lane; and What percentage of students dislike the taste of Brussels sprouts.)
For a quick look at some the things that annoy him, see “Trinkaus — An Informal Look,”
But maybe you are not so much annoyed. Maybe you are, beneath it all, perplexed. There may be no real help for that. But there is, in title anyway, guidance:
A Guide for the Perplexed, by E.F. Schumacher.
The Guide for the Perplexed, by Moses Maimonides.
TRINKAUS BONUS: Professor Tinkaus’s study “Exiting a Building: An Informal Look“:
TRINKAUS BONUS: Professor Tinkaus’s follow-up study, “Exiting: Another Look“