A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What the World's Largest Experiment Reveals About Human Desire

Written by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam

Narrated by Andrew Garman

The book on sex in the twenty-first century

Want to know what really turns your partner on? A Billion Wicked Thoughts offers the clearest picture ever of the differences between male and female sexuality and the teeming diversity of human desire. What makes men attracted to images and so predictable in their appetites?
What makes the set up to a romantic evening so important for a woman? Why are women’s desires so hard to predict?

Neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam reveal the mechanics of sexual relationships based on their extensive research into the mountains of new data on human behavior available in online entertainment and traffic around the world.

Not since Alfred Kinsey in the 1950s has there been such a revolution in our knowledge of what is really going on in the bedroom. What Ogas and Gaddam learned, and now share, will deepen and enrich the way you, and your partner, think and talk about sex.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781461803775

Ogi Ogas

Ogi Ogas, PhD, is a professional science writer. He is the coauthor of A Billion Wicked Thoughts and Shrinks and has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Wired, Glamour, Seed, and Psychology Today. He lives in Boston, MA.

Reviews for A Billion Wicked Thoughts

[Vladimir Alexandrovich Shnayderman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books you can read about human sexuality and understanding relationship between men and a woman

[zoes_human · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Funny, interesting, and thought provoking. Pretty much all that I ask for from non-fiction. Two criticisms however:1) I hate unnumbered end notes. I really do.2) Where are the lesbians at? The book talks predominantly about heterosexual men and women. There is, however, a significant portion dedicated to homosexual men. Transexuals and bisexuals (both of assorted genders) even make appearances, albeit brief ones). But lesbians... *crickets*

[nmele_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book's playful title should have been a clue: although there are some useful things to learn from the book mostly I found it superficial and disappointing. I thought the authors methodology, analyzing Google search results about sex, interesting but ultimately the most revealing thing they learned was something all women and some men know, that romance novels are female porn.

[knightlight777 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this book surprisingly interesting and informative despite being somewhat skeptical about what it could reveal. I don't recall exactly what their sourcing was for the information but the analysis was thorough and extensive.

They look at all aspects of what and why people are looking at and into concerning Internet porn. It is heavily weighed between male and female as well as gay and straight. And of course those in between. There are some surprising conclusions and some not so surprising. I learned a lot and discovered aspects I was totally unaware of. A good read that lets us look through the keyhole of what others are doing, certainly not us, of course.

[cosmicpariah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a really cool book with a super interesting direction, the authors conclusions were fairly hasty and simplistic, though

I dislike how authors of popular science books always feel the need to draw such specific conclusions from the data they present in their books. Anyway, you shouldn't read this book expecting rigorous science but it is very enjoyable and fairly informative.

[wvlibrarydude · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was extremely disappointed in this book. Looked forward to an interesting look at how internet searching could be used for behavior analysis in regards to sex. Not even close.
What this book is:
1. Description of what people are looking for in regards to sex.
2. Stories and anecdotes for those interested in Porn.
3. Lack of any scientific analysis. Lots of hypothesis, but no serious study to determine anything past observation.

In the end, if you are looking for a catalog of porn sites with anecdotes, then this book is for you. If you have any interest in real science or psychology, then avoid this book.

[puttocklibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I picked this book up from the library out of idle curiosity, and found it much more interesting and informative than I thought. Of course, I didn't realize realize how much this book had to do with pornography, so at first I was a bit put off. However, the author very succinctly details how pornography on the internet exemplifies the differences between what men and women want, and breaks it down into "cues"--that is, very specific things, or combinations of things, that turn people on. There are a lot more parallels between the images men look at online, and romance novels than you might ever have guessed.

I came away from this book with a much better understanding of my own sexuality and cues, and a good insight into what's probably going on in my fiancees.

[aula_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I found this book entertaining but limited. The authors failed to make clear that they were drawing sweeping conclusions from data that originates from anywhere from 28% to 35% of the world population (2 billion to 2.5 billion out of 7 billiion, very roughly), not to mention the bias of assuming a technology that's barely twenty years old will reveal the inner workings of the human psyche.
The use of the internet to gather stats and to give an idea of trends is a brilliant idea - and one that should be considered more by sociologists and psychologists alike - but with the rigor those disciplines demand, something quite missing from this book. The hint of evolutionary psychology that permeated the text is also rather irritating given the inability for the authors to back this unspoken claim up in any way (probably because it simply doesn't stand up to any reasonable scientific scrutiny, as others have found).
An interesting but dangerous read: for someone versed in sexuality and, to some degree, psychology and sociology, it's an entertaining and interesting look at what could be achieved using the vast data of the internet. For anyone unread in the above, though, I think it portrays a dangerously simple view of human sexuality and the myth of 'biology', a myth that is destructive as much as it is ludicrous.

[mazeway · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review haiku:

Men like naked girls
Women like sexy stories
And I liked this book

[meggo_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What do our internet search results reveal about us? Quite a bit, as it turns out. And, human beings being who we are, much of what we search for has to do with sex. This is not a shock to anyone who has ever used the internet. However, there are some fascinating insights to be gleaned throughout this work, and I would be interested in seeing the authors conduct an updated survey using more recent search engines, to see if their conclusions hold true. Interesting. And just a bit naughty.

[waitingtoderail · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting look at how the internet has opened up a window into the truth about what humans actually desire sexually. Strong differences between men and women indicate what you've always expected - men seek visual stimulation, woman mental. But also something else you might not have - there is no difference at all between straight and gay men in what "turns them on," except in that the subject of the desire is male rather than female. Lots of graphic descriptions, might want to keep this away from the kiddies or the in-laws.