Why We're Wrong About Nearly Everything
A Theory of Human Misunderstanding
New York : Basic Books, 2019.
Format: Book
Edition: First US edition.
Description: v, 296 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
A leading social researcher explains why humans so consistently misunderstand the outside world
How often are women harassed? What percentage of the population are immigrants? How bad is unemployment? These questions are important, but most of us get the answers wrong. Research shows that people often wildly misunderstand the state of the world, regardless of age, sex, or education. And though the internet brings us unprecedented access to information, there's little evidence we're any better informed because of it.
We may blame cognitive bias or fake news, but neither tells the complete story. In Why We're Wrong About Nearly Everything , Bobby Duffy draws on his research into public perception across more than forty countries, offering a sweeping account of the stubborn problem of human delusion: how society breeds it, why it will never go away, and what our misperceptions say about what we really believe.
We won't always know the facts, but they still matter. Why We're Wrong About Nearly Everything is mandatory reading for anyone interested making humankind a little bit smarter.
How often are women harassed? What percentage of the population are immigrants? How bad is unemployment? These questions are important, but most of us get the answers wrong. Research shows that people often wildly misunderstand the state of the world, regardless of age, sex, or education. And though the internet brings us unprecedented access to information, there's little evidence we're any better informed because of it.
We may blame cognitive bias or fake news, but neither tells the complete story. In Why We're Wrong About Nearly Everything , Bobby Duffy draws on his research into public perception across more than forty countries, offering a sweeping account of the stubborn problem of human delusion: how society breeds it, why it will never go away, and what our misperceptions say about what we really believe.
We won't always know the facts, but they still matter. Why We're Wrong About Nearly Everything is mandatory reading for anyone interested making humankind a little bit smarter.
Contents:
A healthy mind -- Sexual fantasies -- On the money? -- Inside and out: immigration and religion -- Safe and secure -- Political misdirection and disengagement -- Brexit and Trump: wishful and wrongful thinking -- Filtering our worlds -- Worldwide worry -- Who's most wrong? -- Dealing with our delusions.
Subjects:
Knowledge, Sociology of.
Ignorance (Theory of knowledge)
Perception.
Truthfulness and falsehood.
Knowledge, Sociology of.
Ignorance (Theory of knowledge)
Perception.
Truthfulness and falsehood.
ISBN:
9781541618084 (hardcover)
Availability | |||
---|---|---|---|
Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
SOCIAL SCI Duf | Ballentine Indoors | Nonfiction | Out (Due: 5/13/2024) |
Includes bibliographical references and index.