The Knowledge Illusion: The myth of individual thought and the power of collective wisdom - Softcover

Sloman, Steven; Fernbach, Philip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 150981308X ISBN 13: 9781509813087

Publisher: Pan, 2018

Synopsis

The human mind is both brilliant and pathetic. We have mastered fire and have stood on the moon, and yet every one of us is fundamentally ignorant, irrational and prone to making simple mistakes every day. Why?

'In The Knowledge Illusion, the cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach hammer another nail into the coffin of the rational individual . . . positing that not just rationality but the very idea of individual thinking is a myth.' – Yuval Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens and Homo Deus

In this groundbreaking book, cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach show how our success as a species is down to us living in a rich community of knowledge where we are drawing on information and expertise outside our heads. And we have no idea that we are even doing it.

Utilizing cutting-edge research, The Knowledge Illusion explains why we think we know more than we do, why beliefs are so hard to change and why we are so prone to making mistakes. Providing a blueprint for successful ways to work in collaboration to do amazing things, it reveals why the key to human intelligence lies in the way we think and work together.

Dispel the myth of individual cognition, explore the real origin of our intelligence, and uncover the power of the collective mind with The Knowledge Illusion.

About this title

About the Authors

Steven Sloman is a Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences at Brown University where he has worked since 1992. The author of two books, Casual Models: How we think about the world and its alternatives and Similarity and Symbols in Human Thinking, he is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Cognition.

Phil Fernbach is a cognitive scientist and professor of marketing at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has written for and had his work profiled in numerous publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and BBC World News.

From the Back Cover

‘Sloman and Fernbach hammer another nail into the coffin of the rational individual . . . positing that not just rationality but the very idea of individual thinking is a myth’Yuval Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens and Homo Deus

The human mind is both brilliant and pathetic. We have mastered fire and have stood on the moon, and yet every one of us is fundamentally ignorant, irrational and prone to making simple mistakes every day.

In this groundbreaking book, cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach show how our success as a species is down to living in a rich community of knowledge, in which we can draw on information and expertise outside our own heads. And without any idea that we are even doing it.
Utilizing cutting-edge research, The Knowledge Illusion explains why we think we know more than we do, why our beliefs are so hard to change and why we are so prone to making mistakes. By providing a blueprint for successful ways to work collaboratively to accomplish amazing things, this book reveals why the key to human intelligence lies in the way we think and work together.

‘Fascinating . . . Filled with insights on how we should deal with our individual ignorance and collective wisdom’ Steven Pinker

‘A blueprint for an enlightened society’ Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice

‘Important and radical . . . This is psychology at its best’ Paul Bloom, author of Against Empathy

Edition details

• Publisher: Pan
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 150981308X
• ISBN 13: 9781509813087
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304