You Are Not So Smart: Why You Have Too Many Friends on Facebook, Why Your Memory Is Mostly Fiction, and 46 Other Ways You're Deluding Yourself - Hardcover

Mcraney, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1592406599 ISBN 13: 9781592406593

Publisher: Gotham Books, 2011

Synopsis

The award-winning creator of the blog by the same name presents a lighthearted tour of the self-deluding belief systems that cause people to feel undue confidence in their intelligence, explaining how delusions are part of a complex psychological defense system while identifying dozens of common misconceptions in such areas as caffeine withdrawal, hindsight and brand loyalty.

About this title

Review:

"In an Idiocracy dominated by cable TV bobbleheads, government propagandists, and corporate spinmeisters, many of us know that mass ignorance is a huge problem. Now, thanks to David McRaney's mind-blowing book, we can finally see the scientific roots of that problem. Anybody still self-aware enough to wonder why society now worships willful stupidity should read this book."
--David Sirota, author of "Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live in Now--Our Culture, Our Politics, Our Everything"

“Simply wonderful. An engaging and useful guide to how our brilliant brains can go badly wrong.” Professor Richard Wiseman – author of 59 Seconds

“Fascinating! You’ll never trust your brain again.” Alex Boese – author of Elephants on Acid and Electric Sheep

“A much-needed field guide to the limits of our so-called consciousness.” William Poundstone – author of Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google?

“Want to get smarter? Read this book.”
David Eagleman – neuroscientist and author of Incognito

“Every chapter is a welcome reminder that you are not so smart – yet you're never made to feel dumb. You Are Not So Smart is a dose of psychology research served in tasty anecdotes that will make you better understand both yourself and the rest of us. Give yourself every advantage you can and read this book.”
Alexis Ohanian – co-founder of Reddit.com

‘populist [and] witty’ Evening Standard

Review:

"Every chapter is a welcome reminder that you are not so smart-yet you're never made to feel dumb. You Are Not So Smart is a dose of psychology research served in tasty anecdotes that will make you better understand both yourself and the rest of us. It turns out we're much more irrational than most of us think, so give yourself every advantage you can and read this book."

(Alexis Ohanian - co-founder of Reddit.com)

Want to get smarter quickly? Read this book

(David Eagleman - neuroscientist and author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain)

"Simply wonderful. An engaging and useful guide to how our brilliant brains can go badly wrong."

(Richard Wiseman - bestselling author of :59 Seconds)

A much-needed field guide to the limits of our so-called consciousness. McRaney presents a witty case for just how witless we all are.

(William Poundstone)

"Fascinating... After reading this book, you'll never trust your brain again."

(Alex Boese - bestselling author of Elephants on Acid and Electric Sheep)

About this edition

• Publisher: Gotham Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1592406599
• ISBN 13: 9781592406593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 302