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The Michael Shermer Show
EPISODE # 366
Christopher Chabris — Why We Get Fooled
Shermer, Simons, and Chabris discuss: • How rational vs. irrational are humans? (Daniel Kahneman vs. Gerd Gingerenzer) • Truth Default Theory, or Truth Bias • deception vs. deception detection • social proof and the influence of others on our beliefs • cults • Bernie Madoff • Harvey Weinstein • Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos • Nigerian spam scam • cheating in chess • habits of thought that can be exploited • information hooks we find especially enticing instead of triggering skepticism • scientific fraud and the replication crisis • how to prevent from being a victim of fraud or a con.
Watch or listen to this episodeLatest addition to the Reading Room
The Gift of Bias: How My Wrongful Conviction Helped Me Become a Better Thinker
After her wrongful conviction for murder in 2007, Amanda Knox was haunted by one question: why? Why did this happen? How could the pursuit of justice have gone so far off course? Corruption and evil were not satisfactory answers for her. Instead, she found understanding through the study of motivated reasoning and cognitive bias, which led her see how well-intentioned people could have arrived at such false conclusions, and how she herself could become a better thinker.
Read this articleResearch Center
REPORT (PADS-006)
Depression and Political Ideology
Sixth report in the Political Accuracy & Divisions Study
Is life in America hopeless? Is white supremacy the most persistent and lethal domestic threat to the United States? Some popular academic theories doubt the possibility of moral progress. A Manhattan Institute report found, among other things, that reading social justice scholarship significantly reduced Black Americans’ hopefulness and motivation. The author of the report speculated that, though intended to empower women and racial minorities, misleading characterizations of America as a white supremacist patriarchy may do the exact opposite. In light of this possibility, in this report we asked: “How is mental health related to believing this popular political rhetoric?”
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